Overview

Hype:

Hog 1 Canyon, known as Boss Hawg, is one of the Hog Canyons in North Wash, Utah, a BLM-managed recreation area famous for roadside-accessible technical slots near UT 95. Most groups choose to link 2 of the Hog canyons in a day, while some of the more extreme groups attempt to descend all 4 in a day (or 5 including Merry Piglet).

The route’s technical character is less about big rappels and more about slot movement: narrow passages, downclimbs, friction, and body-positioning problems. There is one mandatory rappel, but many groups will choose to rappel an additional 1-3 drops.

Hog 1 is the best starting point among the Hogs, with a progressive rhythm that makes it a common introductory choice for parties already comfortable with basic technical canyon travel.

The Hogs are best enjoyed in cool weather. These canyons can be done in winter if the roads are clear, but the slab exit will likely be impossible if there is snow. Hog 1 typically does not hold water.

Canyon Rating: 3A

Time: 2-4 hours

Length: 1.25 mile approach from car or 0.1 mile approach from top of slab exit, 0.66 mile canyon, 1 mile exit to car or .66 mile exit to top of slab.

Longest Rappel: 1+ rappels up to 30 ft

Gear: Standard canyoneering gear.

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://ropewiki.com/Hog_1_Canyon_(Boss_Hog)
https://www.roadtripryan.com/go/t/utah/north-wash/hog-canyons

Route

Approach

1.25 mile approach from car or 0.1 mile approach from top of slab exit.

From the trailhead, follow the semi-established trail along the edge of the plateau to the top of the canyon.

Canyon

0.66 miles

Drop into the canyon via a short slab scramble (Class 3).

Drop - 15 ft rappel anchored from a fin with deep grooves in it. Can be handlined or downclimbed.

Continue through easy upper canyon with minor obstacles.

Large drop - either downclimb / friction slide, or rappel if needed.

Enter sustained narrow slot section with tight, leaning walls and awkward movement.

Multiple friction slides and downclimbs.

Navigate several awkward drops (often downclimbed, optional rappels).

Reach the single mandatory rappel. Anchored from boulders about 40 feet back from the edge. You can downclimb under the boulder and rappel the last 10-15 ft.

Continue through remaining narrows and a few final obstacles.

Canyon begins to open up; pass junction where Miss Piggy (Hog 4) enters.

Exit technical section into open drainage with vegetation.

Exit

Once you reach the bottom of the canyon, you have two exit options.

Gully Exit

1 mile

This is the traditional exit up a gully. This exit is shaded and straightforward. It deposits you near the trailhead.

Slab Exit

0.66 miles

This is up the nose between Hog 1 and Hog 2. This exit is preferred if you are doing multiple hogs in one day as it saves time and distance getting to the other hogs.

Be aware that there is a steep slab climb right at the bottom that is quite tricky to get up. Once one person gets up on top, they can lower a handline for others. After this crux move, the rest of the exit is a straightforward slick rock walk up.

Maps

Closest City or Region: North Wash, Utah

Coordinates: 37.985051, -110.515450

Interactive Guide Map

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March 14, 2026 Trip Report

By Jeremy Dye

Trip Members

Jeremy Dye, Savannah Dye, Marci Parker, Alex DeBirk, Jeremy,

Story

Friday, March 13 - When the kids got home from school, we loaded into the truck and drove down to North Wash for the Sand Patrick’s Canyoneering Rendezvous. Trent Carlisle and I were the hosts, but really it was mostly Trent. We set up the trailer, then I met up with Chris, Marci, Kelly, and Matt, and we did Bushwax Canyon. It ended up being a lot of fun. There were a couple of stemming spots that were pretty tricky for Marci and Kelly, but Chris helped them through it and they were just fine. Tara and the kids hung out at camp and went to bed. When I got back to camp, I hung out around the campfire for a little bit, then went to bed around 11:00.

Saturday, March 14 - We were aiming to leave at 9:00, but it took a little bit to get everyone ready, so we left camp around 9:30. We drove up to the Hog Canyons, and I took us on a really bad dirt road that was not a good idea. We had to turn around and go back to the highway, which was kind of tricky in the deep sand. When we got to the trailhead, we hiked across to the top of Hog 2. We had a group of 10. We descended Hog 2 at a medium-slow pace. There was quite a bit of downclimbing and a few rappels and lots of skinny narrows. We climbed the Nose back up to the plateau top. That climb was kind of tricky, and Tara had to give me a foot support so I could make it up. Then I lowered a rope so everyone else could climb up. At the top of the canyon, we split up into two groups. Five people went back to camp, and the other five of us descended Hog 1 Canyon. We started off going a little bit faster but had to slow down because one of the group members was struggling a bit and getting quite tired. That canyon had several optional rappels, which we mostly downclimbed. I used the rope twice as a hand line but never put on my harness. Once at the bottom of Hog 1, we scrambled up the gully exit and went back to the car. We made it back to camp around 7:00. At 6:00, there was a potluck at camp. We hung out around the fire and had a fun time munching and swapping stories. Tara and the kids were pretty tired and went to bed around 9:30. I stayed up until a little after 11:00.

Sunday, March 15 - We got up and made breakfast, then all gathered together. The original plan was to do Morocco Canyon or Merry Piglet Canyon, but we heard that both canyons had a lot of water, so we opted to do Death Canyon instead. We had a group of 15 people, which was a lot. The approach was a little slow with little legs, but we made it in good spirits and descended the canyon pretty quickly. At the two rappels, it took quite a while to sequence everyone through. There was a little puddle at the bottom of the second drop, so we clipped a tether to people and pulled them out from the water so they could stay dry. When Lila was being lowered down, she got her feet above her and slid down headfirst on her back. She didn’t appreciate that very much, so I waded in the water to catch her at the bottom. Everyone else stayed dry. We hiked back to the cars, then went back to camp where we loaded up all our gear, then left a little before 2:00. We stopped at Stan’s on the way home and got a couple of hamburgers and some ice cream and filled up with gas. Then we drove the rest of the way home, arriving around 6:00 p.m.

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