Canyoneering Route Description
Blarney Canyon - Left (west) Fork - 3B I
North Wash, Utah.
05-22-10, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 2.5 hours)
05-29-10, 2 people, 1 Day (Time Unknown) - Did all seven Irish
Canyons in a day with this being one of them.
04-06-13, 2 people, 1 Day (Time Unknown) - Did all seven Irish
Canyons in a day with this being one of them.
09-22-12, 8 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 3.5 hours)
03-26-16, 5 people, 1 Day (Time Unknown) - Did all seven Irish
Canyons in a day with this being one of them.
Time Required - 2 to 3 hours
Distance - 2.3 miles Total, 0.8 miles Technical
Rappels - 2 Rappels, Longest Rappel 40 feet.
Elevation Range - 4530 - 4900 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle -
Passenger
Permit Required - No
Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up
to 40 feet, and 30 feet of 1” webbing for sling placement.
Blarney Canyon is a quick, fun run 2 rappels and a few down climbs
with some fun narrows to play in. There is nothing overly tight or
challenging. The canyon is quite pretty inside and worth a run
through.
To get to the Trailhead
From the junction of Utah highways 276 and 95, drive South on
highway 95 about 1.5 miles to a turn off to a short dirt road (extBlarney).
The road drives straight back from the highway about 300 feet
then turns left to drop down into the wash. Park after the 300
feet of straight road before it turns (pkBlarney). Optionally
you can park out on the road and walk the 300 feet in.
To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod
No exit vehicle is needed. This is done as a loop route.
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 entire route.
The Approach:
From where you parked on the dirt road (pkBlarney) you will see the
dirt road continue on into the wash that leads up into Blarney.
Walk north west across the road and follow a faint path up out of
the wash the road was going up. You will find yourself on a high
spot between the wash the road was following and another drainage on
the right (south west).
Continue north west between these two drainages. About 350 feet
from the car will be the base of a slick rock slope
(wBlarneyRP-01). Scramble north up the sandstone slope to gain
access to the ridge running between the two drainages. After about
375 feet the slope levels off a little but still continues
climbing.
After another 450 feet is a smooth sandstone high point along the
ridge (wBlarneyRP-02). From this smooth high point is a view of a
huge rock face ahead about 500 feet away.
Then another 300 feet is another high point that has more of a rock
out cropping look (wBlarneyRP-03). Skirt around the left (west)
side of the high point and continue toward the huge rock face.
After another 200 feet you will be at the base of the huge rock face
(wBlarneyRP-04). Follow a well worn trail around the left (west)
side of the rock face.
Another 550 feet will be a scramble up a section of slick rock
(wBlarneyRP-05). At the top of the slick rock the trail continues
north and is still easy to follow. The trail here is following the
rim of the canyon on your right which is a side drainage of Blarney.
About another 350 feet will be another slick rock slope
(wBlarneyRP-06) to scramble up about 50 or 60 feet high. A cairn
may be at the top to help guide you. At the top the trail continues
still roughly following the rim on the right (east) side.
From the junction continue right toward the Left Fork of Blarney.
About 0.3 miles along the still easy to follow trail is another
trail junction (wBlarneyRP-07). The left is faint and not well
traveled. Instead continue right (east) on the still well worn
trail following the rim of the Left Fork of Blarney. You will have
good views down into Blarney shortly before reaching this trail
junction.
About 650 feet after the trail junction the trail crosses over a
drainage (yBlarneyLtFkTp). This is the drainage you will drop into
to start down the Left Fork of Blarney.
The Canyon / Technical Section:ical Section:
After crossing the wash at the head of the Left Fork of Blarney (yBlarneyLtFkTp)
turn right (south) and follow along the rim about 70 feet down
canyon to find an easy scramble down to the flat canyon floor. From
the bottom of the scramble, walk down canyon about 80 feet to the
top of rap 1.
Rap 1 for the Left Fork of Blarney (dBlarneyLtFkR1)
is anchored from a large boulder about 20 feet back and drops about
40 feet from the lip of the drop. Rap starts down a fluted trough
for about half the rap then down a rough wall with a short spot of
free hang. At the bottom of Rap 1 you are on the main canyon floor
in a wide open area.
Note:
Rap 1 can be bypassed. To bypass rap 1, walk
about 250 feet east to the head of another drainage dropping down to
the canyon floor (wBlarneyRP-11). To down climb the drainage,
follow a gentle slope down the LDC side then work back up into the
drainage. Continue down the drainage to the bottom where you will
need to jump down about 3 feet to the canyon floor. If you
are a good down climber the rest of Left Fork of Blarney can be down
climbed as well.
About 100 feet down canyon of rap 1 is the start of a narrow slot
(wBlarneyRP-08) with a down climb to get down into the slot. At the
top of the down climb is a large boulder choke stone wedged between
the walls. Down climb under the choke stone through the hole then
chimney down about 20 or 25 feet. It is possible to climb over the
choke stone but the start down into the chimney is exposed and has a
sketchy start.
After the down climb into the slot the canyon stays only a few feet
wide most of the way with a couple down climbs along the way. The
first down climb is about 10 feet and is an easy straight forward
chimney. The second down climb is about 15 feet and can be a bit
awkward starting over a rough boulder choke stone. Stemming down
LDC next to the choke stone is simple then followed by a reach under
the choke stone with your legs for the opposite wall. Another
option on this second down climb is to stem between the canyon walls
and go up and over the choke stone then stem down to the floor.
Shortly after is a drop of about 4 feet just before reaching the top
of rap 2.
Rap 2 (dBlarneyLtFkR2) is about 500 feet down canyon
of the start of the narrow slot after rap 1. Rap 2 is anchored from
a choke stone and drops about 35 feet. Rap 2 drops down into a
slightly tighter section with a flat soft sandy bottom. The section
just below rap 2 is tighter now and the walls twist a little on the
way up so there is little light getting into this spot.
Down canyon of rap 2 are a few more down climbs. The first and
second down climbs are 10 to 12 feet each and are easy. The third
is an elevator of about 20 feet. Depending on the skill set of
those that came before you, there may be anchors set up for rappels
in unexpected places. This
is a short fun elevator, so rapping it robs you of some fun.
Shortly after the 20 foot elevator the canyon widens slightly but is
still a narrow walk between the walls.
The junction with the Right Fork of Blarney (jBlarneyLtRt) is about
0.3 miles down canyon of rap 2.
Down canyon of the junction the canyon stays wide and is easy
walking along sand and slick rock.
About 275 feet down canyon of the junction is a side drainage that
joins in from RDC (wBlarneyRP-09).
Another 0.2 miles down canyon another drainage joins in this time
from LDC (wBlarneyRP-10).
Another 500 feet down canyon is the start of another narrows that is
only about 100 feet long. At the lower end of the narrows is what I
have marked as the bottom exit for the Blarney Canyons (yBlarneyBt)
since the rest of the route is wide open easy walking in sand.
The Exit:
After exiting the 100 foot long narrows (yBlarneyBt) continue down
canyon about 0.3 miles back to your car.
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........
| Blarney Left Fork (1) - Approach |
- extBlarney
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02044
W -110.54493
Elev: 4,510 Feet
Exit for the dirt road into the bottom of Blarney Canyon.
- pkBlarney
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02120
W -110.54479
Elev: 4,530 Feet
Park here on the dirt road a short distance from the highway to start Blarney Canyon or Shillelagh Canyon.
- wBlarneyRP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02194
W -110.54538
Elev: NaN Feet
Base of a sand stone slope leading up to the ridge between two drainages.
- wBlarneyRP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02397
W -110.54431
Elev: NaN Feet
Smooth sand stone high point on the ridge.
- wBlarneyRP-03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02484
W -110.54440
Elev: NaN Feet
Another high point along the ridge that looks more like a rock out cropping.
- wBlarneyRP-04
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02542
W -110.54441
Elev: NaN Feet
At the base of a huge rock face. Travel around the left (west) side of the rock face following a well worn trail.
- wBlarneyRP-05
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02664
W -110.54412
Elev: NaN Feet
Scramble up a section of slick rock to find where the trail continues.
- wBlarneyRP-06
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02745
W -110.54399
Elev: 4,830 Feet
Another slick rock slope to scramble up to find where the trail continues again.
- jBlarnyShilela
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03085
W -110.54269
Elev: 4,855 Feet
Junction where the trail forks for either the West Fork of Blarney to the right (north east) or the East Fork of Shillelagh to the left (north west).
- wBlarneyRP-07
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03305
W -110.54000
Elev: 4,857 Feet
Another trail junction. Left is a fain path not well travelled. To the right (east) is a still well used path following the rim of the West Fork of Blarney.
- yBlarneyLtFkTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03410
W -110.53868
Elev: 4,857 Feet
Top entry for the left(west) fork of Blarney Canyon. This is a side entry near the actual head of the canyon. The trail crosses the wash here.
- wBlarneyRP-11
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03383
W -110.53801
Elev: 4,883 Feet
Alternate entry down into the Left Fork of Blarney Canyon. The drop at the head of this drainage can be down climbed starting down the a slope LDC then working back into the drainage as you down climb. Contue down the drainage to drop to the canyon floor.
|
| Blarney Left Fork (2) - Canyon and Exit |
- yBlarneyLtFkTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03410
W -110.53868
Elev: 4,857 Feet
Top entry for the left(west) fork of Blarney Canyon. This is a side entry near the actual head of the canyon. The trail crosses the wash here.
- dBlarneyLtFkR1
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03372
W -110.53877
Elev: 4,829 Feet
Rap 1 - Blarney Left Fork. Anchored from a large boulder about 20 feet back and drops about 40 feet from the lip.
- wBlarneyRP-08
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03348
W -110.53865
Elev: 4,733 Feet
Top of a deep narrow slot. Down climb about 25 feet down into the slot. The down climb is a chimney and is not too difficult.
- dBlarneyLtFkR2
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03245
W -110.53953
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 2 - Blarney Left Fork. Anchored from a choke stone and drops about 35 feet.
- jBlarneyLtRt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02835
W -110.54074
Elev: 4,847 Feet
Junction where the left and right forks of Blarney join.
- wBlarneyRP-09
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02817
W -110.54165
Elev: 4,833 Feet
A short side drainages joins in from RDC.
- wBlarneyRP-10
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02629
W -110.54205
Elev: 4,784 Feet
Side drainage that joins in from LDC.
- yBlarneyBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02507
W -110.54285
Elev: NaN Feet
Bottom exit of Blarney Canyon. This is just after a short tight narrows of about 100 feet long.
- pkBlarney
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02120
W -110.54479
Elev: 4,530 Feet
Park here on the dirt road a short distance from the highway to start Blarney Canyon or Shillelagh Canyon.
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