regehr
Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2012
- Messages
- 2,252
Blue John Canyon is mostly known as a technical canyon but the main fork's awesome narrows can be visited as a fairly easy day hike using the "West E/E" route mentioned on Summitpost. There's some route finding and broken country to cross but nothing difficult. There are several entry/exit points that work but in general it's a bit easier to keep walking a bit farther to the northeast instead of trying to find the earliest possible entry.
Whoops, here we seem to have wandered a bit too far east and got cliffed by Little Blue John:
![DSC04144.jpg DSC04144.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59013-d0ee5b656bec6a29d2cb89f91df931f8.jpg)
Cool patterns in the rock:
![DSC04148.jpg DSC04148.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59014-46005f5717c8c7f65e6a01d616d805e1.jpg)
Easy slickrock slopes on the way in. If one drainage doesn't work another one nearby probably will.
![DSC04151.jpg DSC04151.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59015-b5f9c78b716236e151e458a7040ddfd1.jpg)
![DSC04153.jpg DSC04153.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59016-94baddf9bd977c61c9df51c08ae811de.jpg)
Starting to slot up.
![DSC04160.jpg DSC04160.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59017-1332b56643b1ca1bf6848aed8b098c33.jpg)
Wide narrows.
![DSC04170.jpg DSC04170.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59019-de4db38d30c045ee419d240dca5c136c.jpg)
Love the light in here.
![DSC04171.jpg DSC04171.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59020-1a955546214b5ff23d8fe9565621edcc.jpg)
![DSC04173.jpg DSC04173.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59021-a939366ad25a8eaefacb6e27116f339f.jpg)
![DSC04177.jpg DSC04177.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59022-680e0c9c36c664c145608b2fa8fb7c13.jpg)
![DSC04182.jpg DSC04182.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59024-dc982862113e73c53ac72463ce26d070.jpg)
Towards the end of the walk-through part of the main fork there are some easy climbing problems before the harder climbing problems begin. We passed a couple of 6-8' climbs and were soon stopped by a maybe 25' climb.
![DSC04189.jpg DSC04189.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59026-bbc640b7096f5490b1fed53de9ab555f.jpg)
![DSC04191.jpg DSC04191.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59027-23729bab36ecd48912c6fae4c40afd39.jpg)
Four chockstones at least a hundred feet up.
![DSC04195.jpg DSC04195.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59029-f6f1d006c0b4165383553cc3ce75d42c.jpg)
![DSC04197.jpg DSC04197.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59030-fa5b73075d81803c235aba507bb8661a.jpg)
![DSC04199.jpg DSC04199.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59031-e1491e0df2bf8fe6e1d870fe10e4516d.jpg)
Argh this pool wasn't there the last time I went through Blue John 4 or 5 years ago, it set up behind a dam created by a recent rock fall. It was painfully cold and smelled like it's about 8% cow shit.
![DSC04201.jpg DSC04201.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59032-79b91fac6acdc93b0a23118e8491f3a8.jpg)
Looking back up at the dam.
![DSC04205.jpg DSC04205.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59033-ec7ce87d57ddab8e3e3e411199e797fe.jpg)
Back at the surface level there's a bit of fun slickrock.
![DSC04208.jpg DSC04208.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59034-c91d8125dc753488129d1c5d6bb6347c.jpg)
And plenty of chippings and one of the kids found a nice broken point.
![DSC04213.jpg DSC04213.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59035-7b300d045f93bfa7c89a28a8ac7fe6c2.jpg)
The other cool thing we saw was a midget faded rattlesnake, the first time I've seen one of these.
Whoops, here we seem to have wandered a bit too far east and got cliffed by Little Blue John:
![DSC04144.jpg DSC04144.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59013-d0ee5b656bec6a29d2cb89f91df931f8.jpg)
Cool patterns in the rock:
![DSC04148.jpg DSC04148.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59014-46005f5717c8c7f65e6a01d616d805e1.jpg)
Easy slickrock slopes on the way in. If one drainage doesn't work another one nearby probably will.
![DSC04151.jpg DSC04151.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59015-b5f9c78b716236e151e458a7040ddfd1.jpg)
![DSC04153.jpg DSC04153.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59016-94baddf9bd977c61c9df51c08ae811de.jpg)
Starting to slot up.
![DSC04160.jpg DSC04160.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59017-1332b56643b1ca1bf6848aed8b098c33.jpg)
Wide narrows.
![DSC04170.jpg DSC04170.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59019-de4db38d30c045ee419d240dca5c136c.jpg)
Love the light in here.
![DSC04171.jpg DSC04171.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59020-1a955546214b5ff23d8fe9565621edcc.jpg)
![DSC04173.jpg DSC04173.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59021-a939366ad25a8eaefacb6e27116f339f.jpg)
![DSC04177.jpg DSC04177.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59022-680e0c9c36c664c145608b2fa8fb7c13.jpg)
![DSC04182.jpg DSC04182.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59024-dc982862113e73c53ac72463ce26d070.jpg)
Towards the end of the walk-through part of the main fork there are some easy climbing problems before the harder climbing problems begin. We passed a couple of 6-8' climbs and were soon stopped by a maybe 25' climb.
![DSC04189.jpg DSC04189.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59026-bbc640b7096f5490b1fed53de9ab555f.jpg)
![DSC04191.jpg DSC04191.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59027-23729bab36ecd48912c6fae4c40afd39.jpg)
Four chockstones at least a hundred feet up.
![DSC04195.jpg DSC04195.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59029-f6f1d006c0b4165383553cc3ce75d42c.jpg)
![DSC04197.jpg DSC04197.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59030-fa5b73075d81803c235aba507bb8661a.jpg)
![DSC04199.jpg DSC04199.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59031-e1491e0df2bf8fe6e1d870fe10e4516d.jpg)
Argh this pool wasn't there the last time I went through Blue John 4 or 5 years ago, it set up behind a dam created by a recent rock fall. It was painfully cold and smelled like it's about 8% cow shit.
![DSC04201.jpg DSC04201.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59032-79b91fac6acdc93b0a23118e8491f3a8.jpg)
Looking back up at the dam.
![DSC04205.jpg DSC04205.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59033-ec7ce87d57ddab8e3e3e411199e797fe.jpg)
Back at the surface level there's a bit of fun slickrock.
![DSC04208.jpg DSC04208.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59034-c91d8125dc753488129d1c5d6bb6347c.jpg)
And plenty of chippings and one of the kids found a nice broken point.
![DSC04213.jpg DSC04213.jpg](https://backcountrypost.com/data/attachments/59/59035-7b300d045f93bfa7c89a28a8ac7fe6c2.jpg)
The other cool thing we saw was a midget faded rattlesnake, the first time I've seen one of these.
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