Canyoneering Route Description

Fallen Angel Canyon - 4A II
Dirty Devil Area, Utah.

Quick Facts

10-18-13, 3 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 4.2 hours)

Time Required - 4 to 5.5 hours
Distance - 2.9 miles Total, 0.3 miles Technical
Rappels - 6 Rappels, Longest Rappel 100 feet.  More rope may be required if you do not extend the webbing for rap 4. See notes below.
Elevation Range - 4850 - 4150 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - High Clearance or carefully driven passenger car Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 100 feet and 60 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement. 

General Comments

Fallen Angel is a fun scenic short route. 

60 feet of webbing was chosen as a recomendation since rap 4 needs to have the webbing extended for this anchor to make the 100 foot rap length work.  If the anchor webbing is not extended a longer rope will be needed. 

Both raps 4 and 5 can have rope pull issues so excercise caution here and do test pulls if needed. 

Note:
Fallen Angel Canyon does not have a lot of water holding capacity but if there are recent rains you may expect some shallow water in few places but not much more.

Note:
There are a couple rock art panels to check out on the exit.  See the route description for details on finding them.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

From the junction of highway 95 and highway 24 in Hanksville Utah, drive 10.2 miles south on highway 95 to an un-named dirt road on the left (extAngelTrlRd).  The road has a BLM sign saying it goes out to the Angel Trail.  Turn left (east) on the Angel Trail road and ignore smaller dirt roads that branch off.  

2.4 miles from the highway will be a Y in the road (ex0100-0101DD).   Turn left at this Y and continue toward the Angel Canyons on the road labeled 0100.

Stay on road 0100 for 5.9 miles to a turn off to another road on the right (ex1002DD).  Do not turn right on this road but instead continue north for another 0.33 miles to an un-marked dirt road on the right (exAngelCove). Turn right onto the un-marked road and drive 0.36 miles to a large parking area (tAngelCove) to start the route. 

Note: Some vehicles may have issues on the last part of the road if the road has not been recently maintained.  If this is the case you can park at the junction and walk in 0.36 miles to the TH.

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.

Click the links for maps of the route. Map of the drive into the route.
Map of the entire route.
Map of the technical section.
Map of the last portion of the exit.

Details

The Approach:
From the parking spot / trailhead (tAngelCove), follow a use trail north about 500 feet down into the side of the North Fork of Angel Cove Drainage.

Once down in the draiange for Angel Cove North Fork (jAngelCoveNFTp) continue up out of the north side of the drainage up a dirt side ravine about 400 feet to the bottom of a dirt ridge which can be followed up to rolling open desert above (wFallenAng01).

Once up in the rolling desert (wFallenAng01) look for the Flat Tops off in the distance to the northast and walk directly toward the Big Flat Top. The upper shallow dirt drainage of Fallen Angel is about 0.3 miles away (jFallenAngel).

Turn right and follow down the dirt drainage about 0.3 miles to where the draiange starts to slot up a little in a red clay like area (yFallenAngelTp).

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
From where the canyon slots up in a red clay area (yFallenAngelTp) continue about 200 feet down canyon to the top of rap 1.

Rap 1 (dFallenAngR1) is anchored from a rock pile about 10 feet back from the lip and drops about 90 feet with most of it being vertical wall and a little bit of a sharp lip near the top.

Rap 2 (dFallenAngR2) is a little over 100 feet down canyon, is anchored from a rock pile about 10 feet back from the lip and drops about 35 feet (45 feet of rope travel from anchor) down a sloped wall.

Rap 3 is a little over 300 feet down canyon with a few drops of about 5 feet to easily downclimb.

Rap 3 (dFallenAngR3) is anchored from a few large rocks at the top of the drop and drops about 70 feet down vertical wall with a ledge about 20 feet from the bottom.

Rap 4 is about 100 feet down canyon with a drop of about 6 feet to easily downclimb.

Rap 4 (dFallenAngR4) is anchored LDC from a rock pile and drops about 100 feet over two stages. The 100 foot rating is if you extend the anchor webbing all the way to the lip to reduce rope grooves. Not extending the anchor webbing will require more rope. As you drop down the second stage you are twisting down around a corner to the left which can make rope pull a bit of an issue so be careful and do a test pull.

Rap 5 is about 80 feet down canyon with a double drop of about 15 feet then about 8 feet just before rap 5. You may need to slide the last few feet of the first stage while the second stage can be downcibed by walking along a ledge. Jast after this double drop is rap 5.

Rap 5(dFallenAngR5) is anchored from a huge boulder protruding from the canyon floor about 20 feet back and drops about 55 feet over 2 stages with an awkward start.  Be very careful with rope placement to prevent getting the rope stuck in one of the cracks on rap 5.

Down canyon of rap 5 are 4 down climbs of 5 to feet each all easy.

About 200 feet down canyon of rap 5 the canyon opens up wide (wFallenAng02).  Here you can make an early exit if desired  by scrambling up about 250 feet on the LDC side up to where you can then turn and work your way down dirt slopes to the Dirty Devil River if you want to exit the canyon here.

Rap 6 (dFallenAngR6) is about 400 feet down canyon, is anchored from a rock protruding from the canyon floor about 8 feet back and drops about 70 feet through a short slot at the top and a vertical wall below.

About 150 feet down canyon is a drop of about 12 feet (wFallenAng03) that you can rappel if you like or bypass via a ledge on the LDC side. If you bypass you will still have a drop of about 6 feet to get down which may require a partner assist.

About 250 feet down canyon the Fallen Angel draiange meets the Dirty Devil River (yFallenAngelBt). 

The Exit:
From where Fallen Angel meets the Dirty Devil (yFallenAngelBt)

From the Fallen Angel Drainage (yFallenAngelBt) walk about 200 feet and look for a way to scramble up over some boulder debris then down to use trails following along the base of the huge flat wall.

Follow the use trail along the very base of this rediculously huge flat wall for about 1,000 feet to near the other end of the wall where there is boulder debris (wFallenAng05).  Depending on what use trail you followed along the wall you may find a rubble pile here you need to scramble up about 15 feet to find the use trails continuing. Shortly after here you will need to find your way down the rubble to the use trails thta travel right along the shore of the Dirty Devil.

Note: - Rock Art Pannel(s)
If you would like to check out some rock art there are some samples here.  To locate this start from the rubble pile at the south end of the wall and walk right at the base of the wall.

To find the first spot of art, look up and note a huge arch forming on the flat wall way up then a second smaller arch forming lower down. Just under the apex of the smaller arch is a rock that could be scrambled up onto. Just at the top of this rock is one area of rock art where you will find red paint making some symbols.

To find the second spot of art, travel south along the wall from the first spot about 100 feet to some carvings in the wall about head high.

Follow the use trails down along the bank of the Dirty Devil River for about 800 feet over to the bottom of the drainage for Angel Cove Canyon (yAngelCove-Bt) where it meets the Dirty Devil.

From the bottom of Angel Cove Canyon (yAngelCove-Bt). continue south on well defined use trail.

Note:
Very shortly after starting on the use trails, look about waist high on the cliff wall for rock art carvings(sAngelPetro02).  These are not as nice of rock art as the set to the north of here but worth a quick look just to check them out.  Better rock art carvings and some paint can be found about 750 feet north on the cliff walls of a HUGE flat wall the use trails go under.  More details of how to locate these can be found on the route description for Lost Angel and Hidden Angel.

Continue along the use trail for almost 500 feet to where it starts up a sand hill (AngelCvExit11).

About 375 feet further the trail briefly tops out (AngelCvExit12) then drops back down again.

About 200 feet further the trail briefly tops out again (AngelCvExit13).  There is a spot here you can upclimb to get to the next higher level that may be moderately difficult.  If you want to climb up here you can shortcut the route a little.

If you did not climb up yet, follow the use trail about 200 feet to another top out (AngelCvExit14) then about 220 feet to yet one more top out (AngelCvExit15) where it is an easy walk up to the shelf above.

Once up on the shelf above, veer right to walk southwest then west working your way over to a draiange (AngelCvExit16) going up to the west.

When you get to a large pothole in the wash (AngelCvExit17) exit the wash on the right (north) side and route find along the slickrock for about 200 feet to the bottom of a steep side ravine / slot with small potholes visible up in it (AngelCvExit18).

When get to this area you can begin to see the final cliff band you will be climbing up onto.  A good visual aid is the huge pocket / hole in the side of the cliff band.  Your goal is to navigate over to near that huge pocket and scramble up the ramp just to the left (west) of it.

From the bottom of this side ravine / slot, note a semi steep slickrock slope to the left (west) of the ravine.  Scramble you way up to the top of this slope (AngelCvExit19).

Walk north about 200 feet to the bottom of a trough like drainage running up (AngelCvExit20). Follow up this to go up toward the end of the red rock point above. You may need to use your hands in a few steep spots.

Walk up the slopes to get to a ramp like area just to the left of a huge pocket on the side of the cliff band above (AngelCvExit21).

Work your way up the ramp then scramble the dirt and rock debris up to the mesa top with rolling dirt desert above (AngelCvExit22).

Once up on the rolling desert, follow use trails west-ish roughly following the Angel Cove drainage on your right (north) side.

About 0.25 miles up the route will drop into a wash (yAngelCvSF-Tp) just above a shale shelf.  This is the top of the South Fork of Angel Cove.

Continue west up the wash about 450 feet to find one of many use trails (AngelCvExit23) leaving the wash going northwest up the steep dirt slopes.

The better use trail in this area seems to be the one going up the ridge to the left (west) of a hoodoo like rock feature protruding from the dirt slopes.

Once at the top of the dirt slopes (AngelCvExit24) walk northwest about 0.2 miles through rolling desert back to the trailhead (tAngelCove).

GPS Waypoint Information

Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........

1 Fallen Angel - Drive in to Trailhead

extAngelTrlRd          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.23613   W -110.64761        Elev: 4,810 Feet Exit off highway 95 to an un-named road that leads to the Angel Point areas. The BLM has a sign saying this road leads to the Angel Trail. ex0100-0101DD          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.24243   W -110.61040        Elev: NaN Feet This is a Y in the road. Turning left on the road labeled 0100 leads northeast toward the Angel Trail and to the Angel Canyons. Turning right on the road labeled 0101 leads southeast toward the Beaver Canyons and Balcony Canyons Area. ex1002DD          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.30851   W -110.55301        Elev: NaN Feet Turn right onto a dirt road here marked 1002 to go to Angel Slot. Continue straight to go to Angel Cove or Fallen Angel Canyon. exAngelCove          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31323   W -110.55147        Elev: NaN Feet Exit of of Road 0100 to the Angel Cove Canyon area. Turn right (northeast) onto an un-named road for about 0.35 miles to the TH for Angel Cove Canyons. To the left (northwest) road 0100 continues. tAngelCove          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31687   W -110.54710        Elev: 4,800 Feet Parking at the trailhead for Angel Cove Canyon. Enough space for up to about 4 cars. 2WD can make it here but the road can have some sand and rough spots where high clearance may be required. If your car will not get to here you can park at the road junction about 0.36 miles before getting here and walk in. Follow a use trail north down into the side of the North Fork of Angel Cove Drainage.

2 Fallen Angel - Approach

tAngelCove          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31687   W -110.54710        Elev: 4,800 Feet Parking at the trailhead for Angel Cove Canyon. Enough space for up to about 4 cars. 2WD can make it here but the road can have some sand and rough spots where high clearance may be required. If your car will not get to here you can park at the road junction about 0.36 miles before getting here and walk in. Follow a use trail north down into the side of the North Fork of Angel Cove Drainage. jAngelCoveNFTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31818   W -110.54666        Elev: NaN Feet To go down North Fork of Angel Cove, travel east down the wash. To continue over to Hidden Angel or Lost Angel, continue up out of the north side of the drainage up a dirt side ravine about 400 feet to get to a dirt ravine to travel up another 350 feet up to rolling open desert above. wFallenAng01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31976   W -110.54779        Elev: 4,850 Feet Top of the slope up onto open rolling desert. To get Fallen Angel and Lost Angel look for the Flat Tops off in the distance to the northast and walk directly toward the Big Flat Top. The upper shallow dirt drainage of Fallen Angel is about 0.3 miles away and the upper shallow dirt drainage of Lost angel is about 0.2 miles farther. jFallenAngel          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32330   W -110.54677        Elev: 4,840 Feet To go to Fallen Angel walk east and follow down the dirt runnels leading down. To continue to Lost Angel cross over this dirt drainage and continue northeast toward the Big Flat Top for about 0.2 miles to the next dirt draiange. yFallenAngelTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32383   W -110.54304        Elev: 4,710 Feet Top of Fallen Angel Canyon. Longest Rap 100 ft. This is where the draiange starts to slot up a little in a red clay like area.

3 Fallen Angel - Canyon

yFallenAngelTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32383   W -110.54304        Elev: 4,710 Feet Top of Fallen Angel Canyon. Longest Rap 100 ft. This is where the draiange starts to slot up a little in a red clay like area. dFallenAngR1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32367   W -110.54237        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 1 - Fallen Angel. Anchored from a rock pile about 10 feet back from the lip and drops about 90 feet with most of it being vertical wall and a little bit of a sharp lip near the top. dFallenAngR2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32366   W -110.54198        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 2 - Fallen Angel. Anchored from a rock pile about 10 feet back from the lip and drops about 35 feet (45 feet of rope travel from anchor) down a sloped wall. Between raps 2 and 3 is a few dros of about 5 feet to easily downclimb. dFallenAngR3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32362   W -110.54099        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 3 - Fallen Angel. Anchored from a few large rocks at the top of the drop and drops about 70 feet down vertical wall with a ledge about 20 feet from the bottom. Between raps 3 and 4 is a drop of about 6 feet to easily downclimb. dFallenAngR4          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32361   W -110.54050        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 4 - Fallen Angel. Anchored LDC from a rock pile and drops about 100 feet over two stages. The 100 foot rating is if you extend the anchor webbing all the way to the lip to reduce rope grooves. Not extending the anchor webbing will require more rope. As you drop down the second stage you are twisting down around a corner to the left. Just after rap 4 is a double drop of about 15 feet then about 8 feet. You may need to slide the last few feet of the first stage while the second stage can be downcibed by walking along a ledge. Jast after this double drop is rap 5. dFallenAngR5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32363   W -110.54020        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 5 - Fallen Angel. Anchored from a huge boulder protruding from the canyon floor about 20 feet back and drops about 55 feet over 2 stages with an awkward start. Be very careful with rope placement to prevent getting the rope stuck in one of the cracks on rap 5. Down canyon of rap 5 are 4 down climbs of 5 to feet each all easy. wFallenAng02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32360   W -110.53945        Elev: 4,270 Feet Slot opens up after some downclimbs. From hear you can scramble up about 250 feet on the LDC side up to where you can then turn and work your way down dirt slopes to the Dirty Devil River if you wat to exit the canyon here. dFallenAngR6          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32266   W -110.53883        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 6 Fallen Angel. Anchored from a rock protruding from the canyon floor about 8 feet back and drops about 70 feet through a short slot at the top and a vertical wall below. wFallenAng03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32233   W -110.53866        Elev: NaN Feet Drop of about 12 fee that you can rappel if you like or bypass via a ledge on the LDC side. If you bypass you will still have a drop of about 6 feet to get down wich may require a partner assist. yFallenAngelBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32209   W -110.53787        Elev: 4,180 Feet Bottom of Fallen Angel Canyon where it meets the Dirty Devil River. As you get close to the river look for a way up onto the bank to find use trails that will travel south down the river but high up on the ledges up out of the river along the base of the huge flat wall.

4 Fallen Angel - Exit

yFallenAngelBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32209   W -110.53787        Elev: 4,180 Feet Bottom of Fallen Angel Canyon where it meets the Dirty Devil River. As you get close to the river look for a way up onto the bank to find use trails that will travel south down the river but high up on the ledges up out of the river along the base of the huge flat wall. wFallenAng04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.32153   W -110.53833        Elev: NaN Feet Look for a way to scramble up over some boulder debris then down to use trails following along the base of the huge flat wall. sAngelPetro01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31888   W -110.53742        Elev: 4,260 Feet Rock art on the walls along the huge flat wall. To locate this start from the rubble pile at the south end of the wall and walk right at the base of the wall. To find the first spot of art, look up and note a huge arch forming on the flat wall way up then a second smaller arch forming lower down. Just under the apex of the smaller arch is a rock that could be scrambled up onto. Just at the top of this rock is one area of rock art where you will find red paint making some symbols. To find the second spot of art, travel south along the wall from the first spot about 100 feet to some carvings in the wall about head high. wFallenAng05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31878   W -110.53726        Elev: NaN Feet Trail is high up on a dirt ledge following along the wall. Depending on what use trail you followed along the wall you may find a rubble pile here you need to scramble up about 15 feet to find the use trails continuing. Shortly after here you will need to find your way down the rubble to the use trails thta travel right along the shore of the Dirty Devil. yAngelCove-Bt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31778   W -110.53510        Elev: 4,150 Feet Bottom of Angel Cove Canyon where it meets well worn trail running along the bank of the Dirty Devil River. Follow the trail southeast for the exit route. sAngelPetro02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31766   W -110.53467        Elev: NaN Feet Rock carvings in the wall about waist high. Not as many or as intricate as those north of Angel Cove though. AngelCvExit11          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31699   W -110.53365        Elev: NaN Feet Trail has been following a sandstone wall then gets to an open sandy area here with a use trail starting up a sand hill. Go up the sand hill to continue the exit. AngelCvExit12          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31610   W -110.53310        Elev: NaN Feet Trail briefly tops out. From here follow the use trail southish as it roughly follows another sandstone wall. AngelCvExit13          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31562   W -110.53275        Elev: NaN Feet Trail tops out again briefly. Follow the trail southish roughly following the wall. There is a trail from here over to the wall where you can scramble up to the shelf above. The scramble up here can be a little tricky but is not overly difficult. If you want an easier way up continue southish to a much easier way up. AngelCvExit14          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31503   W -110.53246        Elev: NaN Feet Trail tops out again with pretty level travel beyond. About 220 feet from here is a spot where the cliff band has dropped down to make an easy walk up onto the top. AngelCvExit15          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31443   W -110.53232        Elev: NaN Feet Trail comes to an easy walk up onto the cliff band you have been following here. Follow the use trail southwestish roughly following the drainage to the south. AngelCvExit16          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31361   W -110.53297        Elev: NaN Feet Follow the use trail over to and down in this side wash and follow westish about 400 feet up the wash. AngelCvExit17          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31332   W -110.53381        Elev: NaN Feet Large pothole in the wash. Makes good navigation aid as this is shortly before leaving the wash to exit up to the mesa above. AngelCvExit18          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31329   W -110.53458        Elev: NaN Feet Leave the wash here by walking northwest up the slickrock slope next to a side draiange commming in from the right (north) that has some small pothole like features. Walk up with the side drainage on your right (east). As a navigation aid this is about 250 feet or down canyon of where the wash you are in begins to have some slickrock slot like features which you can see froom this point. AngelCvExit19          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31347   W -110.53549        Elev: NaN Feet Top of the slope up out of the wash below and on the next higher shelf. Look northwest for the end of the red rock point on the mesa. Route find your way over toward the end of the point just to the left of a large obvious pocket in the cliff band. About 200 feet from herre is the bottom of a trough shaped drainage you cn scramble up on the way there. AngelCvExit20          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31401   W -110.53560        Elev: NaN Feet Bottom of a trough like drainage running up. Follow up this to go up toward the end of the red rock point above. You may need to use your hands in a few steep spots. AngelCvExit21          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31506   W -110.53794        Elev: NaN Feet Part way up a ramp just to the left of a large abvious pocket on the cliff side. Route find your way up the cliff side just left of the large pocket. You will need to climb up a couple spots and possibly assist one another. AngelCvExit22          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31537   W -110.53806        Elev: 4,740 Feet On the mesa top just above the large pocket in the dlif side. Walk west in wide open dirt roughly following along the canyon on the right (north) which is Angel Cove Canyon. yAngelCvSF-Tp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31503   W -110.54239        Elev: 4,755 Feet Use trail for the exit from the Dirty Devil River meets the wash of Angel Cove Cayon here. On the exit travel up the wash about 350 feet and exit to the north where convinient. To drop down the South fork of Angel Canyon continue down the wash over a small shale shelf. AngelCvExit23          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31466   W -110.54392        Elev: NaN Feet A few use trails up out of the wash developing here. For a visual aid look for a hoodoo like rock outcropping. The use trails are developing in the general vicinity of it with the best route being up the ridge to teh left (west) of the Hoodoo like outcropping. AngelCvExit24          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31498   W -110.54452        Elev: 4,840 Feet Up on open flat desert. Walk northwest about 0.2 miles to the cars. tAngelCove          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.31687   W -110.54710        Elev: 4,800 Feet Parking at the trailhead for Angel Cove Canyon. Enough space for up to about 4 cars. 2WD can make it here but the road can have some sand and rough spots where high clearance may be required. If your car will not get to here you can park at the road junction about 0.36 miles before getting here and walk in. Follow a use trail north down into the side of the North Fork of Angel Cove Drainage.