Canyoneering Route Description

Hogwarts Canyon - 3A II
North Wash, Utah.

Quick Facts

10-13-12, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 4 hours) Relaxed pace and time to look at the alcove on exit.

Time Required - 2.5 to 3.5 hours
Distance - 1.3 miles Total, 0.3 miles Technical
Rappels - 4 Rappels, Longest Rappel 90 feet.
Elevation Range - 4060 - 4580 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 90 feet and 60 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.

General Comments

Hogwarts is a short but very fun and scenic canyon worth the trip. Worth future revisits as well!

There is one silo to cross but it is not too wide and is more of a galumph than a stem. While relatively easy it is still possible to slip down into the semi keeper pothole below.  Keep a rope handy to help people across if needed.

There generally will be little to no water in Hogwarts and the water is generally avoidable. While Hogwarts is rated an A canyon since there are places you may get your feet wet if you fail to avoid water when the canyon is wet. If there is a lot of recent rain you may find a couple spots to bridge / galumph to get over a pool.

There are 3 drops near the head of the canyon that can be set as rappels and can add to the rap count. All 3 of these drops are easily bypassed on the RDC side making them completely optional. This route description does not call these rappels but some people may.  Keep this in mind if your rap count differs from this description.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

From the junction of highways 95 and 276 (about 25 miles south of Hanksville) drive southeast on highway 95 for 7.2 miles to the Hog Springs parking area on the right (pkHogSprings).  This is a large parking area with bathrooms on the right.  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.

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

Details

The Approach:
From Hog Springs parking area (pkHogSprings) walk west up Hog Canyon about 650 feet to a side ravine coming in from the left (south).

From the side ravine (jHogWarts) look at the left (southeast) side to the large ravine / side canyon. Note a much smaller and more shallow ravine like feature running up the left (north) side of the large ravine.  Leave the Hog Canyon drainage and route find your way up that smaller ravine paralleling the large ravine. The first 300 feet of the ascent is semi steep then it levels off a bit.  About 900 feet from the Hog Canyon drainage the route drops into the large ravine you had been paralleling just above a large drop.

From the top of the large drop (Hogwarts01) walk up canyon a little over 100 feet to the bottom of a rubble filled ramp going up the left (northeast) side.

From the bottom of the rubble filled ramp (Hogwarts02) go about 200 feet to where it tops out on the next higher level.

From the top of the ramp (Hogwarts03) route find your way southeast up the left side and find your way a few hundred feet up to the ridge above. Travel up the LUC side at an angle up away from the drainage and kind of contouring up canyon and up ridge at the same time.

Once up on the ridge (Hogwarts04) follow south up the ridge then down to a shallow saddle a few hundred feet away.  From this ridge you have good views down to the Hogwarts drainage about 500 feet to the east.

From the shallow saddle (Hogwarts05) route find your way southeast down the ravine about 450 feet down into the Hogwarts drainage (yHogwartsTp).

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
Once down in Hogwarts at the head of the canyon (yHogwartsTp) start north down canyon.  Shortly down canyon is a short drop to bypass RDC before getting to a series of 3 drops to bypass on the RDC side.

The three drops (Hogwarts06) can be rappelled if desired but all 3 easily bypassed on the RDC side. If rappelled the first drop is about 40 feet. There are rocks, bushes and other options for these drops if you decide to set anchors for rappel. Otherwise bypass and downclimb around each of these on the RDC side. Rap 1 is about 250 feet down canyon.

Rap 1 (dHogwartsR1) you can rap down through the water course over a two stage rap using one of many anchor options. We decided to avoid the water at the bottom and used an anchor from a large rock out a ways on the RDC rim to rap about 50 feet down to the canyon floor past the water. Rap 2 is about 150 feet down canyon.

Rap 2 (dHogwartsR2) is anchored from a pinch between a large choke stone and the LDC wall and drops about 50 feet to the bottom. This arch is well worth the visit to rap through. From the bottom of rap 3 is a short scramble down to a sandy area that can have water if full from recent rains.

Just after rap 2 is some galumphing down to a silo (Hogwarts07) you need to stem over. The stem over the silo is not too wide and is more of a galumph than a stem. While relatively easy it is still possible to slip down into the semi keeper pothole below. Keep a rope handy to help people across if needed.

After is short section to galumph down through before getting to a sandy area where you walk out to the next rap.

Rap 3 (dHogwartsR3) is anchored from an arch between pockets in the wall on the RDC side back from the drop a bit and about head high then drops about 75 feet and over a couple ledges. From the bottom of rap 3 it is a 300 foot walk out to rap 4.

Rap 4 (dHogwartsR4) is anchored from a large flat rock laying on the RDC rim and drops about 90 feet with some free hang on the upper half.

 From the bottom of the rap walk the wash about 300 feet out to North Wash and the highway (yHogwartsBt). 

The Exit:
From the North Wash drainage (yHogwartsBt) You can scramble up to the highway on the other side then turn left to walk northwest about 0.34 miles back to the car.

Optionally you can turn left and walk up the drainage of North Wash about 900 feet up to a huge alcove (HogAlcove) up on the bank for a scenic walk through. The alcove / arch is huge and is pretty interesting to check out. After looking at the arch continue up the North Wash drainage back to the cars.

GPS Waypoint Information

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

Hogwarts (1) - Appraoch

pkHogSprings          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.96273   W -110.49129        Elev: 4,100 Feet Hog Springs Rest Area. Restrooms and trail head for Hog Springs. To go to Hogwarts walk west up Hog Canyon about 650 feet to a side ravine coming in from the left (south). To go to the hog Ramble walk north up the highway about 800 feet to another drainage running up fro the highway to the west. jHogWarts          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.96195   W -110.49314        Elev: 4,120 Feet This is directly accross from a drainage on the LUC side. To go to Hogwarts look at the left (southeast) side to the large ravine / side canyon. Note a much smaller and more shallow ravine like feature running up the left (north) side of the large ravine. Leave the Hog Canyon drainage and route find your way up that smaller ravine paralleling the large ravine. The first 300 feet of the ascent is semi steep then it levels off a bit. About 900 feet from the Hog Canyon drainage the route drops into the large ravine you had been paralleling just above a large drop. Hogwarts01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.96002   W -110.49146        Elev: NaN Feet Route drops into the large ravine just above a large drop. From this drop walk up canyon a little over 100 feet to the bottom of a rubble filled ramp going up the left (northeast) side. Hogwarts02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.96005   W -110.49103        Elev: NaN Feet Bottom of a rubble filled ramp going up the left (east) side. Follow up the ramp about 200 feet to where it tops out on the next higher level. Hogwarts03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95964   W -110.49064        Elev: NaN Feet Top of a rubble filled ramp. Route find your way southeast up the left side and find your way a few hundred feet up to the ridge above. Travel up the LUC side at an angle up away from the drainage and kind of contouring up canyon and up ridge at the same time. Hogwarts04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95826   W -110.48939        Elev: 4,580 Feet Route gets up onto the ridge. Follow south up the ridge then down to a shallow saddle a few hundred feet away. From this ridge you have good views down to the Hogwarts drainage about 500 feet to the east. Hogwarts05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95788   W -110.48946        Elev: NaN Feet Shallow saddle on the ridge. From this saddle route find your way southeast down the ravine about 450 feet down into the Hogwarts drainage. yHogwartsTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95750   W -110.48806        Elev: 4,430 Feet Top of Hogwarts Canyon. Shortly down canyon is a short drop to bypass RDC before getting to a series of 3 drops to bypass on the RDC side.

Hogwarts (2) - Canyon and Exit

yHogwartsTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95750   W -110.48806        Elev: 4,430 Feet Top of Hogwarts Canyon. Shortly down canyon is a short drop to bypass RDC before getting to a series of 3 drops to bypass on the RDC side. Hogwarts06          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95776   W -110.48784        Elev: NaN Feet First of 3 drops that can be rappelled if desired but all 3 easily bypassed on the RDC side. If rappelled the first drop is about 40 feet. There are rocks, bushes and other options for these drops if you decide to set anchors for rappel. Otherwise bypass and downclimb around each of these on the RDC side. Rap 1 is about 250 feet down canyon. dHogwartsR1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95830   W -110.48736        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 1 - Hogwarts Canyon first real rappel. You can rap down through the water course over a two stage rap using one of many anchor options. We decided to avoid the water at the bottom and used an anchor from a large rock out a ways on the RDC rim to rap about 50 feet down to the canyon floor past the water. Rap 2 is about 150 feet down canyon. dHogwartsR2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95872   W -110.48729        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 2 - Hogwarts Canyon. Anchored from a pinch between a large choke stone and the LDC wall and drops about 50 feet to the bottom. This arch is well worth the visit to rap through. From the bottom of rap 3 is a short scramble down to a sandy area that can have water if full from recent rains. Hogwarts07          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95903   W -110.48708        Elev: NaN Feet Just after rap 2 is some galumphing down to a silo you need to stem over. The stem over the silo is not too wide and is more of a galumph than a stem. While relatively easy it is still possible to slip down into the semi keeper pothole below. Keep a rope handy to help people across if needed. After is short section to galumph down through before getting to a sandy area where you walk out to the next rap. dHogwartsR3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95943   W -110.48701        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 3 - Hogwarts Canyon. Anchored from an arch between pockets in the wall on the RDC side back from the drop a bit and about head high then drops about 75 feet and over a couple ledges. From the bottom of rap 3 it is a 300 foot walk out to rap 4. dHogwartsR4          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95998   W -110.48630        Elev: NaN Feet Rap 4 - Hogwarts Canyon. Anchored from a large flat rock laying on the RDC rim and drops about 90 feet with some free hang on the upper half. From the bottom of the rap walk the wash about 300 feet out to North Wash and the highway. yHogwartsBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.96069   W -110.48560        Elev: 4,060 Feet Bottom of Hogwarts where it dumps into North Wash. You can scramble up to the highway on the other side then turn left to walk northwest about 0.34 miles back to the car. Optionally you can turn left and walk up the drainage of North Wash about 900 feet up to a huge alcove up on the bank for a scenic walk through. The alcove / arch is huge and is pretty interesting to check out. After looking at the arch continue up the North Wash drainage back to the cars. HogAlcove          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.96140   W -110.48869        Elev: NaN Feet Huge alcove with some cool stuff to look at. pkHogSprings          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.96273   W -110.49129        Elev: 4,100 Feet Hog Springs Rest Area. Restrooms and trail head for Hog Springs. To go to Hogwarts walk west up Hog Canyon about 650 feet to a side ravine coming in from the left (south). To go to the hog Ramble walk north up the highway about 800 feet to another drainage running up fro the highway to the west.