wanderinfinn
Adrenaline Junkie
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2012
- Messages
- 20
A good friend of mine had some friends in town from Cali, and wanted to show them what Utah had to offer. Since they had no real canyoneering experience, we decided to take them on something short but fun. Goblins Lair in Goblin Valley was decided up, with a trip to ride dirt bikes in Hanksville afterwards. We drove down to Goblin and I went to check on the new permit system they had. i spoke with the ranger, who informed me that he had no idea on how to even fill out the permit, as we were the first group to request one. We double checked the directions, then headed across the valley to the white mound on the other side. I thought the directions were pretty vague, so I brought along my GPS. They read something like " Walk to the white mound. Turn left. Follow the drainage which flows out of the park." So it turns out that you don't have too many options once you turn left.
We snaked our way through the sandstone and probably 20 minutes after starting out, we arrived at the only rappel on the route. There is a sandstone horn on which a sling was already in place. I backed it up with one of my own, just in case.
The three amigos went first, after which I removed the sling and rapped down myself.
I paused on-rope to switch to the fisheye lens.
I had read somewhere that for an extra challenge, try to follow the water route out of the Lair (formerly called the Chamber of the Basilisk). It was a small tunnel, which we did try to follow, but ended up narrowing down to approximately 4" tall.
So we scrambled out over the boulder field, hiked around the sandstone formation, and took the wash back towards the truck. The directions said to follow the wash to the road, but we decided to hike a different way and ended up back in the valley itself.
We posed for some pictures and then headed out to Hanksville for some riding.
Late evening shot of our campsite.
The dirt is gray in the daylight, but the firelight casts a red glow.
One more night image.
These ladies rip!
Adina catching some air.
More airtime.
Featured image for slideshow:
We snaked our way through the sandstone and probably 20 minutes after starting out, we arrived at the only rappel on the route. There is a sandstone horn on which a sling was already in place. I backed it up with one of my own, just in case.
The three amigos went first, after which I removed the sling and rapped down myself.
I paused on-rope to switch to the fisheye lens.
I had read somewhere that for an extra challenge, try to follow the water route out of the Lair (formerly called the Chamber of the Basilisk). It was a small tunnel, which we did try to follow, but ended up narrowing down to approximately 4" tall.
So we scrambled out over the boulder field, hiked around the sandstone formation, and took the wash back towards the truck. The directions said to follow the wash to the road, but we decided to hike a different way and ended up back in the valley itself.
We posed for some pictures and then headed out to Hanksville for some riding.
Late evening shot of our campsite.
The dirt is gray in the daylight, but the firelight casts a red glow.
One more night image.
These ladies rip!
Adina catching some air.
More airtime.
Featured image for slideshow:
