Dungeon Canyon

[Tiff Mapel]

Good morning, Wordlings,

Here's your Wednesday edition of recycled Lake Powell Magazine articles. Can't remember the year we did this, but what a great hike! We're off to Dungeon Canyon...

Tiff

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Dungeon Canyon​

On a perfect spring day in March, thirteen people in two boats embarked on a Lake Powell adventure. Dungeon Canyon, uplake from Wahweap at buoy #38, was the destination for a hike. A long time ago, before Lake Powell even existed, there were three river runners who rafted through Glen Canyon with Mexican Hat Expeditions between the years of 1954-1962. They dubbed it as “Dungeon Canyon” because before Lake Powell, it was a deep and narrow slot, which drained into the Colorado River. Not a lot of light came through to the bottom of the canyon, and the river runners thought it resembled a dungeon.

March is a special time at Lake Powell. Temperatures have warmed up to around 65 to 70 degrees—optimal hiking temperatures. If you hit it just right on a perfectly sunny day with no wind, it can be a real treat to be back at Powell after a long, cold winter. And that’s just what we were thinking. Thirteen eager hikers secured the two boats on that March morning and set off up Dungeon Canyon.

From the boats, it’s relatively easy walking as you go up-canyon. You can take the sandy streambed for a short, easy hike. It turns into a bit of a small slot canyon and winds up toward the right canyon wall. This would be the easiest hike in Dungeon Canyon, which could be accomplished in about an hour, up and back.

For a longer hike, look for the trail on the east side of the canyon as you hike up. This will be the on the bench-like Carmel Formation, and right about in the middle of the canyon. Again, it’s fairly easy walking. It will be a hiker-made trail marked by cairns, or stacks of rocks, as there are no cattle trails in Dungeon Canyon. As you stick to the trail, eventually you’ll come to a ruin nearby about one-half mile up. This ruin isn’t high on a cliff wall, so it is not Anasazi in origin. Instead, this round rock-ruin is situated on flat ground and faces east. It’s an old Navajo Hogan. The rocks are still stacked about waist-high, and the lower layers even have some mud mortar left in the cracks. This was likely a great spot for a Navajo stopover, as it was near a spring, which issued from the east wall above it near some greenery, about 100 yards away.

As we hiked up the canyon, a cacophony of canyon wrens and other desert birds serenaded us as we walked. In the quiet stillness of the canyon, the birdsong added a perfect soundtrack, always reminding us how special this place is. Continuing up Dungeon Canyon another quarter mile or so, you come to the end of the canyon. There is an enormous talus slope of dryfall and boulders that will get you up to the rim. Near the base of the talus slope, an old and tattered wire fence stretches across the canyon. Perhaps cattle roamed this canyon before Lake Powell, but today they are not there. The trail up the slope is much too steep and narrow for cows.

Just beyond the fence is a good spot for a break to refuel, sip some water, and apply more sunscreen. This is also a good turn-around point for any hikers not wanting to ascend to the rim. If you are going to proceed up the slope, make sure that you have proper footwear, are fit and able to do so. The climb up is about 800 to 900 feet. If you’re tired or running out of daylight, you should probably turn around. But if you’re good to go, take your time hiking up and look for the cairns that let you know you’re on the right trail. You should also never hike this alone—always take a friend or two along, and stick together. The trail can be steep and slippery in spots, so be careful where you step. When you get to a good spot to stop and turn around, the valley below you is a beautiful sight. The striking red Entrada Sandstone dominates Dungeon Canyon’s walls. Make sure to get pictures of your climb and progress as you work your way up. As the trail zig-zags up to the rim, you’ll top out near the right of the incline. The elevation up on top of Cummings Mesa is around 5,000 feet; so from the time you started the hike to the rim is almost 1,400 feet of elevation gain. There are cairns stacked near the rim, so if you venture further over Cummings Mesa, you can easily find your way back to the trail. This is quite a hike and accomplishment to get to Dungeon Canyon’s rim. The views from there are spectacular. Take a good long break before you start back down.

For the more seasoned hiker, this hike doesn’t need to stop at the rim. You can head slightly northeast over the flat expanse of Cummings Mesa and reach the rim of Wetherill Canyon, just about three-quarters of a mile away. Walking on Cummings Mesa is flat, but you will have a lot of sagebrush to contend with. You cannot walk a straight course; you will be zig-zagging around through the brush. Only do this portion of the hike if you have plenty of food, water, and sunscreen with you. Also, you shouldn’t continue if you’re getting tired.

Once you reach the rim of Wetherill Canyon, another amazing vista awaits you. Wetherill is a gorgeous canyon. The red and dusty sandstone layers are colorful and contrasting, and you can see a narrow ribbon of blue water snaking through the buff-colored Navajo Sandstone, which is at the bottom of this canyon. And, to the east across the rim lies Navajo Mountain, framing your breath-taking view. You could easily just sit there on the rim and pass the day taking in the beautiful panorama, not ever wanting to leave such beauty.

If you hike south along the rim for about a third of a mile, you’ll be rewarded with another treat. Below the rim near the juncture of the Morrison Formation and the Romana Sandstone layer is majestic Keyhole Arch. The opening of this arch isn’t rounded, but instead looks like a giant rectangle stood on its end. From this point, you can hike back over Cummings Mesa toward the northwest to find the cairns on the rim of Dungeon Canyon.

When heading back down the talus slope, be advised that it is much easier hiking up than going down. Take your time and watch where you step. Pay attention to the cairns so you don’t get off the trail or get lost somewhere on a ledge. This is not a place to make mistakes if you’re tired or trying to hurry. Once you get down and are through the wire fence, it’s an easy walk back to your waiting boat at the water’s edge.

When we arrived back at our boat, we eagerly checked our GPS for hike statistics. We hiked almost 12 miles round-trip, or 11.84 miles, to be exact. We were gone for about eight hours, so it was a full day of hiking. We took our time to see the sights, but other hikers can do this hike much quicker than we did. Only do this hike if you have the time and are fully prepared. Dungeon Canyon is a great hike to do in the spring and fall months at Lake Powell. This hike isn’t recommended for a summer mid-day hike, when temperatures are too hot. However, this hike can be taken in summer if you start hiking up the canyon before the sun comes up. There is a special time during a summer sunrise when the distant cliffs get bathed in the morning sun. You could also complete the hike and get back to your boat by noon if you start before sunrise. This is a wide-open canyon with no shade, so plan your Dungeon Canyon hike accordingly. Put Dungeon Canyon on your list of to-do hikes, it’s one you won’t want to miss.

 

[Raven Haven]

from the Stan Jones gallery on the Natural Arch and Bridge Society website.

 

[JFRCalifornia]

Thanks Tiff--Great account of that hike! Very similar experience to the ones I had, when I went with a few friends, first in August 2004 (lake level 3576), and then again in September 2011, when the lake was at 3655. It was hot both times, but totally worth it. In August 2004, we made the climb just before a monsoon storm hit, and were generally unprepared for the hike we were about to do. The second time we came prepared with enough water and a better idea of the time it would take. Here are my two accounts from those trip journals:

August 17, 2004
Lake Elevation: 3576’

The top of the nearby Cummings Mesa is shrouded in clouds, for now in the opposite direction of the storm. But as the rain falls harder on the roof, the mesa top will become lightning’s latest target. Four hours ago we were there, and would have been targets too. It seems like the top of a high sky from Cummings Mesa. As with all Utah mesas, it’s much more impressive from below, their broad cliffs imposing over the canyon country. It takes three hours in the hot sun, but from Dungeon Canyon—just west of our campsite—the summit can be reached. The hike is dry and follows an old Navajo sheep trail on the soft chocolate silt of the crumbly Carmel Formation—that’s the one that overlies the Navajo Sandstone. Farther uplake, the Carmel would be near the top of the heap, but here there are other formidable formations of younger origin: the monolithic Entrada Sandstone (very much like the Navajo), the narrow gray Summerville Formation, finally topped by the jumbled rocks of the tough Morrison Formation, so-called because it’s a real MoFo to climb.

All but Khawer and Baber made the trip to the top. The low lake levels made for a longer hike, compounded by a late start because everyone slept in. Honestly, as a group we weren’t really prepared. Only Chuck and I had full Camelbaks (100 ounces each), while Nayyer and Shubber carried only a quart each. This is woefully inadequate for a 4-hour trek in the summer Utah sun. Especially one with a thousand-foot climb up a steep and broken mesa. Ultimately, Chuck and I shared our water with the others, and a planned trip across the mesa top was cancelled for lack of water.

But what a journey! Past an old Navajo hogan, with remnants of a recent campfire suggesting active use (by someone—maybe just a hiker), the path led upvalley toward what looked like a dead end amphitheatre. From there, nowhere to go but straight up, at the end of a giant desert bowl. From the rare shady alcove, sucking water and the few NutraGrain bars we brought, we briefly considered turning back. But it’s a challenge to traverse a broken talus slope, eventually working your way to the top. We carried on, heads down, one foot after the other.

Unlike climbing a mountain, which has a peak—a single summit—a mesa offers…a table, that is, a choice of where to ascend. A flat plain that seems to join the sky going on forever. You don’t admire the mesa top when you finally make it, you look beyond: at the high sky, the bulge of Navajo Mountain. And from here, over the lip into the Martian blankness of Dungeon Canyon, where we came from. A broken leg here would be critical, miles from anyone under difficult terrain. The challenge is a rush, and while it’s no Mount Everest, we didn’t see a soul on this trail all day. Probably wouldn’t if we were here all week.

The storm seems to be abating, though not before a huge outburst above, leaving behind a thin and ephemeral waterfall flowing toward the bow of the houseboat. No cause for concern really, but still this is an indicator of some real rain nearby. The region has been in a drought for years, and though storms like this are encouraging, it’s literally a drop in the bucket.


September 6, 2011
Lake Elevation: 3655’

The motorboat launched early. Early for us anyway, after obligatory breakfast and sitting around. Bob made eggs. The rest of us just ate cereal. Meanwhile, the Camelbaks were filling, hiking boots pulled out of storage, sunblock slopped on. It would be a long hike up the mesa above Dungeon Canyon, several hours in the direct sun, so it was important to beat the heat as much as possible. A 9:30 start would have to do. Only Bob, Khawer and Garrett stayed behind. Dungeon is two canyons to the southwest of us here in Wetherill, only a couple of miles away via the lake. Much longer on foot.

This would be a dry hike, and the concept was simple. Just head up the canyon until it ended, then climb the front of the mesa till you get to the top. Later, Bayan’s GPS unit confirmed it was a 9.25-mile round trip, but at the beginning, we were glad we had only a vague idea of that. Though all of us except Bayan had done this long ago, the memories were vague and mostly positive, focusing on the triumph of reaching the top, with photos to prove it. But the reality the second time out is that everyone is several years older, with creakier bones to match, so the memories didn’t match the current reality. Don’t get me wrong—this was a lot of fun. We all knew what to expect, except Bayan, who pronounced it awesome (or maybe that was my word). Which it is, without a doubt.

Kelsey’s book describes this hike, and offers some good route-finding advice when the average person would look at the steep mesa and simply shake their head. On the other hand, Kelsey, as is usually the case, downplays the difficulty of this hike. It’s sort of a dismissive “just have to follow the sheep trail up, then zig-zag to the top”, as if this were directions to the bathroom. His concept of reality and everyone else’s are highly divergent, his only nod to the frailties of the normal human being his acknowledgement that the “3-hour round trip” might take as long as 5 for some people. Which might actually mean 6 to 8 for most anyone else.

Well, we must not be superhuman, because 5 hours is pretty much about as long as it took us to do it. And it wasn’t easy. Hard to find the trail, no shade in sight, except for the occasional boulder, or the lucky overhanging cave or two, this is not a casual walk in the park. But it is rewarding, if you can make it to the top. Nayyer, however, not in need of some sort of reward of this nature, called it quits once confronted with the big 1,500-foot climb to the top in the last mile. He’d done it once before, it’s true, but this time, he felt that the “98% chance of making it without injury” was insufficient. And he measured his heart rate at 130 bpm. So he quietly sat in the shade of a boulder, while the other four of us continued.

Bayan loved this place. He’s a marathoner, so he noted that this was not particularly strenuous for him, but it was nevertheless a challenge. It does look impossible to do from below—straight up a talus slope, with no obvious path, then a zig-zag puzzle across sandstone layers to the top. Nayyer chose to follow what his eyes told him. The rest of us simply followed our feet. We stole shade where we could, but between the slippery path and the loose scree, there was nothing straightforward about the hike. Kelsey would tell you otherwise, which is one reason he has his detractors, but as long as you account for his casual gaps in the cautionary aspects of his instructions, and double his time estimates, his book is a valuable guide.

Once at the top, you turn around and imagine how the hell it was possible that you had just scrambled up that thing. It is hard to fathom, but your presence at the top of the flat mesa provides all the evidence you need. Photos help too, so we took them. We also knew, thanks to Kelsey’s book and Bayan’s GPS unit, that Wetherill Canyon was only one kilometer away to the east, a simple walk across the soft sandy mesa top. Just head straight at the huge dome of Navajo Mountain, perhaps aiming toward the toe of its north slope. And sure enough, soon you come to the edge of the mesa overlooking Wetherill Canyon, where the lake snakes along at the bottom, dark green and narrow. And there, plain as day, sits our houseboat, camped in a nice sandy nook of Wetherill, barely the size of a small toy, far below and far away. Enticing but unreachable. You couldn’t see it, but you can bet Khawer was sitting there on the back deck, engrossed in another book. And was that Bob on a jet ski, meandering his way up the canyon? Too far away to tell. As for Nayyer, he was probably sitting in a cave alone, halfway down Dungeon Canyon. For a moment, we thought a motorboat that we saw pull up to our houseboat might have been Nayyer, whom we wouldn’t put it past to take the boat and return without us, till I realized I had the boat key in my Camelbak. Nayyer better enjoy his cave. He’d be there for a while.

As it always is, going down is more straightforward than going up, mainly because you can see exactly where you’re going, and you’ve already been there before. Still, Chuck fell at one point, scraped his arm and leg, and narrowly avoided the slide to the bottom that Nayyer feared, with some justification. But he’s got the story to tell, and the pictures to prove it (unlike Nayyer, who spent the afternoon cowering in a cave). Nayyer just came up to me on the roof watching me as I type, and tried to bribe me into changing the account of the hike to something more favorable for himself. I said I would consider it. I’ve considered it.

*****

Here's a few photos from my 2011 trip...

Off we go...



This is the point where the climb starts to get steep...



Here's the awesome view looking back down Dungeon Canyon from the top...



...and when you turn the other way, here's the view across Cummings Mesa, toward Navajo Mountain... we walked about 3/4 of a mile across this to reach the edge of Wetherill Canyon... just head straight at Navajo Mountain...



...and here's the view down toward Wetherill Canyon...



...Now we begin the long climb down, back to our boat at Dungeon Canyon...



...and sometimes you're going on all fours...

 

[Tiff Mapel]

Yes, JFR! You nailed it! Good times... I'll join you for a hike sometime.

Tiff

 

[JFRCalifornia]

Yes, JFR! You nailed it! Good times... I'll join you for a hike sometime.

Tiff

You're on!