Canyoneering Route Description

Hog 3 Canyon (aka Razorback) - 3A II R
North Wash, Utah.

Quick Facts

11-12-11, 9 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 6.9 hours) - Time for Miss Piggy (Hog 4) and Hog 3 (Razorback) combined.

Time Required - 3.5 to 5 hours
Distance - 3.6 miles Total, 0.6 miles Technical
Rappels - 1 Rappels, Longest Rappel 75 feet.
A couple of the down climbs may be arguably rappels adding to the count.
Elevation Range - 5175 - 4355 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - High Clearance (possibly 4WD depending on road conditions) Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 75 feet and 50 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.  Wet suit bottoms might be nice ONLY if there were recent rains AND it is cold out.  Even in cooler months a wet suit will likely not be needed since the water is only in small patches and only to waist deep and mostly avoidable.

General Comments

Hog 3 (Razorback) has only one mandatory rappel but a few down climbs may be arguably rappels so use your judgment and do what you feel is safe.  Hog 3 was definitely one I call a fun short route.

In a few spots you will likely have sharp protrusions in the sandstone poking and scrapping your back side.  I think this may be what gave Hog 3 the nick name of Razorback.

Some of the drops in Hog 3 look and feel like a rappel but are down climbable for those with the skills to do it.  The height of some of the drops can be intimidating prove dangerous in the event of a fall.  Take your time when navigating the start of some of the down climbs.

Portions of Hog 3 (Razorback) also involve stemming about 20 or 30 feet off the deck since the walls are too narrow to travel at the bottom.  These two reasons are what give Hog 3 an R rating.  If you are unfamiliar with skinny canyons or high stemming take the time to get acquainted before entering Hog 3.  A good place to start for the skinny stuff is a trip down Middle Leprechaun Canyon.  In Leprechaun Canyon you will also get the chance to try out short sections of stemming but not too high up.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

From the junction of highways 276 and 95, travel south on highway 276 for 3.6 miles to a dirt road turn off on the left (east) side of the road (extLandOZ-Hogs).  Turn left (east) onto the dirt road and drive about 2.1 miles to the crest of a small hill (pkHogsUpper).   This spot is also where the road starts to veer from east to south east.  Park along side the road to start the hike over to the Hogs.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

No exit vehicle required.  The Hogs are done as loop routes.

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 in and the route.
Map of the route overview.

Details

The Approach:
From the parking spot (pkHogsUpper) walk across the open desert north west at a bearing of 30 degrees for about 0.8 miles over to the rim of the Hog Canyon system (wHogsTopRP-01).  This is also where the southern end of a short sandstone cliff band starts.   From here you have a good view to the east over the Hog Canyon routes.

Note:
About 0.4 miles from the parking spot you will pass kind of near (jHogStndExTop) the head of a drainage on the right (east).  This drainage is used as one of the exits up out of the Hogs.  You likely will not notice it when hiking in on the approach route but I thought it worth mentioning as a helpful hint if you are navigating by map and written route description only.

When you get to the sandstone cliff band along the rim (wHogsTopRP-01) walk north along the rim for about about 0.2 miles to the top of a wide gently sloped drainage leading down southeast from the rim here.  This is the top of the Hog 4 / Miss Piggy route (yHog4-MsPigyTp).

Continue north then north west in the rolling desert roughly following the rim for about 0.3 miles to the head of a wide drainage running down to the south.  This is the top of Hog 1 - Boss Hawg (yHog1Tp).

From the head of Hog 1 continue east across the rolling desert over to another drainage dropping down to the south.  This is the head of Hog 2 (yHog2Tp).

From the head of Hog 2 continue along the dirt covered desert veering southeast and following the rim just below a bench to the left (north).  About 0.3 miles past Hog 2 turn right and head south down from the rim onto a very wide slick rock ridge (jHog3). 

Note:
If walk too far east and miss this spot you will soon find out you have went too far when you run into the end of the dirt and hit slick rock running down to the the east.  If you do just back up a few hundred feet and look for a way down to the south on slick rock.

As you walk down the slick rock look about 300 feet ahead of you for a large obvious white patch of rock.  As you see this large white patch of rock route find your way down to then just below the white patch.

As you start down from the rim to get to Hog 3, look down the slick rock for a large obvious white patch of rock.  Go down to then just below the white patch of rock.

After getting just below the white patch (wHogThreeRP-01), veer left and slowly curve south ast down toward the top of Hog 3 near a bowl like area about 650 feet down and to the southeast.  Route find your way along the semi steep slick rock to get down to the bowl.  Then look for the head of where a set of cross joints come together a short distance east.  The head of Hog 3 (yHog3Tp) starts down from where these cross joints meet.

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
From the top of Hog 3 (yHog3Tp), travel down the slot for about 30 or 40 feet of light stemming to a down climb / open slide of about 10 feet. Just at the bottom of the drop is another down climb of about 12 feet that is a bit more difficult so assisting one another may be helpful.

About 40 feet farther down canyon is another drop of about 30 feet.  This drop feels exposed and is a bit awkward to start out on but becomes an easy stem / chimney part way down.  This drop can optionally be anchored from some choke stones about 5 feet back to use a hand line or set a rappel if desired.  This drop is right where the canyon turns sharp right which is what makes the start awkward.  To get out onto the down climb you can stand up then lean across canyon and fall onto your outstretched arms on the opposite wall.

Near the bottom of the 30 foot drop is slide of about 8 feet.

Next is a long section of canyon to stem along since the bottom is too narrow to fit in down below.  In this stemming section you will may be as high as 25 feet above the deck at times depending on body size and comfort level.  In this section are also two S turns that make a sharp right left jog.  Both of these S turns have a drop in them as you stem around the corner making it a little challenging.  It seems to be easier to get around these corners by staying a little high as you stem around the corner.

This is one of the S turns to navigate around.

Stemming in the upper portion of Hog 3.

 Next is a short break from the stemming as you get to a section (wHogThreeRP-02) that is a little wider and allows walking for 60 or 70 feet.  This short reprieve is a little over 400 feet down canyon from the head.

As you start into the next slotted section is another down climb of about 30 feet that is slightly sloped and easy to slither down while stemming between the walls. 

After the down climb is a short section of more stemming between the walls at what ever height you find comfortable before getting to a short walk to a drop of about 30 feet down to a long narrow pool.  The pool can be a little over waist deep if full.  The down climb to the pool starts out with an awkward lean out to the wall before getting down into an easy to stem / slide slot down to the pool.  It is possible for taller people to bridge over the pool and stay completely out of it.  Shorter people however will have to wade through.

After the pool is a wide section of canyon to walk along for a couple hundred feet to where a cross joints drop down from RDC and LDC (wHogThreeRP-03).  Either cross joint may be a good escape spot if you want to bail but the LDC cross joint looks like it would be significantly easier.

Continue down canyon over a couple scrambles and some walking for about 200 feet to the top of rap 1. 

Rap 1 (dHogThree-R1) is about 200 feet down canyon of the cross joints dropping down from each side and is the only mandatory rappel in the canyon.  Rap 1 is anchored from choke stones about 25 feet back from the drop in an S turn section.  Rap 1 offers an easy rolling start to the drop then quickly goes vertical and then bounces between slanted walls.  Rap 1 drops about 75 feet if the anchor webbing was extended all the way from the anchor over to the top of the drop.

Note:
Be sure to extend the webbing from the anchor of rap 1 all the way over to the top of the drop.  Extending the webbing will make your rope pull a lot easier, prevent rope groves from developing at the top of the rap and allow you to haul a shorter rope through the canyon.

After rap 1 you can take off your harness and enjoy.  Down canyon of rap 1 the canyon widens out a lot giving way to wash walking and a few scrambles over boulders.

About 0.2 miles down canyon of rap 1 is the start of a boulder debris field (wHogThreeRP-04) to scramble through and boulder hop in.

About 850 feet farther down canyon is the end of Hog 3 (yHog3-Bt) where it drops into another large wide open drainage.

Note:
This is the main drainage of Hog Canyon.  If you turn left and walk down canyon to the southeast it is just over 2 miles to the Hog Springs parking area.  If you turn right and head northwest up canyon you will get to the bottom exits of Hogs 1 and 2 about 0.4 miles up canyon.

The Exit(s):
When you get to the bottom of Hog 3 (yHog3-Bt) you have two choices for an exit route.  Option one is the standard exit which climbs up a ravine southwest of Hog 4.  Option two is to climb up the slick rock between Hogs 1 and 2.

Exit Option One - Standard Exit Route:
Option one is the standard exit and is about 1.2 miles back to the parking spot for the top entry to the Hog System.  This option climbs up out of the Hog Canyon area in a rocky ravine to the flat desert above.  This exit is shorter but involves more scrambling up boulders in the ravine.  This route also does not involve the difficult up climb that the other option has. 

If you entered the Hogs from the top and are done for the day this is the shortest and easiest route back to the car.

To follow option 1, from the bottom of Hog 3 (yHog3-Bt) walk west directly across to the other side of the drainage you dumped into.  Route find your way up the bank on the west side up onto the desert above.  The bank is about 40 or 50 feet high and a mick of dirt and sandstone.

When you get to the top of the bank (wHogStndExRP-1), walk north west traversing up and along the dirt covered hillside. 

After about 400 feet the route will begin to level off a little into a mix of rolling desert and slick rock.  As the route levels off you begin to get good views toward the exit gully /ravine to the north west.

Note / Visual Navigation Note:
As you get to a point where you have good views of the entire area you will be able to see Hog 3 to the northeast and see over toward the area for Hogs 1 and 2 to the north.  Look north west for a large ravine / gully running north west up to the rim.  This gully / ravine is the exit route.  To the left (south or southwest) will be a larger drainage with an obvious huge vertical head wall.

This is walking toward the standard exit gully.  Hogs 1 and 2 are to the right, the exit gully is center image.  Note the bottom of another canyon on the left which has a huge vertical head wall which can be seen as you continue the walk to the exit gully.

About 0.25 miles after getting up out of the drainage at the bottom of Hog 3 the route toward the exit gully will cross over (wHogStndExRP-2) a wide slick rock drainage.  The point marked here for crossing the drainage is located at a fork in the drainage where the north fork goes up to the exit gully and the west fork goes over to the side canyon with the huge head wall. 

Cross over the drainage and start traveling up the slick rock running up along the north side of the drainage.  Following up out of this drainage avoids obstacles down in it.

About 450 feet after crossing the drainage you will get to what feels like a top out in the slick rock (wHogStndExRP-3) where you have a good view over to the exit gully.  From this top out on slick rock do not climb any higher.  Instead traverse along whatever route feels comfortable to get over and into the exit gully a few hundred feet ahead.

Scramble and hike your way up the exit gully for about 0.3 miles.  There is a lot of scrambling on the way up this gully but non of it is overly difficult, just a lot of it.  As you get near the top of the gully you will notice it begins to get a lot steeper.  Keep an eye on the left (southwest) wall and look up high for an obvious rock pinnacle.

Keep an eye on the left wall as you get near the top of the exit gully.  Look for this rock pinnacle for a clue when to start climbing the left side wall along ledges.

As you get roughly parallel with the rock pinnacle look for a series of ledges to climb up to get to the ridge just above the pinnacle.  There are multiple ways to climb up the ledges.  Some of the spots to climb up will feel a little exposed and make you think a little to complete the moves.  There are only a couple spots that may be moderately difficult but over all an easy series of ledges to get up.  About 80 feet up you will get to sloped dirt to walk up.

After getting up onto the ridge above the pinnacle (wHogStndExRP-5) walk up the sloped dirt ridge about 250 feet to join the approach route in the rolling desert (jHogStndExTop).

After meeting with the approach route (jHogStndExTop) veer left and walk about 0.45 miles southwest on a bearing of 216 degrees back to the parking spot for the top entry to the Hogs (pkHogsUpper).

Exit Option Two - Alternate Slick Rock Exit:
Option two involves a difficult up climb on steep slick rock (generally rated as a 5.7) then becomes an over all easy route following up slick rock to the desert above.  This route is the longer option back to the cars at the top entry coming in at about 2.4 miles.  This is a good exit to use if you plan to do more than one Hog in a day.  Using this exit gets you to the desert above the Hog system between the tops of Hogs 1 and 2 making the traverse over to any of the Hogs easy.

If you are planning to do a second Hog after your exit up, this exit is a good choice as it will get you to the rim in a spot to quickly head over to the head of any of the other Hogs.

To follow exit option 2....  When you get to the bottom of Hog 3 (yHog3-Bt) turn right and go northwest up canyon in the drainage coming down from Hogs 1 and two.  About 0.4 miles up canyon will be a large drainage coming in from the right (east).  This is the bottom of Hogs 1 and 2 (yHog-1and2-Bt)  The drainage to the right (east) is Hog 2 and the drainage continuing up north is Hog 1.

Look for a smooth steep sloped section of slick rock starting up the nose between Hogs 1 and 2.  The base of the climb is on a ledge above the vegetated canyon floor next to Hog 1.

Note / Warning:
The first 25 to 30 feet of this exit involves a steeply sloped almost smooth section of slick rock and is generally rated as a 5.7 up climb.  If you are confident of your skills for a slab style up climb for about 30 feet you are good to go.  If you are not confident in your ability you should have someone along on the route that is if you intend to use this exit.  The first person up can tie a rope to them selves and offer a meat anchored hand line for every one else.

The good thing is the hardest part of this route is the very first 30 feet.  If you check out the climb up and decide it is not what you want to do you have not committed too much time to the effort.  If you check it out and decide you do not want to make the climb you can turn around and follow the standard exit up out of the Hog system.

If you make it up this climb the rest of the route up is easy and will get you to the rim between Hogs 1 and 2 ready to go over to the head of another Hog.

This is is the first 30 foot climb up the slick rock exit.  If you make it up this the rest is an easy up hill slog on slick rock to the rim.

After getting up to the top of the 30 foot up climb (wHogAltExRP-1) route find your way north up the wide wandering slick rock ridge.

About 0.35 miles up the ridge you will begin to see a distinct pointy slick rock peak about 0.2 miles ahead. 

Continue the 0.2 miles up the slick rock to the top of the peak (wHogAltExRP-2).  From the peak the route levels off and continues north along the now dirt covered ridge.

A little over 500 feet after the peak is the base (wHogAltExRP-3) of a sandstone cliff band about 40 feet high.  To continue the exit up and back to the cars parked at the upper parking area, find a spot to climb / scramble up onto the top of the cliff band then continue north west about 600 feet to meet up with the route that travels along the tops of the Hogs (jHogSlickRkEx).  There is no specific landmark here.

Note:
From the base of the cliff band (wHogAltExRP-3) if you plan to go over to Hog 2 or Hog 3 do not climb up the cliff band.  Instead veer right and follow the ledge system about eastish about 700 feet over to the head of Hog 2.  Or continue beyond the head of Hog 2 wrapping around south east then south down to the top of Hog 3 about 0.5 miles away.

After meeting up with the approach route turn left and head west about 250 feet over to the head of Hog 1 (yHog1Tp).

From the top of Hog 1 roughly follow the rim and route find your way west then wrapping around southwest through the rolling desert.  About 0.35 miles from the top of Hog 1 will be a wide dirt ravine / drainage dropping down from the rim and heading down southeast.  This is the top of Hog 4 (yHog4-MsPigyTp).

Note:
From the top of Miss Piggy the top entry parking area is about 1 mile southwest on a bearing of 208 degrees.

Continue south along the rim crossing over the top of a small sandstone cliff band (wHogsTopRP-01) about 700 feet away.

After crossing over the sandstone cliff band route find your way southwest through the desert back to the road where you parked your cars at the top entry (pkHogsUpper).

GPS Waypoint Information

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

Hog Three (1) - Drive in to Trailhead

extLandOZ-Hogs          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97361   W -110.56810        Elev: 4,770 Feet Exit off highway 276 for the Land of OZ canyons and access to the top entry for the Hogs. This is between mile markers 3 and 4. Dirt road needs high clearance and 4WD is recommended as the road condition varies greatly. pkHogsUpper          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97219   W -110.53028        Elev: 5,175 Feet Park here for access to the Hogs from the top. This is at the crest of a hill andjust as the road begins to veer from east to south east. The Hogs can be done as a loop route from here.

Hog Three (2) - Approach

pkHogsUpper          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97219   W -110.53028        Elev: 5,175 Feet Park here for access to the Hogs from the top. This is at the crest of a hill andjust as the road begins to veer from east to south east. The Hogs can be done as a loop route from here. jHogStndExTop          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97684   W -110.52602        Elev: 5,135 Feet Top out of the standard gully exit route where it meets with the approach route from the top. wHogsTopRP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98157   W -110.52342        Elev: 5,000 Feet Southern end of a sandstone cliff band feature to walk along the top of on the approach into the Hogs from the top. yHog4-MsPigyTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98350   W -110.52262        Elev: 5,020 Feet Top entry of Hog 4 - Miss Piggy. This is the head of a wide gentle sloped draiange leading down south east from the rim here. jHog1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98538   W -110.52020        Elev: 5,050 Feet From here turn southeast and walk about 100 feet to the rim and look for a spot to scramble down off the rim. jHogSlickRkEx          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98622   W -110.51788        Elev: NaN Feet This is where the slick rock exit up out of the Hogs meets the approch route that travels along the rim around the heads of the Hogs. No specific land mark here. yHog2Tp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98551   W -110.51537        Elev: 5,025 Feet Top entry for Hog 2. This is where you scramble down into the start of Hog 2. jHog3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98270   W -110.51291        Elev: 5,010 Feet Leave the rim here to start south down a ridge to continue toward Hog 3. wHogThreeRP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98238   W -110.51359        Elev: NaN Feet Large white patch area on the slick rock on the way down to Hog 3. yHog3Tp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98091   W -110.51233        Elev: 4,830 Feet Top of Hog 3 where a set of cross joints meet.

Hog Three (3) - The Canyon

yHog3Tp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98091   W -110.51233        Elev: 4,830 Feet Top of Hog 3 where a set of cross joints meet. wHogThreeRP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98000   W -110.51309        Elev: NaN Feet Break from the stemming for about 60 or 70 feet before dropping back into anohter section to stem down canyon in. wHogThreeRP-03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97907   W -110.51355        Elev: NaN Feet Cross joints drop down from both sides of the canyon here. dHogThree-R1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97854   W -110.51377        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 1 - Hog 3 (Razorback). Anchored from choke stones about 25 feet back and drops about 75 feet. Be sure to extend the anchor webbing all the way out on the drop to make the pull easier and prevent rope grooves. wHogThreeRP-04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97568   W -110.51533        Elev: NaN Feet Start of a boulder field to scramble and boulder hop down. yHog3-Bt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97362   W -110.51589        Elev: 4,355 Feet Bottom exit of Hog 3 (razorback). This is the end of the Hog 3 drainage where it joins into the main drainage below Hogs 1 and 2.

Hog Three (4) - Standard Gully Exit

yHog3-Bt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97362   W -110.51589        Elev: 4,355 Feet Bottom exit of Hog 3 (razorback). This is the end of the Hog 3 drainage where it joins into the main drainage below Hogs 1 and 2. wHogStndExRP-1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97335   W -110.51604        Elev: NaN Feet Top of the bank to climb up for the start of the standard exit after Hog 3. wHogStndExRP-2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97438   W -110.51938        Elev: 4,510 Feet Exit route corsses over a wide slick rock drainage on the way to the exit gully. This is also where this drainage forks where the north fork goes up to the exit gully and the west fork goes over to the side canyon with the huge head wall. wHogStndExRP-3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97488   W -110.52071        Elev: 4,540 Feet Top of a sandstone section whith good views over to the exit gully. wHogStndExRP-4          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97491   W -110.52176        Elev: NaN Feet Bottom of the exit gully. wHogStndExRP-5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97667   W -110.52508        Elev: 5,020 Feet On the ridge just above the rock pinnacle. jHogStndExTop          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97684   W -110.52602        Elev: 5,135 Feet Top out of the standard gully exit route where it meets with the approach route from the top. pkHogsUpper          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97219   W -110.53028        Elev: 5,175 Feet Park here for access to the Hogs from the top. This is at the crest of a hill andjust as the road begins to veer from east to south east. The Hogs can be done as a loop route from here.

Hog Three (5) - Optional Slick Rock Exit

yHog-1and2-Bt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97753   W -110.52006        Elev: 4,480 Feet Bottom exit of both hogs 1 and 2. This is the confluence of the two routes. wHogAltExRP-1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97774   W -110.52005        Elev: 4,481 Feet Top of the climb at the base of the Slick Rock exit up out of the Hogs. wHogAltExRP-2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98327   W -110.51826        Elev: 4,965 Feet A pointy peak along the slick rock ridge. wHogAltExRP-3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98465   W -110.51747        Elev: 5,010 Feet Base of a slick rock cliff band about 40 feet high. jHogSlickRkEx          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98622   W -110.51788        Elev: NaN Feet This is where the slick rock exit up out of the Hogs meets the approch route that travels along the rim around the heads of the Hogs. No specific land mark here. jHog1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98538   W -110.52020        Elev: 5,050 Feet From here turn southeast and walk about 100 feet to the rim and look for a spot to scramble down off the rim. yHog4-MsPigyTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98350   W -110.52262        Elev: 5,020 Feet Top entry of Hog 4 - Miss Piggy. This is the head of a wide gentle sloped draiange leading down south east from the rim here. wHogsTopRP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.98157   W -110.52342        Elev: 5,000 Feet Southern end of a sandstone cliff band feature to walk along the top of on the approach into the Hogs from the top. jHogStndExTop          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97684   W -110.52602        Elev: 5,135 Feet Top out of the standard gully exit route where it meets with the approach route from the top. pkHogsUpper          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97219   W -110.53028        Elev: 5,175 Feet Park here for access to the Hogs from the top. This is at the crest of a hill andjust as the road begins to veer from east to south east. The Hogs can be done as a loop route from here.