Canyoneering Route Description

Boltergeist Canyon - 3A I
Dixie National Forest (Pine Valley Dist.), Utah.

Quick Facts

10-17-10, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 2.25 hours)
04-20-13, 4 people, 1 Day (travel time in route 2 hours)

Time Required - 1.5 to 2.5 hours
Distance - 1.1 miles Total, 0.2 miles Technical
Rappels - 3 Rappels, Longest Rappel 100 feet. (optionally 150 feet)
Elevation Range - 4240 - 3837 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 100 feet and 30 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.  If you decide to turn the final rappel into a 150 foot rappel bring enough rope for that.

General Comments

Boltergeist is short and sweet.  While not as nice as Yankee Doodle Canyon, Boltergeist Canyon has a charm all its own and is a worthwhile adventure.   

The final rappel can be done with a 100 foot drop to a HUGE ledge.  Bypassing the drop on the down canyon side of the ledge is easy RDC or LDC.  If you decide to rappel the last ledge as well, bring enough rope for a 150 foot drop.  

I still need to work out the best exit but that will come later.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

From the junction of I15 and Highway 9 just north of St. George Utah: Drive north on I15 7.8 miles to exit 22 for the town of Leeds.  Then follow the frontage road 1.6 miles through Leeds to Silver Reef Road.  Turn left (west) and drive under the freeway.  

Note:
If you are driving south bound on I15 you will take the Leeds exit which will place you right down to the Silver Reef Road.  You will not need to drive a frontage road.  

After driving under the free way continue west on the Silver Reef Road.  1.5 miles from the freeway the pavement will end (wPineVlyDP-01) shortly after the road name changes to Oak Grove Road.  

About 450 feet after the pavement ends will be a road to the left.  Stay right and continue on Oak Grove Road.  

After another 1.5 miles will be a fork in the road (wPineVlyDP-02).  Stay left at the fork.  This is where you will leave Oak Grove Road.  

Another 0.7 miles and the road tops out (wPineVlyDP-03) where there is a huge turn out to park a few cars and get a good view of the surrounding area.  

Follow the road as it winds down the other side of the top out.  2.3 miles down from the top out the road will pass through a ranch area with fences on both sides of the road (wPineVlyDP-04).  

Drive 0.3 more miles where you will cross over a cattle guard (wPineVlyDP-05).  

Drive 0.4 miles past the cattle guard to an un-marked road (pkBoltergeist) going left (southeast).  This is where you would park if starting the Boltergeist 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.

Click the links for maps of the route. Map of the drive into the route.
Map of the entire route.

Details

The Approach:
From the parking spot (pkBoltergeist) follow the un-marked dirt road leading southwest.  Follow the road about 700 feet to where the road crosses a small patch of slick rock and the dirt turns from white to a reddish color (wBoltergst-RP1).  

As you cross the small slick rock patch turn right (south) and leave the road.  Walk over to the canyon on your right (which is Boltergeist) and find a way to walk down into it (yBoltergeistTp).

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
Once in Boltergeist (yBoltergeistTp) walk down canyon over a couple easy scrambles along the way.  

About 350 feet down canyon the floor turns to mostly slick rock with a few potholes around the wide area (wBoltergst-RP2).  

Shortly down canyon is a drop that can be down climbed but may be a bit sketchy for some.  This drop can be bypassed LDC along a ledge then turning back up canyon and walking down a ramp and ledge system to the floor below.  

About 200 feet down canyon of the first down climb (which will be bypassed by most people via the ledge) is the top of the second down climb.  The second down climb drops about 30 feet down a very narrow slot.  If you enjoy elevators or just want to practice them this is a very fun drop to elevator down.  There is a way to climb back up on the RDC side if you want to do it again.  There have been anchors set at the top of this for those that need a rope.  

Just after the elevator is the top of rap 1 (dBoltergeistR1).  Rap 1 is anchored from a small tree RDC and drops about 50 feet.  The top 35 feet is down a gently sloped fluted water channel and is easily slid down.  The last 10 to 15 feet are what make this a rappel since it drops off a sheer drop.  The drop at the bottom can be jumped but the ground is sloped and can easily twist and ankle.  

For a fun adventure lie down at the top of rap 1 and just slide down the first part in the trough holding the rope to use as a break when you get to the drop off.  Then set yourself up on rappel and rap down the drop.  The slide is a fun alternative to walking it while on rope.  

Rap 2 (dBoltergeistR2) is about 50 feet down canyon of rap 1.  Rap 2 is anchored from a large rock and drops about 50 feet to a long narrow pool about waist deep.  At the bottom of rap 2 is a long narrow pool about waist deep to wade through.  You can stem over this if you are careful and a decent stemmer.  

Rap 2 can be down climbed by most people but does have some exposure to make you think about what you are doing.  If down climbing it the start is awkward over a boulder and you should take your pack off to keep it from pushing you out too far.  

Down canyon of rap 2 things open up a bit.  There is a quick easy down climb on the way to rap 3.  

Rap 3 (dBoltergeistR3) is about 200 feet down canyon of rap 2 and is anchored from a tree.  Think about extending the anchor webbing at the top of rap 3 to help minimize rope pull groves in the rock.  

Rap 3 drops about 100 feet down to a ledge so a single 200 foot rope will work well for rap 3.  There is also a sloped ramp at the bottom leading down to the ledge.  If your ropes are a little short, no problem, you can rap only 80 feet to the top of sloped ramp and scramble down.  The drop down rap 3 has a long section of free hang and gives that big air rap feeling!  

Optionally you can rap over the ledge and have a total drop of about 150 feet.  But using the ledge as the stop point allows you to use a single 200 foot rope for the canyon.  

From the ledge at the bottom of rap 3 (100 foot drop option) you can scramble down the RDC or LDC side to get around to the bottom of the ledge.  The RDC direction is a little easier.  

Almost 200 feet down canyon of rap 3 is the end of Boltergeist Canyon where it meets Water Canyon (yBoltergeistBt).

The Exit:
When you get to Water Canyon (yBoltergeistTp), the exit route is left (north) up Water Canyon.   

You will be greeted with two options.  Option one is to stay up out of the water and follow some well used use trails along the left (west) side and start climbing up the rocky slope to get to the mesa above you.  We took this route on the only trip through here so far and that is not the route to take.  This will lead to some forth and light fifth class climbing to get to the top.  

The standard option, which I have no real beta for yet, is to drop down into the water course of Water Canyon.  Then turn left (north) and hike up canyon about 0.25 miles and look for a way to climb up the west side of the canyon to the mesa above.  If you do not find an easy way you can always continue all the way up Water Canyon to the road which will add a little distance to the route but should be an easy trek and not too long.  

What every route you take up, when you make it to the road turn left (south west) and walk about 0.3 miles back to your car.

GPS Waypoint Information

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

Boltergeist 1 - Drive in to Trailhead

extSilverReef          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24437   W -113.35337        Elev: 3,563 Feet Exit from I-15 to Silver Reef Road in Leeds UT. wPineVlyDP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25973   W -113.36945        Elev: NaN Feet Road changes names near hear from Silver Reef Road to Oak Grove Road. Pavemet also ends here. wPineVlyDP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.27133   W -113.38667        Elev: 4,440 Feet Stay left at the fork on the drive in to Yankee Doodle Canyon area. wPineVlyDP-03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.27223   W -113.39731        Elev: 4,820 Feet Road tops out here and has a big turn out for a few cars to park. wPineVlyDP-04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25790   W -113.42530        Elev: NaN Feet Road passes through a ranch area with fences on bothsides of the road. wPineVlyDP-05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25523   W -113.42883        Elev: NaN Feet Cattle gaurd in the road. pkBoltergeist          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25088   W -113.43272        Elev: 4,270 Feet Park here for the start of the Boltergeist route. There is an unsigned road leaving to the southeast or left side of the road on the drive in.

Boltergeist 2 - Approach and The Canyon

pkBoltergeist          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25088   W -113.43272        Elev: 4,270 Feet Park here for the start of the Boltergeist route. There is an unsigned road leaving to the southeast or left side of the road on the drive in. wBoltergst-RP1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25017   W -113.43057        Elev: 4,220 Feet Road crosses a small patchof slick rock and the dirt goes from white to reddish. yBoltergeistTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24972   W -113.43057        Elev: 4,210 Feet Top entry of Boltergeist. wBoltergst-RP2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25018   W -113.42956        Elev: NaN Feet This is where the canyon starts to have a more slick rock type floor with pot holes around. dBoltergeistR1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25065   W -113.42910        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 1 - Boltergeist. Anchored from a tree RDC and drops about 50 feet. The first 35 feet is down a sloped fluted channel and easily down climbed but the last 10 or 25 feet is a drop that can be jumped but not recommended. dBoltergeistR2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25077   W -113.42900        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 2 - Boltergeist. Anchored from a large rock and drops about 50 feet. Rap 2 can be down climbed by most people if you are ok with the exposure and an awkward strat over a boulder. dBoltergeistR3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25113   W -113.42845        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 3 - Boltergeist. Anchored from a tree and drops about 100 feet to a ledge with some free hang on the way down. Or you can continue down over the ledge for a total drop of 150 feet. yBoltergeistBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25124   W -113.42775        Elev: 3,815 Feet Exit of Boltergeist Canyon where it meets Water Canyon.

Boltergeist 3 - Exit

yBoltergeistBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25124   W -113.42775        Elev: 3,815 Feet Exit of Boltergeist Canyon where it meets Water Canyon. wBolterGstRP-03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25357   W -113.42684        Elev: NaN Feet Possible exit from Water Canyon after doing Boltergeist. jBoltergeistEx          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25428   W -113.42926        Elev: 4,190 Feet This is where we met the road when we took the wrong route out of Boltergeist. pkBoltergeist          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25088   W -113.43272        Elev: 4,270 Feet Park here for the start of the Boltergeist route. There is an unsigned road leaving to the southeast or left side of the road on the drive in.