Canyoneering Route Description

Spencer Canyon Canyon - 3(B) II(III)
Escalante National Monument, Utah.

Quick Facts

05-26-12, 10 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 5 hours) Pictures Icon Entry Fork 2
06-21-15, 3 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 6.25 hours) Pictures Icon Entry Fork 1

Time Required - 5 to 6 hours
Distance - 4.8 miles Total, 1.4 miles Technical
Rappels - 0 to 5 Rappels, Longest Rappel 70 feet.  Entry Fork 2 - no raps but has a 40 foot handline.  Entry Fork 1 has 3 to 5 raps.
Elevation Range - 5790 - 5160 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - High Clearance, 4WD if bad road conditions Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 70 feet.  If dropping in via Entry Fork 1 you will need 110 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.  Anchors in Entry Fork 1 are set way back and have very long webbing extensions.  If dropping in via Entry Fork 2 you will only need about 10 feet of webbing.  If cold a farmer john should work well in Spencer Canyon as the water is up to chest deep. If very cold out a full wet suit may be a good idea since shorter people may need to make a couple short swims in the deep dark part of the canyon. During hot months no wet suit is needed.

General Comments

Spencer Canyon is a fun canyon with a deep dark narrow section worth seeing.  Depending on which Entry Fork is used what you encounter will be slightly different.  The two entry forks both run north parallel to each other.

There are no helpful landmarks to use for navigation. A GPS can be helpful on the approach to get you to the right spot, especially for getting to Entry Fork 2.  A GPS may be more helpful on the exit as the route travels up through open rolling desert back to the road then to your car. It is easy to miss the road and walk through sand and washes more than needed while you parallel the road. A GPS will assist on getting back to the road more directly making your return less of a sand slog.

Entry Fork 1 (the fork to the west running down to the north) is is mostly walking with 5 rappels before joining the Entry Fork 2. The first 3 of the 5 rappels in Entry Fork 1 can easily be bypassed. Raps 4 and 5 in Entry Fork 2 drop down a beautiful water carved canyon before meeting Entry Fork 1 at the bottom of rap 5. About 30 feet of webbing needed if replacing anchor webbing for rap 4 and up to 70 feet of webbing if replacing anchor webbing for rap 5. you should have a lot of webbing on hand for this route just in case it is needed.

Entry Fork 2 (the fork to the east running down to the north) does not have any rappels in it and involves downclimbing drops of 10 to 12 feet and walking in narrow canyon.

At the confluence of the two Entry Forks is a 40 foot drop down a skinny slick walled crack. This drop can be anchored and rappelled but will be awkward. This drop is best done as a downclimb but with a handline rope set from log debris to assist.

If using Entry Fork 1 you will have up to 5 rappels up to 70 feet and need a lot of webbing for possible anchor replacement. If using Entry Fork 2 you will not need to rappel but will need a 40 foot rope to anchor and provide a hand line for the 40 foot drop from the confluence of the two entry forks.

Spencer Canyon is sometimes referred to as Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

From the city of Escalante drive about 9.6 miles east on Hwy 12 to the turn off on the right (south) to the Old Sheffield Road (extOldShefldRd).
OR
From the town of Boulder drive about 15 miles west on Hwy 12 to a turn off on the left (south) to the Old Sheffield Road (extOldShefldRd).

Note:
The Old Sheffield road is also referred to as Spencer Flats Road.

Turn south off of highway 12 onto the Old Sheffield Road.  Follow south down the Old Sheffield Road staying on the main dirt road passing the small side roads on the way.  

About 5.7 miles after leaving highway 12 is a junction (ExSpencDhole) where the main road makes a sweeping right hand turn going south and a less traveled looking road continues straight (east).

Note:
Following the right hand bend to go south goes out to an old drill hole site about 2.8 miles south.

Following the less traveled road to the east can be driven about 0.9 miles to a large sandstone patio for parking just before the road becomes too sandy for vehicles. To go to the Spencer Canyon or TOD Canyon parking area continue straight (east) to the sandstone patio parking. A carefully driven passenger car can sometimes drive this sandy and deeply rutted road but high clearance and 4WD may be useful.

To go to Spencer or TOD (Temple of Doom) Canyon continue east about 0.9 miles to the large sandstone patio parking area (PkOldSheff).  Park here to start 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 of the drive into the route.
Map of the entire route.
Zoomed in Map of the upper section section.
Zoomed in Map of the lower section section.

Details

The Approach:
From the large slickrock parking spot (PkOldSheff) walk east on the sandy Old Sheffield Road about 0.3 miles to another large slickrock (OldSheff01) area in the dirt road (about 350 feet before reaching this is a smaller slickrock area).

Continue east along the sandy road about 500 feet to where the road gets to the bottom of a sand hill in the road (jSpencer1-TOD). 

Entry Fork 1:
If using Entry Fork 2 skip down to the Entry Fork 2 section.

To go to Entry Fork 1, from the bottom of the sand hill in the road (jSpencer1-TOD), turn left and leave the road walking north perpendicular to the road. The slope of the ground will make you want to veer right (more east). Resist the urge and walk perpendicular to the road about 700 feet to where the route starts to meet rolling slickrock. Walking perpendicular to the road will get you to slickrock faster for easier travel.

Note: You can leave the road almost anywhere since it is open desert and easy terrain. This point was chosen to reduce the amount of sand walking. Leaving the road here will get you to slickrock to walk on about 700 feet to the northwest.

About 700 feet from the road the route begins to cross slickrock (TOD-01) and travel gets easier.  Turn right to walk northeast along rolling slickrock about 0.4 miles to drop into Entry Fork 1. If you stay close along the edge of slickrock and sand you will get to the entry fork 1 near its head. If you travel a little more north farther out into the slickrock area you may drop into the drainage a little farther down. It is not important to keep an exact bearing as you will be able to scramble down into the entry fork in one of many places.

Note:  If you were going to TOD (Temple Of Doom) Canyon you would continue north along a mix of rolling slickrock and dirt.

When you get to the top  / side of Entry Fork 1 (ySpencerFrk1Tp) scramble down into the drainage in one of many possible spots then turn and walk north down the wash.  a little over 0.2 miles down the wash is rap 1.

Rap 1 (dSpencerR1) is anchored from a tree and drops about 50 feet. Optionally you can bypass on the right by going down canyon about 80 feet then scramble down a side gully.

About 600 feet father is a big pour-off (Spencer01) that is easily bypassed on the LDC (west) side by walking out about 100 feet then down sloped slickrock to the canyon floor.  About 700 feet farther the canyon makes a hard right where rap 2 is.

Rap 2 (dSpencerR2-3) can be anchored using a deadman or small tree about 20 feet back and drops about 40 feet to a dry spot by a large pool you would need to swim for about 20 feet. Optionally rap 2 and the pool can be bypassed as we did by going around the LDC side then over to and down a ramp that drops down to the other side of the pool.

Rap 3 at the other end of the pool would drop about 50 feet if rappelled. I do not know what the anchor is as we bypassed the rappel. Optionally rap 3 can be bypassed by going up around on the LDC side then scrambling down a rubble filled chute to a pool that can be waist to chest deep.  Shortly after the pool is rap 4.

Rap 4 (dSpencerR4-5) is anchored from a large rock about 15 feet back and drops about 30 feet with the first half you can stem / downclimb. At the bottom of rap 4 downclimb to a small pothole about 2 feet in diameter with a deadman for rap 5.

Rap 5 anchored from a deadman in a small pothole. From the pothole you can handline down a drop of about 8 feet using the anchor webbing which is then extended close to 70 feet over to the rap which then drops about 70 feet down to a wide sandy area. Less webbing could be used if you use a retrievable anchor system like the Smooth Operator but a longer rope will be needed to compensate.

At the bottom of rap 5 is the confluence (jSpencerConf) of Entry Forks 1 and 2 and another drainage joining in from LDC.  Skip down to the section describing from the Confluence of Entry Forks.

Entry Fork 2:
To go to Entry Fork 2, from the bottom of the sand hill in the road (jSpencer1-TOD), continue east for about 0.36 miles to a wilderness sign posted in the road (OldSheff02Sign).  The sign here has been firmly in place but may not always be here. There are no landmarks to use to get you to the correct spot easily and a GPS may be a good idea.

From the sign (OldSheff02Sign) continue east on the sandy road for about 0.2 miles to where you leave the road to go to Entry Fork 2 (jSpenceer2).  A GPS will be helpful here as there is no landmark to assist in finding the best spot to leave the Old Sheffield Road. Leave the road walking north perpendicular to the road for about 700 feet to where a slope drops down into the Entry Fork 2 for Spencer Canyon.

From where the slope starts dropping down to Entry Fork 2 (ySpencerFrk2Tp) go about 600 feet down the drainage to where it begins to slot up a bit (Spencer10).

Note:
The spot where the route left the road to get to Entry Fork 2 does not have any good landmarks. If you were not using GPS and are in doubt about being at the correct entry fork you can hike around a bit to confirm. Entry forks 1 and 2 both run down to the north parallel to each other and are only 500 feet apart. If in doubt you can hike west about 500 feet and look for another drainage going down to the north. If you see another drainage that is Entry Fork 1. If you do not find another drainage but instead see open rolling slickrock for a long ways you were at Entry Fork 1. If you found you were at Entry Fork 1 simply go back to Entry Fork 1 then route find your way east about 500 feet to Entry Fork 2.

When Entry Fork 2 begins to slot up (Spencer10)  find a way to downclimb in on the RDC side. About 100 feet down canyon is a large vertical drop that can be bypassed by scrambling down steep rock debris on the RDC side.

About 650 feet down canyon is a stem style downclimb (Spencer11) of about 12 feet. Over the next 100 feet is a lot of scrambling down through boulders and smooth slickrock.

A few hundred feet down canyon is a stem / galumph (Spencer12) down into a narrow slot to walk and scramble through.

About 450 feet down canyon is the confluence of the Entry Forks (jSpencerConf).

From the confluence of Entry Forks:
The confluence where the Entry Fork 1 and Entry Fork 2 join (jSpencerConf) is a flat sandy area. There is also a ravine / canyon going north up the LDC side directly across from where the Entry Fork 2 joined in on the RDC side.

From the confluence a deep dark deep slot starts.  The drop at the start of the slot is about 40 feet and can be anchored from log debris to provide a handline.  The 40 foot drop is skinny and dark with little light and slick walls.

Downclimbing with no handline is possible but is spicy in a tight slot to slither down. One spot mid way down will force larger people out to an uncomfortable exposed stance then one other spot lower down that forces larger people out again. Thin people will have a better time slithering down through this slot but the walls are slick making this a little difficult / dangerous.

From the bottom of the drop is a deep dark slot with only a little light filtering in. In this slot are a couple long sections of water that would be swimmers. One of the pools can be stemmed over with moderate effort and the other pool can be stemmed partially in water where you will only get waist deep. Taller people will have an easier time while short people may take the swims. About 750 feet down canyon the slot slowly starts widening out to easier travel and sandy walking.

As the slot starts to widen a little (Spencer20) it is easier travel and sandy walking for about 600 feet to a spot where there will be two large pools if recent rains have filled the canyon.

The first pool (Spencer21) can be bypassed by going up and over on the RDC side. The second pool can be bypassed by going up over a rock ramp on the LDC side. Just after the second pool a cross joint joins in from the RDC side (Spencer22).

About 200 feet down canyon is a huge boulder that completely blocks the canyon (Spencer23) just after a cross joint on the LDC side. Scramble up then down the other side of the boulder to the canyon floor then walk more sandy floored canyon. There will be a few sandy bottom pools to wade through to waist deep if full before getting to a huge arch on the LDC side about 0.3 miles down canyon.

From the huge arch on the LDC side (Spencer24) the canyon starts to widen out a lot and is easy travel for about 0.37 miles to the end of Spencer Canyon (ySpencerBt).

The Exit:
From the end of Spencer Canyon (ySpencerBt) where it meets a much larger wide open drainage. Turn right to walk south up the drainage. A little over 200 feet up the wide exit drainage you will pass by two slots side by side on the RDC (west) side that are about 175 feet apart.

From where the two side by side slots join in on the RDC ((west) side (Spencer25) Continue south up the wash about 400 feet to just past another side slot on the RDC (west) side that is much larger than these two slots.

When you get to the next side slot (Spencer26) route find your way up to the nose of the point on the left (south) side of the slot then scramble / route find your way up the slickrock just to the left (south) of the large side slot. About 350 feet farther the grade levels off briefly.

Note:
If you are not paying attention and pass by this side slot you will get to a dry fall in the wash of about 30 feet indicating you went too far. If you get to the dry fall turn around and walk back down the wash 500 feet to this point.

Where the steep slickrock levels off briefly (Spencer27) a use trail begins to form on semi flat ground for a bit. Follow the use trail about 100 feet to a survey marker.

From the survey marker (Spencer-BM) veer left and route find and scramble your way up the slick rock to the southwest to the next level up. Optionally you can follow the use trail farther and later meet up with the same route described here.

Once up on the next level (Spencer28) follow up the ridge to the west for about 0.34 miles to where slickrock turns to sand.

When slickrock turns to sand (Spencer29) continue west about 1000 feet to another patch of slickrock.

This next patch of slickrock (Spencer30) is about 500 feet long. Continue west to the other end of the slickrock patch then then into sand another 750 feet to another patch of slickrock.

This next patch of slickrock (Spencer31) is where the exit route meets the end of the sandy Old Sheffield Road.  Follow the sandy road (not always easy to see back to your car. Remnants of the old road are sometimes hard to find so you may need to keep a close eye on things.

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........
Spencer 1 - Drive into Trailhead
  1. extOldShefldRd          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.74259   W -111.44767        Elev: NaN Feet
    Trun off to the Old Sheffield Raod. There are no signs indication what road you are turning onto. Note: The Old Sheffield road is also referred to as Spencer Flats Road.
  2. ExSpencDhole          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71297   W -111.37347        Elev: NaN Feet
    Junction where the main road makes a sweeping right hand turn going south and a less traveled looking road continues straight (east). Note: Following the right hand bend to go south goes out to an old drill hole site about 2.8 miles south. Following the less traveled road to the east can be driven about 0.9 miles to a large sandstone patio for parking just before the road becomes too sandy for vehicles. To go to the Spencer Canyon or TOD Canyon parking area continue straight (east) to the sandstone patio parking. A carefully driven passenger car can sometimes drive this sandy and deeply rutted road but high clearance and 4WD may be useful.
  3. PkOldSheff          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71035   W -111.35755        Elev: 5,790 Feet
    Parking area where the Old Sheffield Road begins to turn very sandy and walking is the best idea. Park in this large flat slickrock area large enough for several cars. This parking spot is used to start the routes for Spencer Canyon, TOD (Temple of Doom) Canyon and the hike to the Cosmic Orange Juicer.
Spencer 2 - Entry Fork 1
  1. PkOldSheff          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71035   W -111.35755        Elev: 5,790 Feet
    Parking area where the Old Sheffield Road begins to turn very sandy and walking is the best idea. Park in this large flat slickrock area large enough for several cars. This parking spot is used to start the routes for Spencer Canyon, TOD (Temple of Doom) Canyon and the hike to the Cosmic Orange Juicer.
  2. OldSheff01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.70878   W -111.35222        Elev: NaN Feet
    A very large slickrock area in the dirt road. About 350 feet before reaching this is a smaller slickrock area.
  3. jSpencer1-TOD          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.70846   W -111.35030        Elev: 5,770 Feet
    The road gets to the bottom of a sand hill in the road and about 500 feet after walking past the huge slickrock area. To go to TOD or Entry Fork 1 for Spencer Canyon turn left and leave the road walking north perpendicular to the road. The slope of the ground will make you want to veer right (more east). Resist the urge and walk perpendicular to the road about 700 feet to where the route starts to meet rolling slickrock. Walking perpendicular to the road will get you to slickrock faster for easier travel. Note: You can leave the road almost anywhere since it is open desert and easy terrain. This point was chosen to reduce the amount of sand walking. Leaving the road here will get you to slickrock to walk on about 700 feet to the northwest. To go to the Entry Fork 2 for Spencer Canyon or hike out to the Cosmic Orange Juicer continue east on the sandy road.
  4. TOD-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71019   W -111.34952        Elev: NaN Feet
    Route begins to cross slickrock and travel gets easier. To go to Entry Fork 1 for Spencer Canyon turn right to walk northeast along rolling slickrock about 0.4 miles to drop into Entry Fork 1. If you stay close along the edge of slickrock and sand you will get to the entry fork 1 near its head. If you travel a little more north farther out into the slickrock area you may drop into the drainage a little farther down. It is not important to keep an exact bearing as you will be able to scramble down into the entry fork in one of many places. To go to TOD Canyon continue north along a mix of rolling slickrock and dirt for about 750 feet to a minor top out.
  5. ySpencerFrk1Tp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71249   W -111.34286        Elev: 5,650 Feet
    Top of entry Fork 1 for Spencer Canyon. Scramble down into the drainage in one of many possible spots then turn and walk north down the wash.
  6. dSpencerR1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71564   W -111.34221        Elev: NaN Feet
    Rap 1 - Spencer Canyon. Anchored from a tree and drops about 50 feet. Optionally you can bypass on the right by going down canyon about 80 feet then scramble down a side gully.
  7. Spencer01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71696   W -111.34122        Elev: NaN Feet
    Big pouroff that is easily bypassed on the LDC ( west) side by walking out about 100 feet then down sloped slickrock to the canyon floor.
  8. dSpencerR2-3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71817   W -111.34050        Elev: NaN Feet
    Raps 2 - 3 - Spencer Canyon where the canyon makes a hard right. Rap 2 can be anchored using a deadman or small tree about 20 feet back and drops about 40 feet to a dry spot by a large pool you would need to swim for about 20 feet. Optionally rap 2 and the pool can be bypassed as we did by going around the LDC side then over to and down a ramp that drops down to the other side of the pool. Rap 3 at the other end of the pool would drop about 50 feet if rappelled. I do not know what the anchor is as we bypassed the rappel. Optionally rap 3 can be bypassed by going up around on the LDC side then scrambling down a rubble filled chute to a pool that can be waist to chest deep.
  9. dSpencerR4-5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71787   W -111.34014        Elev: NaN Feet
    Raps 4 - 5 - Spencer Canyon on the other side of a pool. Rap 4 anchored from a large rock about 15 feet back and drops about 30 feet with the first half you can stem / downclimb. At the bottom of rap 4 downclimb to a small pothole about 2 feet in diameter with a deadman for rap 5. Rap 5 anchored from a deadman in a small pothole. From the pothole you can handline down a drop of about 8 feet using the anchor webbing which is then extended close to 70 feet over to the rap which then drops about 70 feet down to a wide sandy area. Less webbing could be used if you use a retrievable anchor system like the Smooth Operator but a longer rope will be needed to compensate.
  10. jSpencerConf          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71773   W -111.33991        Elev: NaN Feet
    Confluence in a flat sandy area where Entry Fork 1 and Entry Fork 2 join. There is also a ravine / canyon going north up the LDC side directly across from where the Entry Fork 2 joined in on the RDC side. From the confluence a deep dark deep slot starts. The drop at the start of the slot is about 40 feet and can be anchored from log debris to provide a handline. The 40 foot drop is skinny and dark with little light and slick walls. Downclimbing with no handline is possible but is spicy in a tight slot to slither down. One spot mid way down will force larger people out to an uncomfortable exposed stance then one other spot lower down that forces larger people out again. Thin people will have a better time slithering down through this slot but the walls are slick making this a little difficult / dangerous. From the bottom of the drop is a deep dark slot with only a little light filtering in. In this slot are a couple long sections of water that would be swimmers. One of the pools can be stemmed over with moderate effort and the other pool can be stemmed partially in water where you will only get waist deep. Taller people will have an easier time while short people may take the swims. About 750 feet down canyon the slot slowly starts widening out to easier travel and sandy walking.
Spencer 3 - Entry Fork 2
  1. PkOldSheff          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71035   W -111.35755        Elev: 5,790 Feet
    Parking area where the Old Sheffield Road begins to turn very sandy and walking is the best idea. Park in this large flat slickrock area large enough for several cars. This parking spot is used to start the routes for Spencer Canyon, TOD (Temple of Doom) Canyon and the hike to the Cosmic Orange Juicer.
  2. OldSheff01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.70878   W -111.35222        Elev: NaN Feet
    A very large slickrock area in the dirt road. About 350 feet before reaching this is a smaller slickrock area.
  3. jSpencer1-TOD          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.70846   W -111.35030        Elev: 5,770 Feet
    The road gets to the bottom of a sand hill in the road and about 500 feet after walking past the huge slickrock area. To go to TOD or Entry Fork 1 for Spencer Canyon turn left and leave the road walking north perpendicular to the road. The slope of the ground will make you want to veer right (more east). Resist the urge and walk perpendicular to the road about 700 feet to where the route starts to meet rolling slickrock. Walking perpendicular to the road will get you to slickrock faster for easier travel. Note: You can leave the road almost anywhere since it is open desert and easy terrain. This point was chosen to reduce the amount of sand walking. Leaving the road here will get you to slickrock to walk on about 700 feet to the northwest. To go to the Entry Fork 2 for Spencer Canyon or hike out to the Cosmic Orange Juicer continue east on the sandy road.
  4. OldSheff02Sign          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.70931   W -111.34420        Elev: NaN Feet
    Sign indicating wilderness study area. From this sign continue east on the sandy road. Note: The sign here has been firmly in place but may not always be here. There are no landmarks to use to get you to the correct spot easily and a GPS may be a good idea.
  5. jSpenceer2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71064   W -111.34101        Elev: NaN Feet
    Leave the road here to go to the Entry Fork 2 for Spencer Canyon. A GPS will be helpful here as there is no landmark to assist in finding the best spot to leave the Old Sheffield Road. Leave the road walking north perpendicular to the road for about 700 feet to where a slope drops down into the Entry Fork 2 for Spencer Canyon.
  6. ySpencerFrk2Tp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71266   W -111.34109        Elev: 5,640 Feet
    Top of Entry Fork 2 for Spencer Canyon. Top of a slope going north down into Entry Fork 2. Go about 600 feet down the drainage to where it begins to slot up a bit. Note: The spot where the route left the road to get to here does not have any good landmarks. If you were not using GPS and are in doubt about being at the correct entry fork you can hike around a bit to confirm. Entry forks 1 and 2 both run down to the north parallel to each other and are only 500 feet apart. If in doubt you can hike west about 500 feet and look for another drainage going down to the north. If you see another drainage that is Entry Fork 1. If you do not find another drainage but instead see open rolling slickrock for a long ways you were at Entry Fork 1. If you found you were at Entry Fork 1 simply go back to Entry Fork 1 then route find your way east about 500 feet to Entry Fork 2.
  7. Spencer10          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71409   W -111.34069        Elev: NaN Feet
    Spenser Entry Fork 2 begins to slot up a little. Find a way to downclimb in on the RDC side. About 100 feet down canyon is a large vertical drop that can be bypassed by scrambling down steep rock debris on the RDC side.
  8. Spencer11          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71588   W -111.34061        Elev: NaN Feet
    Stem style downclimb of about 12 feet. Over the next 100 feet is a lot of scrambling down through boulders and smooth slickrock.
  9. Spencer12          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71672   W -111.34052        Elev: NaN Feet
    Stem / galumph down into a narrow slot to walk and scramble through.
  10. jSpencerConf          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71773   W -111.33991        Elev: NaN Feet
    Confluence in a flat sandy area where Entry Fork 1 and Entry Fork 2 join. There is also a ravine / canyon going north up the LDC side directly across from where the Entry Fork 2 joined in on the RDC side. From the confluence a deep dark deep slot starts. The drop at the start of the slot is about 40 feet and can be anchored from log debris to provide a handline. The 40 foot drop is skinny and dark with little light and slick walls. Downclimbing with no handline is possible but is spicy in a tight slot to slither down. One spot mid way down will force larger people out to an uncomfortable exposed stance then one other spot lower down that forces larger people out again. Thin people will have a better time slithering down through this slot but the walls are slick making this a little difficult / dangerous. From the bottom of the drop is a deep dark slot with only a little light filtering in. In this slot are a couple long sections of water that would be swimmers. One of the pools can be stemmed over with moderate effort and the other pool can be stemmed partially in water where you will only get waist deep. Taller people will have an easier time while short people may take the swims. About 750 feet down canyon the slot slowly starts widening out to easier travel and sandy walking.
Spencer 4 - The Canyon down from Entry Forks
  1. jSpencerConf          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71773   W -111.33991        Elev: NaN Feet
    Confluence in a flat sandy area where Entry Fork 1 and Entry Fork 2 join. There is also a ravine / canyon going north up the LDC side directly across from where the Entry Fork 2 joined in on the RDC side. From the confluence a deep dark deep slot starts. The drop at the start of the slot is about 40 feet and can be anchored from log debris to provide a handline. The 40 foot drop is skinny and dark with little light and slick walls. Downclimbing with no handline is possible but is spicy in a tight slot to slither down. One spot mid way down will force larger people out to an uncomfortable exposed stance then one other spot lower down that forces larger people out again. Thin people will have a better time slithering down through this slot but the walls are slick making this a little difficult / dangerous. From the bottom of the drop is a deep dark slot with only a little light filtering in. In this slot are a couple long sections of water that would be swimmers. One of the pools can be stemmed over with moderate effort and the other pool can be stemmed partially in water where you will only get waist deep. Taller people will have an easier time while short people may take the swims. About 750 feet down canyon the slot slowly starts widening out to easier travel and sandy walking.
  2. Spencer20          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71703   W -111.33768        Elev: NaN Feet
    Slot slowly starts widening out to easier travel and sandy walking for about 600 feet to a spot where there will be two large pools if recent rains have filled the canyon.
  3. Spencer21          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71654   W -111.33562        Elev: NaN Feet
    If recent rains filled canyon there will be two large pools here. First pool can be bypassed by going up and over on the RDC side. Second pool can be bypassed by going up over a rock ramp on the LDC side. Just after the second pool a cross joint joins in from the RDC side.
  4. Spencer22          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71643   W -111.33471        Elev: NaN Feet
    Cross joint drops down from the RDC side just after getting through or around pools just up canyon.
  5. Spencer23          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71635   W -111.33400        Elev: NaN Feet
    Huge boulder that completely blocks the canyon just after a cross joint on the LDC side. Scramble up then down the other side of the boulder to the canyon floor then walk more sandy floored canyon. There sill be a few sandy bottom pools to wade through to waist deep if full before getting to a huge arch on the LDC side about 0.3 miles down canyon.
  6. Spencer24          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71583   W -111.32823        Elev: NaN Feet
    Huge arch on the LDC wall. Down canyon of here the canyon starts to widen out a lot and is easy travel for about 0.37 miles to the end of Spencer Canyon.
  7. ySpencerBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71606   W -111.32149        Elev: 5,160 Feet
    Bottom of Spencer Canyon where it meets a much larger wide open drainage. Turn right to walk south up the drainage. A little over 200 feet up the wide exit drainage you will pass by two slots side by side on the RDC (west) side.
Spencer 5- Exit
  1. ySpencerBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71606   W -111.32149        Elev: 5,160 Feet
    Bottom of Spencer Canyon where it meets a much larger wide open drainage. Turn right to walk south up the drainage. A little over 200 feet up the wide exit drainage you will pass by two slots side by side on the RDC (west) side.
  2. Spencer25          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71544   W -111.32128        Elev: NaN Feet
    Two slots on the RDC (west) side that are about 175 feet apart. Continue south up the wash about 400 feet to just past another side slot on the RDC (west) side that is much larger than these two slots.
  3. Spencer26          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71447   W -111.32128        Elev: NaN Feet
    A larger side slot on the RDC (west) side. Route find your way up to the nose of the point on the left (south) side of the slot then scramble / route find your way up the slickrock just to the left (south) of the large side slot. About 350 feet farther the grade levels off briefly. Note: If you are not paying attention and pass by this side slot you will get to a dry fall in the wash of about 30 feet indicating you went too far. If you get to the dry fall turn around and walk back down the wash 500 feet to this point.
  4. Spencer27          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71400   W -111.32224        Elev: NaN Feet
    Grade of the steep slickrock levels off briefly where a use trail begins to form on semi flat ground for a bit. Follow the use trail about 100 feet to a survey marker.
  5. Spencer-BM          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71396   W -111.32254        Elev: NaN Feet
    Survey / Bench Marker along the use trail. From here veer left and route find and scramble your way up the slick rock to the southwest to the next level up. Optionally you can follow the use trail farther and later meet up with the same route described here.
  6. Spencer28          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71368   W -111.32284        Elev: NaN Feet
    Once up on the wide slickrock ridge follow up it to the west for about 0.34 miles to where slickrock turns to sand.
  7. Spencer29          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71263   W -111.32874        Elev: NaN Feet
    Slickrock turns to sand. Continue west about 1000 feet to another patch of slickrock.
  8. Spencer30          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71195   W -111.33261        Elev: NaN Feet
    Patch of slickrock about 500 feet long in the sand. Continue west to the other end of the slickrock patch then then into sand another 750 feet to another patch of slickrock.
  9. Spencer31          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71093   W -111.33612        Elev: NaN Feet
    Old Sheffield Road ends here where it gets to a section of slickrock. On the way out of Spencer aim for here then follow the sandy road (not always easy to see back to your car. Remnants of the old road are sometimes hard to find so you may need to keep a close eye on things. To go to the Cosmic Orange Juicer travel southeast aiming just to the left of the hills in the distance about 1.5 miles away.
  10. jSpenceer2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71064   W -111.34101        Elev: NaN Feet
    Leave the road here to go to the Entry Fork 2 for Spencer Canyon. A GPS will be helpful here as there is no landmark to assist in finding the best spot to leave the Old Sheffield Road. Leave the road walking north perpendicular to the road for about 700 feet to where a slope drops down into the Entry Fork 2 for Spencer Canyon.
  11. OldSheff02Sign          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.70931   W -111.34420        Elev: NaN Feet
    Sign indicating wilderness study area. From this sign continue east on the sandy road. Note: The sign here has been firmly in place but may not always be here. There are no landmarks to use to get you to the correct spot easily and a GPS may be a good idea.
  12. jSpencer1-TOD          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.70846   W -111.35030        Elev: 5,770 Feet
    The road gets to the bottom of a sand hill in the road and about 500 feet after walking past the huge slickrock area. To go to TOD or Entry Fork 1 for Spencer Canyon turn left and leave the road walking north perpendicular to the road. The slope of the ground will make you want to veer right (more east). Resist the urge and walk perpendicular to the road about 700 feet to where the route starts to meet rolling slickrock. Walking perpendicular to the road will get you to slickrock faster for easier travel. Note: You can leave the road almost anywhere since it is open desert and easy terrain. This point was chosen to reduce the amount of sand walking. Leaving the road here will get you to slickrock to walk on about 700 feet to the northwest. To go to the Entry Fork 2 for Spencer Canyon or hike out to the Cosmic Orange Juicer continue east on the sandy road.
  13. OldSheff01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.70878   W -111.35222        Elev: NaN Feet
    A very large slickrock area in the dirt road. About 350 feet before reaching this is a smaller slickrock area.
  14. PkOldSheff          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.71035   W -111.35755        Elev: 5,790 Feet
    Parking area where the Old Sheffield Road begins to turn very sandy and walking is the best idea. Park in this large flat slickrock area large enough for several cars. This parking spot is used to start the routes for Spencer Canyon, TOD (Temple of Doom) Canyon and the hike to the Cosmic Orange Juicer.

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