Flash Floods in May? (Halls Creek Narrows Video)

Jammer

Jammer

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I'm finally back to my computer and getting a chance to assemble some of my photos/video from my recent Zion to Capitol Reef Hike. The full trip report is still in process, but I went ahead and put together a stand-alone video for Day 18 -- the day I went through Halls Creek Narrows during an unseasonable storm.

Anxious to hear what everybody thinks about this one.


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Wow. I was wondering how that was going for you.

Do you remember what day of the week that was? If I have my days right, I was hiking up Halls that afternoon. The creek flooded sometime in the evening on me, going from ankle deep to wasted deep in some places. It then flooded again on Friday, and Friday night at the narrows. Saturday It started raining hard on me while I was in the narrows, and I was able to run out before anything happened. But that ended up being a small storm cell.
 
Nice....... you lucked out to be in the spot you were at ................ :)
 
Joey said:
Do you remember what day of the week that was?
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This would have been on Thursday. Water came through at 5:45. I was wondering about you too up on the Fold -- early in the day it looked pretty gnarly up there as well (but then sunny later.)

The next two days were fine for me -- but I could see the storms to the south. I didn't get much more rain, but there was really heavy erosion farther north around Lower Muley Twist.
 
Awesome! What I find intriguing is the head of floods seem to move slowly, almost as though it is lulling any bystanders into a false sense of security, then BAM! The volume of water, debris and the force quickly shows why you don't mess with Mother Nature! Thanks for sharing. Also, loved the added sound effects, especially the drum.
 
That was really intense. You captured the whole situation very well in the video. Glad you made it out okay.
 
Wild man. The stats may say that most big ones come in the monsoon season, but I don't think I'd still go into HCN with storms like that on the horizon! So glad you were in a good spot for it though. That's some crazy footage. It actually looked kind of modest as it approached, but then once it gets to you it's like, WHOA!!!

That was the very same afternoon that I was only about 16 miles away watching that huge flash near Moqui. When you compare the size of the two drainages, it could have been a LOT worse in Halls Creek!
 
WOAH!!

That's some really cool footage. You did a great job with the text cards, explaining how it happened after the fact. It kept it suspenseful, as I'm sure it was when it happened. Hall's is a really great walk, as scary as it was to see that happening, I bet it was really cool to watch in such a cool canyon. I'm a bit jealous.
 
Yeah -- I know I'm fortunate that I was in a great spot for the situation. There was somewhat higher ground from where I shot much of the footage which made for decent camp. There was also the slickrock ramp that went much higher that would have been the ultimate safety back-up. I also had several nice rain potholes near me to provide fresh water and enough food to stay there for several days. The spot was wide enough to get a SAT signal out as well.

I think if the flood had hit in the lower narrows I still would have had enough warning to get to higher ground -- but the safe spots in that section would have been pretty miserable for spending the night.

BTW -- after hiking out the next day, I really think the flood had little to do with the rain in the immediate area. When I got up near Lower Muley Twist there was heavy erosion on the trail and a lot of standing water/mud. Lower Muley Twist actually still had a decent flow coming out of the narrows. The road into The Post was nearly washed out and a guy I met said Notom Road was in really bad shape as well. It seems they got a LOT more rain in this area and it likely took the flood about 3hrs to work its way south.
 
Great footage! Congratulations on being safe and getting it.

Sounds like you followed Baker trail out of Stevens? How did you like this route? Insane, isn't it?

A friend an I hiked in the opposite direction (from Poison Spring to Hole in The Rock Road) last October, as a part of Hayduke hike. We modified the route and went down Halls Creek, then up to the crest of the Reef (at Smiling Cricket mouth) and then found Baker trail entrance into Stevens.

Jammer said:
I'm finally back to my computer and getting a chance to assemble some of my photos/video from my recent Zion to Capitol Reef Hike. The full trip report is still in process, but I went ahead and put together a stand-alone video for Day 18 -- the day I went through Halls Creek Narrows during an unseasonable storm.

Anxious to hear what everybody thinks about this one.


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as said:
Sounds like you followed Baker trail out of Stevens? How did you like this route? Insane, isn't it?
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Yep -- for the most part I enjoyed the Baker Route. I liked it a lot better when I gave up trying to follow the cairns which seemed too dense in some spots and then completely MIA in others. Just trying to find the path of least resistance worked better for me, though I did probably end up too far south which meant I had to fight a bunch of brush in the lower part of Halls Creek. You made a good choice and probably missed that if you came in farther north.
 
awesome video dude. very entertaining. I made a foolhardy attempt to hike to the narrows solo in July of 2013. Closest I ever came to dying of heat stroke. Having watched your video, I'm glad I didn't make it. who knows what could've happened. But I want to go back and try again some day.
 
Great scenery and great drama - all in one video. Thanks for sharing and you never know, may well save a life. I didn't know about the wind sounds, not that it gave much extra time. Really glad you came out safe. I had it all planned for Halls Creek on vacation from the UK last fall, and even had someone offer to come from SLC to Green River to drive me on the unpaved roads to the trailhead - but reluctantly pulled out after a storm forecast which drenched our tent in Goblin Valley. Your video confirmed I made the right decision.
Really looking forward to your full trip report. Incidentally, you mentioned the lower part of Halls Creek - how far down were you past the Narrows towards Lake Powell? I've often wondered about tackling it from the lake instead of the TH
 
Jammer said:
I'm finally back to my computer and getting a chance to assemble some of my photos/video from my recent Zion to Capitol Reef Hike.
Click to expand...

That looks like edgy fun! It was nice meeting you in Mt. Carmel
Ram
 
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