Canyoneering Route Description

Egypt 5 Canyon 4A(B) II (IV) X (X-)
Escalante National Monument, Utah

Quick Facts

07-04-15, 2 people, 1 Day - Upper Egypt 5 and explore down to Lower (Travel time in route 8.1 hours)
07-05-15, 2 people, 1 Day - Lower Egypt 5  and explore options (Travel time in route 8.6 hours) Pictures Icon  Pictures from both days combined.

Upper Egypt 5 Only -
    Time Required - 4 to 6 hours
    Distance - 1.7 miles Total, 0.34 miles Technical
    Rappels - 1 Rappels, Longest Rappel 300 feet.
    Elevation Range - 5680 - 5080 Feet

Lower Egypt 5 Only -
    Time Required - 6 to 7 hours
    Distance - 5.1 miles Total, 0.25 miles Technical
    Rappels - 2 Rappels, Longest Rappel 50 feet.
    Elevation Range - 5680 - 4740 Feet

Upper and Lower Egypt 5  -
    Time Required - 9 to 10
    Distance - 5 miles Total, 0.59 miles Technical
    Rappels - 3 Rappels, Longest Rappel 300 feet.
    Elevation Range - 5680 - 4740 Feet

Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - High Clearance recommended, 4WD if bad road conditions Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

Upper Egypt 5:
Minimal rappelling and anchor gear (think small and minimal), 300 foot rope  and 20 feet of webbing (which will be left at rap 1).  30 more feet of webbing in case it is needed to assist one another.  Also in the group for just incase stuff it may be a good idea to have one set of ascenders and a couple carabiners.  After rap 1 no technical gear should be needed in Upper Egypt 5.  It will also be beneficial to bring the smallest pack you can.

Lower Egypt 5:
There is water in Lower Egypt 5.  Instead of recommending a wet suit for Lower Egypt 5 I recommend not doing this route in cold weather.  There are two spots where you may get wet (swim with one of them) but they are short and its over.  Putting on a wet suit only to swim a few feet then continue being cold as you walk around in a wet wetsuit does not seem right.  Consider doing Lower Egypt 5 in warm weather where a quick swim isn't too bad or may be considered down right refreshing.  The pool at the bottom of the last rappel is a great swimming hole and break spot best enjoyed in warm weather.  Ok on the the serious gear considerations.

Minimal rappelling and anchor gear (think small and minimal),  rope and pull cord for rappels up to 50 feet and knee and elbow pads. 

General Comments

Egypt 5 has an upper and a lower technical section.  Both short, both require stemming high off the deck and both worth the visit.  The two technical sections are separated by a long non-technical section of slickrock desert hiking.  After exiting the upper technical section it is easy to hike back up to the top and head home to make for a short fun day out.  However if you want more and are ok with some extra hiking time into and out of the area, lower Egypt 5 is worth the visit.

Plan to leave your long rope rigged at rap 1 in Upper Egypt and retrieve the rope on your hike out.  There will be no need for the long rope anywhere else in the canyon and the bulk of that rope will be difficult to get through the canyon.  It is less work and much safer to leave the rope rigged and retrieve it on the way out.

Warning / Rating Note:
Upper Egypt has sections where you stem up to over 40 feet off the deck.  I am rating this canyon as X minus since most of the movement is easy and secure.  Lower Egypt has high stemming to about 40 feet off the deck but also has a couple spots that will require solid stemming skills to navigate safely (one silo feature and one rap / partner assist).  I am rating this canyon as an X due to the one spot being difficult and a couple more small gapping silos.

Upper Egypt might have water to shin deep at times but not often so I am calling this an A canyon for little to no water.
Lower Egypt has a couple spots you will get and may need to swim so I am calling this a B canyon for some water.  See wetsuit recommendations.

Upper Egypt starts with a downclimb and an easy walk to rap 1 where you set a rope to rappel and leave it there while in canyon and retrieve the rope on your hike out.  Rap 1 is the ONLY rap in upper Egypt 5 so no other ropes are needed.  The upper section has a 25 foot semi difficult upclimb to get up over a skinny section in the canyon, which is rumored to be rated about 5.9.  If you are not comfortable with difficult crack style upclimbing, this may not be a good canyon choice for you.  After the upclimb there are sections of the canyon where you will be stemming about 40 feet off the deck.  The stemming moves in the upper section are not difficult and most of the time you can travel with feet and back on the wall.  There are a couple spots where you will need to stretch out a bit and do have potential for a big fall.  You will want knee and elbow pads and the smallest pack you can comfortably take.

Note:
Do not drop into Upper Egypt 5 with a large pack stuffed full of un needed gear, in temps over 100 degrees, with no body armor.  Doing so will result in a lot of hard sweaty work and lot of cuts and abrasions........ Ask me how I know this.  :)

Hike between Upper and Lower Egypt 5:
After upper Egypt 5 you can exit the area and hike out or you can travel down canyon to Lower Egypt 5.  If you decide to hike down to Lower Egypt 5, there is one 700 foot long slot along the way that can be bypassed entirely on the LDC side.  Playing through the slot may require pothole escape gear for the last 200 feet of the slot but this is not confirmed as we bypassed the last 200 feet of the slot on out visit.

Lower Egypt is about 0.7 miles down canyon of upper Egypt.  Lower Egypt starts with a mix of open wash walking sections with a few tight narrow sections where you will need to stem your way down canyon.  There will be times where you are close to 40 feet off the deck while stemming through Lower Egypt 5.  Most of the movement in lower Egypt 5 is safe and easy except for a few silo crossings.  There is one silo crossing that is very awkward and will require some skill to navigate safely.  Do not drop into Lower Egypt 5 if you do not have the skill set to stem over awkward silos with complex features that will challenge you.  Exiting one of the technical sections will require 2 people to get down safely. At this spot there is no way to set a rappel anchor so a meat anchor is given to one person who then aggressively assists the second person down the drop.  At the end of the technical section of Lower Egypt 5 is a rappel down into a pool where the canyon opens up to very wide open and scenic corridor which is hiked to where you can exit the canyon and hike back to the trailhead.  In this lower section watch out for Poison Ivy.

Note / Warning:
Do not drop into Lower Egypt 5 alone.  One of the challenges there is best done with two people and would be dangerous alone.

Note - Suggested Times
On my first visit here we did not know what we needed for the canyon so we brought a lot of extra rope and gear to deal with what we might have found.  As a result we had a lot of work in upper E5 trying to get our overstuffed packs up the upclimb and through the skinny areas.  This took up more time than it should have.  For lower E5 we also had a lot of extra rope and gear we did not need to bring.  While in lower E5 we decided at one point we should escape the canyon and take a peak at what was to come by rim walking it.  We climbed out, walked the rim a significant distance to see what was ahead then went back to drop into the canyon again.  This again took a lot of time.  We also did the route in July so the day time highs were over 100 degrees.  We ended up doing upper E5 and scouting the hike down to lower E5 on one day, stashing our gear, then returning the following day to do lower E5 and hike out.  This provided the opportunity to scout both exit options but took way longer than it should.  I thought it worth mentioning this as it will help explain why my suggested times do not line up well with my actual time for the route.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

From the city of Escalante drive about 4 miles southeast on Hwy 12 to the turn off for Hole-In-The-Rock road on the right (extHoleInRock).  The Hole-In-The-Rock road is dirt.  The condition of the road varies a lot with recent rains and road maintenance.  High clearance may be needed in extreme cases but most of the time passenger cars will be fine for the first 30 or 40 miles on Hole in the Rock road.

Travel about 16.5 miles southeast on Hole-In-The-Rock road to the turn off on the left (east) for the Egypt road (extEgypt).  Turn left and travel down the Egypt road.

The Egypt road is generally well maintained but a few spots may be difficult with 2WD low clearance vehicles.  A vehicle with high clearance is VERY helpful and 4WD may be useful but generally not needed.

The first obstacle is about 3.4 miles in where the Egypt road crosses over Twentyfive Mile Wash (EgyptDP-01).  On the drive in this is generally in good condition as you drop down a hill into then across the wash.  Driving back out can be a little difficult with a 2WD vehicle since the hill is steep and a little speed may be required.  The rough wash leading to the hill may make it difficult to get up to speed.

After crossing Twentyfive Mile Wash, continue on the Egypt road for about 3.2 miles to where the road crosses over the Egypt 1 drainage (pkEgypt1).  At this drainage there is what appears to be a road forking to the left going up the Egypt 1 drainage.  Do not turn left here but instead continue along the well traveled Egypt road.

About 0.7 miles farther the Egypt road crosses the Egypt 1.5 drainage (pkEgypt1.5).  If you are not looking for it and you may not notice passing by this drainage while on the road.

About 0.5 miles farther the Egypt road crosses the Egypt 2 drainage (PkEgypt2).  The head of Egypt 2 Canyon can be seen to the left (east) less than 100 feet away.   Just after crossing this drainage while driving past here is a rough section where you will need a high clearance vehicle to navigate through the slickrock in the drainage.  A 2WD vehicle can make it but it may damage the vehicle.

About 650 feet after passing the Egypt 2 drainage is a hill you will need to drive up (EgyptDP-02).  To drive up this hill high clearance is needed.  Low clearance vehicles will have issues with this spot.  4WD recommended but not absolutely needed.  A 2WD vehicle will need to get a run at this hill and need to pick just the right line to get up the hill.  I 4WD will make it up the hill with ease.

About 1.4 miles farther will be a fork in the road (extEgypt9420).  The fork to the left (north) on the drive in goes to a road which is the continuation of the Egypt road and is signed as 9420. The fork to the right (east) on the drive in goes over to a well used trailhead / parking area for the area.  Turn right at the fork and travel about 0.6 miles to the end of the road at the trailhead (pkEgypt5).  Park here to begin the route.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

No exit vehicle is needed.  This is done as a loop route.

Maps

GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom.  For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the Glossary page.

Map Link Icon
Click the links for maps of the route. Map one of the drive into the route.
Map two of the drive into the route.
Map of the entire route.
Map of the Upper section.
Map of the Lower section.

Details

The Approach:
From the trailhead (pkEgypt5), walk south about 800 feet to get up onto the top of hill there.  From the top of the hill (wEgypt5RP-01) continue south about 200 feet over to the rim looking down over Egypt 5 Canyon.

When you get over to the rim route find your way down the rim and traverse left (east) as you do heading toward the head of the main drainage.  As you drop down you will find yourself on a rock ledge.  Follow the rock ledge toward the head of the drainage to find a weakness (wEgypt5RP-02) where you can easily scramble down off the ledge and into the canyon.

Once down in Egypt 5 follow the drainage south a little over 900 feet to where the drainage begins to drop off steeply and slot up (yEgypt5Tp).

The Canyoneering / Technical Section - UPPER EGYPT 5:
From the top of Egypt 5 (yEgypt5Tp), downclimb the drop at the head of the canyon.  The downclimb is about 70 feet and looks intimidating from the top since you can not see all of it.  The downclimb is moderately easy the whole way down as work your way down the sloped V-slot.

Note:
As you start down this downclimb evaluate it and be sure you can climb back up it.  You will be leaving your rope at the top of rap 1 and retrieving it on your hike back out.  To retrieve the rope you As you start down this downclimb evaluate it and be sure you can climb back up it.  You will be leaving your rope at the top of rap 1 and retrieving it on your hike back out.  To retrieve the rope you will need to downclimb this drop, get your rope and upclimb this drop again.

Rap 1 (dEgypt-R1) is a little over 100 feet down canyon after the downclimb and is anchored from rocks strewn about the canyon floor.  Rap 1 drops a total of about 300 feet over two long stages with some horizontal travel in a skinny slot between stages.  Of note the first stage is about 155 feet to a very skinny spot with little room to move freely.  That skinny spot has one place you will need to take your pack off to squeeze down canyon toward the top of the second stage.

Note:
Rap 1 can be broken up into 2 rappels by using a choke stone anchor for stage 2 but this is not recommended.  By breaking the rap up into two separate rappels you will need to pull the ropes on the first stage in a very awkward skinny spot, carry more rope through the skinny canyon below and create more rope grooving due to where the ropes need to be pulled from.  If you bring one long rope and rap all the way through you can travel lighter in the skinny canyon, carry less weight on your hike out, pull the rope from the top on your hike out and create less rope grooves as a result.

Just down canyon of rap 1 is a skinny section that is VERY skinny where you will not fit.  When the walls get to a comfortable width begin squirming your way up the crack with knees on one wall and your back on the other wall.  You will need to climb up about 20 feet to get up to where the walls V out allowing travel by stemming down canyon (wEgypt5RP-03).  You will want a small pack and body armor.  and be prepared to work for it.

After getting up the upclimb travel down canyon about 30 feet where you can swoop down into a pocket that widens out where you can start to work your way down to some choke stones.  Aim for going over the top of the choke stone where you will be about 25 to 30 feet off the deck.

Continue down canyon by stemming up at about a 30 degree angle following where the comfortable width and feature take you.  At times you will be up to about 40 feet off the deck.  Most of the time the moves are secure and easy with back and feet on the walls.  In a couple spots the walls widen below where you will have potential to fall the full 40+ feet down.

About 300 feet down canyon of where you climbed up you will be able to downclimb back to the canyon floor by slithering about 30 feet down over a large choke stone.

After getting to the ground you can walk down canyon in a narrow corridor on a soft sand floor.  A few hundred feet down canyon is a ramp going up the LDC wall while a skinny slot starts down the RDC side.  Go into the skinny slot where you will stem up about 5 feet or one spot places.  About 60 feet down canyon it widens out again.

A short distance down canyon is a subway like spot to walk in where spots will be skinny enough that you need to take your pack off to get through.  Even big barrel chested people will make it through here ok.  There are spots in the subway like area that could hold shin deep water at times.

The canyon continues to get wider and wider.  A few hundred feet farther down canyon the canyon widens out onto a wide slickrock patio (wEgypt5RP-04).  At the end of the patio is another slot to drop down into with a downclimb of about 20 feet to a pothole below in a skinny slot.  With a little effort you can stem down to then over the pothole at the bottom.

Just around the corner is another easy downclimb of about 8 feet then continue walking on a sandy floor a short distance to another drop of about 15 feet that leads down to some short slot features with potholes that go on for about 100 feet.  This section is the last part of the canyon and is easily bypassed by walking around it on the LDC side.  This is the final section of upper Egypt 5 (yEgypt5UprBt).

Note:
If you are doing just the upper technical section you exit the canyon here by going a few hundred feet up the side drainage to where you can begin scrambling / route finding your way back up to the top of the canyon.

If you are also doing the lower technical section continue down canyon with a mix of slick rock hiking and wash walking.

Exit out from the bottom of Upper Egypt 5:
Use this route if you are doing Upper Egypt 5 only and are heading back to the trailhead right after.

From the bottom of upper Egypt 5 (yEgypt5UprBt), turn left to walk northeast up what feels like a side drainage coming in from LDC.  Walk about 500 feet to get to where the slopes on the left get less steep (wEgypt5RP-40) allowing access to walk up out of the drainage to the north back toward the top of Upper Egypt 5.

From here route find your way back to the head of Upper Egypt 5 by rim walking back up canyon staying 200 to 300 feet away from the canyon.  As you are working your way back up you may feel the urge to aim for the top of the mesa.  Assuming you left a rope at the rappel in Upper Egypt 5, you will want to go back to the head of the canyon to retrieve your rope.  Do not aim for the mesa top but instead work your way back over toward the rim of the canyon and rim walk your way back to the head of Upper Egypt 5.

Once back to the head of Upper Egypt 5 (yEgypt5Tp) downclimb the 70 feet downclimb and make your way down to rap 1 where you can retrieve the rope you left there.  Then climb back up to the head of the canyon with your rope.

To exit back to the trailhead you can travel up canyon and retrace your steps on the way in.  Or you can walk about 700 feet northwest to where you scramble up another weakness in the rim where you can scramble up next to a tree (wEgypt5RP-41).

After getting up the weakness in the rim, route find your way north about 0.2 miles back to the trailhead (pkEgypt5).

Hike Down from bottom of Upper Egypt 5 to the top of Lower Egypt 5:
From the bottom of upper Egypt 5 (yEgypt5UprBt),  Walk down the water course in wide open wash and rolling slick rock as it bends to the right traveling from southeast to southwest.

About 0.34 miles down canyon is the start of a slot (wEgypt5RP06) that is about 700 feet long. 

The entire slot can be bypassed by making your way up the LDC bank just before the slot then route finding your way along the rim past the slot then back down into wide open drainage.

If you decide to play through the slot, the first 500 feet of the slot is pretty sculpted narrows with a couple downclimbs of about 6 or 8 feet before reaching a large pothole.  The last 200 feet of slot has 2 or 3 potholes that may be difficult to get out of and may require pothole escape gear.  On our visit there we climbed out the RDC side just before the large pothole and bypassed the 200 foot long lower section.

If you are in a hurry this bypassing this slot entirely is quick and simple.  If you want to avoid the potholes in the last 200 feet of the slot you can climb out on the RDC just before a large pothole.  If you have the time I think it is worth visiting the first 500 feet of this slot since it is fun and scenic.

After the 700 foot long slot ends (wEgypt5RP07) the drainage is wide open wash and slickrock again and almost doesn't feel like you are in a drainage any longer since it is so wide open.  As you continue down canyon of this bypassable slot there will be a couple sections that feel like they are going to slot up but are easy walk through sections except one spot about 50 feet long.

About 0.5 miles down canyon of the bypassable slot is the top of Lower Egypt 5 (yEgypt5LwrTp).  This is where Lower Egypt 5 begins to slot up and get narrow. 

The Canyoneering / Technical Section - LOWER EGYPT 5:
From the start of the slot of Lower Egypt 5 (yEgypt5LwrTp) the first 170 feet will have stemming / galumphing in a narrow slot about 8 feet off the deck with one silo like feature to go down into then back up out of.  The next 150 feet will be galumphing off the deck in a wide open feeling V-slot.  After the V-slot will be one more short narrow section with a couple silo like features to play over before dropping to the ground and walking for about 80 feet to a boulder debris pile and start of another narrow slot (wEgypt5RP08).

Starting into the slot just after the boulder debris (wEgypt5RP08) you will need to stem / galumph high as the floor drops out below you but is too narrow to go low.  Travel is pretty easy stemming and galumphing with a couple of slightly awkward gapers to get over.  You will be 25 to 30 feet off the deck with log jambs and debris between the tight walls below.  After the gapers is a subway like section to galumph through where travel is easy since the slot below you is only about a foot wide.  Note that you are now about 35 feet off the deck.

Just after the subway is another gaper / silo that is challenging to get across.  The silo is narrow enough to stem high and go over but the walls slope the wrong way making this difficult, a lot of work and dangerous with very high penalty points if you fall.  The safer option is to drop part way down into then go back up the other side of this silo.  Dropping down into this feature is pretty awkward and will be easier for tall people who can then partner assist shorter people.  While dropping down you will get to a fin where you should face RDC and slide down the LDC side of the fin.  As you slide around the nose of the fin you will find a couple of very solid hand holds on the RDC wall (which is why you want to face RDC).  As you lower yourself around the nose of the fin, spread your legs to find good footing (this is where being tall helps).  Climbing up the other side of the silo is fairly easy.

Shortly after the silo crossing the slot widens out where you will be galumphing in a V-slot about 30 feet off the deck.  After a short distance the V-slot abruptly ends where the walls widen out but you are still about 25 feet off the deck (dEgypt-R2).  Getting down to the canyon floor is best done with two people since there is nothing to anchor from here.  One person provides a meat anchor for someone to get down then the last person can be assisted by those on the ground with the last part of the drop.  All but the last 8 to 10 feet are down climbable where the walls bell out wide.  An aggressive partner assist may be needed to get the last person down.   Once on the ground walk down canyon as the walls begin to get farther apart.

A little over 400 feet down canyon is the start of the next slot (wEgypt5RP09).  This slot quickly gets to a drop where you will need to make an awkward downclimb through a narrow crack that will deposit you out into a deep silo / pothole.  On our visit this was full of water and the downclimb would have been about 12 feet or so to the top of the water which was a swim for about 8 to 10 feet.  On the other side of the pool is a narrow spot to get through which most people will be able to do so with their head above water.  A swim of about 60 feet gets you over to a wide sandy spot. 

Note:
Just before entering this short slot you can climb out the LDC side to exit the canyon but it is a little sketchy as you climb up along a crack.  When we explored this lower section we exited here to rim walk a ways to see what was ahead then rappelled back down in just after the silo and swam up to go look at it.

About 100 feet down canyon is rap 3 (dEgypt-R3) which is anchored about 15 to 20 feet back from the drop from a rock fin attached to the canyon floor which has been buried in sand so you may need to dig for it.  Rap 3 drops about 50 feet to a huge pool with just a little bit of overhang near the bottom.  Depending on conditions and if you are careful you might be able to get off rappel on dry land.

Note:
It looks like you can easily upclimb out of the canyon from the top of rap 3 on the LDC side but we did not confirm this. 

The pool at the bottom of rap 3 is huge and like an oasis in the desert that is very enjoyable to jump and swim in during hot weather with a shady alcove on the RDC side.

After rap 3 the canyon is a very wide winding corridor that is non-technical and pretty.  The first few hundred feet has some vegetation you will need to bushwhack though portions of.  As you travel through the vegetation keep an eye out for Poison Ivy.

About 0.32 miles down canyon after rap 3 is pour off (wEgypt5RP10) on the RDC side of the canyon from 40 or 50 feet up. This is where the side drainage comes in that is shown on the map and is just before the canyon turns sharp left.

A little over 400 feet farther down canyon is the upper end of a slot (wEgypt5RP11) that is about 200 feet long which can be easily bypassed by walking the features and ledges on the LDC side.

About 500 feet farther down canyon the LDC wall has a gentle slope allowing you to scramble up and out on the LDC (north) side where a small trough like drainage drops in (yEgypt5LwrBt).

Exit out from the bottom of Lower Egypt 5:
Starting from the trough like drainage (yEgypt5LwrBt) scramble up the LDC (north) side.  Route find your way up to the rim continuing mostly north.  When you make it to the rim (wEgypt5RP12) you will notice wide open spaces that are very forgiving on navigation.  Once up on the rim travel north about 0.55 miles to get back to the top of Lower Egypt 5.  Route finding is easy in this forgiving terrain.

Once back in the drainage above Lower Egypt 5 (yEgypt5LwrTp), look north for the tallest sandstone peak about 0.75 miles away.  Route find your way over toward that peak and around the left (west) side of it.  The peak you are aiming for is the peak on the west side of Upper Egypt 5.

As you get around the left (west) side of the peak (wEgypt5RP13) and make your way around it you will see a valley like area on the north side of the peak.  Follow that valley down and around to the right (east) to get to the top of Upper Egypt 5.  Assuming you left a rope at the head of Egypt 5 go grab your rope.

From the head of Upper Egypt 5 (yEgypt5Tp) walk about 700 feet northwest to where you scramble up another weakness in the rim where you can scramble up next to a tree (wEgypt5RP-41).

After getting up the weakness in the rim, route find your way north about 0.2 miles back to the trailhead (pkEgypt5).

GPS Waypoint Information

Downloadable GPX files available at BG-Gear Store (easier than manual entry and a great way to support Bluugnome).
Waypoint naming convention and map symbol information can be found on the Glossary page.  Elevations are approximate.
BEFORE manually entering coordinates set your system to WGS84 datum and Lat/Lon hddd.ddddd° coordinate format. 
Inconsistent datum's and coordinate formats will result in location errors.

Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........
Egypt 5 (1) - Drive to Trailhead
  1. extHoleInRock          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.72769   W -111.53143        Elev: NaN Feet
    Turn off to Hole-In-The-Rock road from Hwy 12.
  2. extEgypt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.54114   W -111.36176        Elev: 5,279 Feet
    Turn off to the Egypt Road to the east (left on the drive in on Hole in the Rock road..
  3. EgyptDP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.56107   W -111.30718        Elev: 4,924 Feet
    Egypt Road crosses over Twentyfive Mile Wash. Generally in good condition but may be a little difficult to get back up the hill on the drive back to the Hole in the Rock road. The hill is steep up out of the wash and a 2WD vehicle will need a little speed which is difficult since crossing the wash can be rough.
  4. pkEgypt1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57269   W -111.25778        Elev: NaN Feet
    Park here to start the Egypt 1 route.
  5. pkEgypt1.5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57647   W -111.24791        Elev: NaN Feet
    Park here to start the Egypt 1.5 route.
  6. PkEgypt2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58118   W -111.24291        Elev: NaN Feet
    Park here to start down Egypt 2 canyon. Just after crossing this drainage while driving past here is a rough section where you will need a high clearance vehicle to navigate through the slickrock in the drainage.
  7. EgyptDP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58278   W -111.24086        Elev: 5,455 Feet
    Top of a hill where clearance is needed. 4WD recommended but not absolutely needed. 2wd will need to muscle up with some speed and choose just the right line.
  8. extEgypt9420          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.59581   W -111.22649        Elev: 5,707 Feet
    Fork in the Egypt road. The fork to the left (north) on the drive in goes to a road is the continuation of the Egypt road and is signed as 9420. The fork to the right (east) on the drive in goes over to a well used trailhead / parking area for the area.
  9. pkEgypt5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.59306   W -111.21827        Elev: 5,620 Feet
    Parking and trailhead for multiple routes in the area. Rooutes like Neon, Choprock, Egypt 5 and many others.
Egypt 5 (2) - Upper Egypt 5 Only
  1. pkEgypt5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.59306   W -111.21827        Elev: 5,620 Feet
    Parking and trailhead for multiple routes in the area. Rooutes like Neon, Choprock, Egypt 5 and many others.
  2. wEgypt5RP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.59091   W -111.21876        Elev: 5,680 Feet
    Top of the hill south of the Egypt Trailhead area. Continue south over to the rim overlooking Egypt 5.
  3. wEgypt5RP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.59036   W -111.21796        Elev: NaN Feet
    Weakness in a rock ledge which allows an easy scramble down into the Egypt 5 drainage.
  4. yEgypt5Tp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58803   W -111.21832        Elev: 5,400 Feet
    Egypt 5 Top - 4A II or III X- or X. Top of upper Egypt 5 where it starts to drop steeply and slot up. Egypt 5 has an upper and lower section separated by a long section of slick rock hiking. At this spot is downclimb of about 70 feet and looks intimidating from the top since you can not see all of it. The downclimb is moderately easy the whole way down as work your way down the sloped V-slot.
  5. dEgypt-R1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58773   W -111.21785        Elev: NaN Feet
    Rap 1 - Egypt 5. Anchored from rocks strewn around the canyon floor and drops a total of about 300 feet over two long stages with some horizontal travel in a skinny slot between stages. Of note the first stage is about 155 feet to a very skinny spot with little room to move freely. That skinny spot has one place you will need to take your pack off to squeeze down canyon toward the top of the second stage. Bring a long rope and do the two stages as one rappel leaving your rope behind. Then pick up your rope on the hike out of the area. This is safer, less work, easier to travel light in the skinny sections and create less rope grooving.
  6. wEgypt5RP-03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58736   W -111.21750        Elev: NaN Feet
    This is approximately where a 20 foot upclimb is where you need to climb up over a skinny spot in the canyon to get to where the walls V out allowing stemming travel down canyon. This section is about 300 feet long where you will be over 40 feet up off the deck. At the end of the skinny section you can downclimb over a large chokestone and slither about 3o feet to the ground.
  7. wEgypt5RP-04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58570   W -111.21449        Elev: NaN Feet
    Wide slickrock patio. At the end of the patio is another slot to drop down into with a downclimb of about 20 feet to a pothole below in a skinny slot. With a little effort you can stem down to then over the pothole at the bottom.
  8. wEgypt5RP-05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58566   W -111.21383        Elev: NaN Feet
    Drop of about 15 feet that leads down to some short slot features with potholes that go on for about 100 feet. This section is the last part of the canyon and is easily bypassed by walking around it on the LDC side.
  9. yEgypt5UprBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58551   W -111.21342        Elev: 5,080 Feet
    Bottom of the upper technical section of Egypt 5. This is where a side drainage comes in from LDC. If you are doing just the upper technical section you exit the canyon here by going a few hundred feet up the side drainage to where you can begin scrambling / route finding your way back up to the top of the canyon. If you are also doing the lower technical section continue down canyon with a mix of slick rock hiking and wash walking.
  10. wEgypt5RP-40          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58685   W -111.21305        Elev: NaN Feet
    A spot about 500 feet up what feel like a side drainage where you can now easily walk up to the north to rim walk back up to the head of Upper Egypt 5.
  11. wEgypt5RP-41          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58948   W -111.21979        Elev: 5,560 Feet
    Bottom of a weakness where you scramble / climb up by a tree to get up one level to exit. After getting to the top of this route find your way north back to the trailhead about 0.2 miles away.
  12. pkEgypt5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.59306   W -111.21827        Elev: 5,620 Feet
    Parking and trailhead for multiple routes in the area. Rooutes like Neon, Choprock, Egypt 5 and many others.
Egypt 5 (3) - Lower Egypt 5 Only
  1. pkEgypt5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.59306   W -111.21827        Elev: 5,620 Feet
    Parking and trailhead for multiple routes in the area. Rooutes like Neon, Choprock, Egypt 5 and many others.
  2. wEgypt5RP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.59091   W -111.21876        Elev: 5,680 Feet
    Top of the hill south of the Egypt Trailhead area. Continue south over to the rim overlooking Egypt 5.
  3. wEgypt5RP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.59036   W -111.21796        Elev: NaN Feet
    Weakness in a rock ledge which allows an easy scramble down into the Egypt 5 drainage.
  4. yEgypt5Tp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58803   W -111.21832        Elev: 5,400 Feet
    Egypt 5 Top - 4A II or III X- or X. Top of upper Egypt 5 where it starts to drop steeply and slot up. Egypt 5 has an upper and lower section separated by a long section of slick rock hiking. At this spot is downclimb of about 70 feet and looks intimidating from the top since you can not see all of it. The downclimb is moderately easy the whole way down as work your way down the sloped V-slot.
  5. wEgypt5RP-40          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58685   W -111.21305        Elev: NaN Feet
    A spot about 500 feet up what feel like a side drainage where you can now easily walk up to the north to rim walk back up to the head of Upper Egypt 5.
  6. yEgypt5UprBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58551   W -111.21342        Elev: 5,080 Feet
    Bottom of the upper technical section of Egypt 5. This is where a side drainage comes in from LDC. If you are doing just the upper technical section you exit the canyon here by going a few hundred feet up the side drainage to where you can begin scrambling / route finding your way back up to the top of the canyon. If you are also doing the lower technical section continue down canyon with a mix of slick rock hiking and wash walking.
  7. wEgypt5RP06          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58133   W -111.21122        Elev: 5,010 Feet
    Start of a slot about 700 feet long. Entire slot can be bypassed by making your way up the LDC bank just before the slot then route finding your way along the rim past the slot then back down into wide open drainage. The first 500 feet of the slot is pretty sculpted narrows with a couple downclimbs of about 6 or 8 feet before reaching a large pothole.  The last 200 feet of slot has 2 or 3 potholes that may be difficult to get out of and may require pothole escape gear.  On our visit there we climbed out the RDC side just before the large pothole and bypassed the 200 foot long lower section.
  8. wEgypt5RP07          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57988   W -111.21272        Elev: 4,955 Feet
    Bottom end of a narrow section about 700 feet long that can be played thorugh or bypassed LDC.
  9. yEgypt5LwrTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57357   W -111.21310        Elev: 4,890 Feet
    This is where Lower Egypt 5 begins to slot up and get narrow. The first 170 feet will have stemming / galumphing in a narrow slot about 8 feet off the deck with one silo like feature to go down into then back up out of. The next 150 feet will be galumphing off the deck in a wide open feeling V-slot. After the V-slot will be one more short narrow section with a couple silo like features to play over before dropping to the ground and walking for about 80 feet to a boulder debris pile and start of another narrow slot. When navigating back to the trailhead from here look north for the tallest sandstone peak about 0.75 miles away. route find your way toward that peak and around the left (west) side of it.
  10. wEgypt5RP08          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57238   W -111.21326        Elev: NaN Feet
    Boulder debris pile and start of another slot. First part of the slot is easy travel with a couple minor gapers and some subway galumphing. After the subway you will be 35 feet off the deck where there is a silo you will need to drop into to cross which will be easier for tall people who can then assist shorter people. As you drop into the silo face RDC to slide down along a fin where you will find good solid hand hold on the RDC side to lower yourself whil spreading your legs to find good footing.
  11. dEgypt-R2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57190   W -111.21323        Elev: NaN Feet
    Rap 2 - Egypt 5. First rap in Lower Egypt 5. The V-slot abruptly ends here where the walls widen out but you are still about 25 feet off the deck. Getting down to the canyon floor is best done with two people since there is nothing to anchor from here. One person provides a meat anchor for someone to get down then the last person can be assisted by those on the ground with the last part of the drop. All but the last 8 to 10 feet are down climbable where the walls bell out wide. An aggressive partner assist may be needed to get the last person down. Once on the ground walk down canyon a little over 400 feet to the start of the next slot.
  12. wEgypt5RP09          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57080   W -111.21296        Elev: NaN Feet
    Start of a short slot that quickly gets to a drop where you will need to make an awkward downclimb through a narrow crack that will deposit you out into a deep silo / pothole.  On our visit this was full of water and the downclimb would have been about 12 feet or so to the top of the water which was a swim for about 8 to 10 feet.  On the other side of the pool is a narrow spot to get through which most people will be able to do so with their head above water.  A swim of about 60 feet gets you over to a wide sandy spot. 
  13. dEgypt-R3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.57018   W -111.21307        Elev: NaN Feet
    Rap 3 - Egypt 5. Final rap in Lower Egypt 5. Drops about 50 feet to a huge pool and is anchored about 15 to 20 feet back from the drop from a rock fin attached to the canyon floor which has been buried in sand so you may need to dig for it.  Depending on conditions and if you are careful you might be able to get off rappel on dry land. It looks like you can easily upclimb out of the canyon from the top of rap 3 on the LDC side but we did not confirm this. The pool at the bottom of rap 3 is huge and like an oasis in the desert that is very enjoyable to jump and swim in during hot weather with a shady alcove on the RDC side. Watch for Poison Ivy down canyon of here.
  14. wEgypt5RP10          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.56599   W -111.21417        Elev: NaN Feet
    Pour off on the RDC side of the canyon from 40 or 50 feet up. This is where the side drainage comes in that is shown on the map and is just before the canyon turns sharp left.
  15. wEgypt5RP11          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.56525   W -111.21299        Elev: 4,740 Feet
    Upper end of a slot that is about 200 feet long which can be easily bypassed by walking the features and ledges on the LDC side.
  16. yEgypt5LwrBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.56558   W -111.21060        Elev: 4,740 Feet
    Small trough like draiange on the LDC side where you can scramble up out of Lower Egypt 5 on the LDC (north) side.
  17. wEgypt5RP12          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.56709   W -111.21140        Elev: 4,880 Feet
    This is an arbitray point on the rim chosen since this is wide open easy to navigate terrain. From here route find your way about 0.55 miles north to get to back to th draiange above Lower Egypt 5.
  18. wEgypt5RP13          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58456   W -111.21962        Elev: 5,440 Feet
  19. wEgypt5RP-41          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.58948   W -111.21979        Elev: 5,560 Feet
    Bottom of a weakness where you scramble / climb up by a tree to get up one level to exit. After getting to the top of this route find your way north back to the trailhead about 0.2 miles away.
  20. pkEgypt5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.59306   W -111.21827        Elev: 5,620 Feet
    Parking and trailhead for multiple routes in the area. Rooutes like Neon, Choprock, Egypt 5 and many others.

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