Overview

Hype:

Hard Day Harvey canyon is a full-day undertaking (often 6-10 hours) covering roughly 5-6 miles and around 1,300 feet of vertical change in/out. The access road on Ticaboo Mesa is rough and requires at least a high-clearance vehicle. 4WD may be required depending on conditions. 

Once in the canyon, you’ll encounter extended sections of stemming and high stemming with an R exposure rating. There are a couple of mandatory rappels from 30-50 ft, tight narrows where you may need to squeeze with your pack, and extended sections of stemming high above the deck.

Finally, after the canyon opens up, the exit is not trivial: you must ascend slickrock slabs with easy rock climbing in parts up to the rim. Good navigation skills are crucial as there are no marked trails. The exit does have redeeming factor though; there is an amazing vista offering views down over Lake Powell.

Canyon Rating: 3B R

Time: 5-9 hours

Length: 1.0 mile approach, 1.4 mile canyon, 3.5 mile exit

Longest Rappel: 2-4 rappels up to 50 ft

Gear: Standard canyoneering gear. Knee and elbow pads. A wetsuit is recommended in cold weather. Bring a dry bag for anything you don't want wet. Ensure your pack is slim to fit through the narrow canyon. Bring a tether so you can suspend your pack while stemming.

Fees: None

Recommended Ages:

	0-3
	4-11
	12-19
	20-49
	50-69
	70+

Recommended Months to Visit:

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Links: https://www.roadtripryan.com/go/t/utah/powell/harddayharvey
https://ropewiki.com/Hard_Day_Harvey_Canyon

Getting There

Navigate to 37.663214, -110.555604.

The approach roads are high clearance and may require 4WD in some conditions.

Maps

Closest City or Region: Ticaboo, Utah

Coordinates: 37.654750, -110.564019

Interactive Guide Map

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November 2, 2024 Trip Report

By Jeremy Dye

Trip Members

Jeremy Dye, Anthony Dye, Ondylyn Wagner, Lots of Others,

Story

Friday, November 01 - Tom, Mark, Ondy, and Jaren met at our house at 7:15 so we could leave for R-Fest at 7:30. Ondy and Jaren left their kids with Tara. My group drove down to Ticaboo Mesa. We carpooled in the truck and took the trailer down. We dropped off the trailer at camp then met up with a few people there and went to the trailhead for Wormhole.

We hiked down to the wash and met up with Anthony and his group who had done Pothoez Canyon in the morning. Timing worked out just perfect and they only had to wait for us for about 20 minutes. There was an unusual amount of water in the area due to recent storms. We all hiked up the river and then left the drainage to go to the top of Wormhole. Two people were worried about water so they stayed in the wash so they could do the canyon from the bottom. That was a bad choice on their part because the only water we encountered was in the main wash below the canyon. They had to do wading up to their wastes. The rest of us dropped into the canyon and cruised through everything. At the wormhole obstacle, a few people went up and over, but most of the rest of the group stayed down low. I didn't end up doing any R sections because I was able to fit through down low. The R sections were only mandatory for bigger people. The canyon was quite short and honestly a bit disappointing, but it was a good warm-up canyon for the group and for everyone to see what they were capable of. 

On the drive back to camp, I came to a turn in the road. I turned right, but the truck kept going straight. I braked and came to a stop a couple car lengths into the dirt. I thought I had just lost traction. I put it in reverse and tried to back out, but my tires were just spinning, so I locked the hubs and put it in four wheel drive. I got it back on the road. I unlocked the hubs then continued driving. We were all a bit shaken but no harm done. But the truck was making a funny sounds. I got out to take a look, and when I looked under the front bumper, I could see the front tie rod connected on just one end with the other end dragging on the ground. A couple other vehicles caught up to us and had some tools. So I crawled under the truck and reattached the tie rod. We did our best eyeballing the alignment, but it was pretty rough. 

We went back to camp and met up with everybody else. A ton of people joined that night, and we had somewhere between 45 and 60 people there. I think we had 45 canyoneers plus some other people that were there just to hang out. We swapped stories and made plans for the next day then went to bed.

Saturday, November 02 - Anthony and I woke up early and cooked breakfast sandwiches for the whole camp. We made 60 sandwiches, and all of them got eaten. 

About 15 people in the group did Good Day Jim. Everyone else did Hard Day Harvey. We tried to get headcounts, but it was hard. We're pretty sure it was 33 people. We split into a few different groups naturally based on the fast people moving to the front in this slower people falling to the back. I was in the back group helping people get through things. The canyon was very long and sustained but not incredibly exposed or difficult. The exit hike was grueling, as we had to wind back and forth on the slick rock to get across all the fins. We finished up then drove back to camp in time for dinner. We told more stories around the fire and had a fun time until pretty late. The weather forecast for Sunday showed high chances of rain, so we canceled all of the canyon plans for Sunday and Monday. Some people ended up going home Saturday night, but most people stayed to hang out through Sunday morning.

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