Canyoneering Route Description
Leprechaun Canyon Left (west) Fork - 3A II
North Wash, Utah.
04-30-10, 3 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 8 hours) both Left and Middle Forks in one trip.
05-29-10, 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 4 hours)
04-06-13, 2 people, 1 Day (Time Unknown) - Did all seven Irish
Canyons in a day with this being one of them.
04-07-13, 8 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 3.6 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 4 hours
Distance - 2.6 miles Total, 0.7 miles Technical
Rappels - 3 Rappels, Longest Rappel 35 feet.
Elevation Range - 4470 - 5000 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle -
Passenger
Permit Required - No
Warning:
Gear choices for skinny slots are different than wider canyons.
Think small, minimal and maybe even disposable where clothing is
concerned.
Rappelling and anchor gear, rope and or pull cord for raps up to 35
feet and 40 feet of 1” webbing for sling placement.
Warning:
This canyon is very skinny and some people may not fit.
Leprechaun Canyon has 3 forks and is sometimes referred to as Mile
28.1 Canyon. The Left Fork of Leprechaun Canyon is sometimes called
Shamrock. The Left Fork is not as narrow as the Middle Fork but you
should still pack and clothe yourself as if going into a very skinny
canyon.
It is suggested you remove your harness after each rappel to keep
from shredding it while traveling the narrow sections and sliding
down the walls on down climbs.
If you would like to see some good stuff but do not want to do any
technical stuff, the lower portion of the canyon can be accessed by
hiking up canyon as far as you can from the trailhead. The canyon
will eventually get too tight for the casual hiker but there are
some amazing things to see before you get turned back.
Note:
While in the Middle Fork of Leprechaun, the Left Fork of
Leprechaun and in Shenanigans (May 2010) there were a lot of names
carved in the rock. I know a lot of names in some areas have been
there for a long time. Other names though were very new. We found
one labeled as 2010. It is sad that people do this and ruin the
beauty for others that follow after. A lot of this is definitely
not the work of casual hikers as some of these names (including the
one dated 2010) are well into the canyon after a rappel or two. If
you have the urge to scratch something in the rock, please resist
the urge and keep things looking nice for others.
To get to the Trailhead
From the junction of highways 276 and 95, travel south west on
95 two miles to a dirt road on the left (north east). Turn left
onto this dirt road (extLeprechaun) and park at a wide spot on
the left about 300 feet from the highway (tLeprechaun).
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 the trailhead (tLeprechaun), walk north east up the wash. An
old dirt road follows part way up into the wash before fading away.
The canyon starts out wide with lots of brush and other plants along
the way. There are a few trails worn in and all go to the same
place so follow whatever route looks good as long as you are staying
in the wash and heading up canyon.
0.5 miles up canyon from the trailhead is another drainage joining
in from the left (west). The gently sloped sandstone nose on the up
canyon side of this drainage is the route you will take to start the
climb up out of the wash. The slope is so gentle in comparison to
everything around which makes the route up so obvious you almost
don’t need to give directions to it.
From the start of the sandstone nose (wLepRP-01) walk up the slope
staying slightly right of the crest.
About 500 feet up the slope is an out cropping of rocks. Follow
around the right side of the largest part of it to find a small
sandy level bowl. Cross over the bowl and start up more steep slick
rock along the ridge. About 500 up the slick rock feet after the
bowl is a small peak. As the route to the peak begins to get too
steep follow around the left (west) side of the peak then back onto
the ridge top at a small slick rock saddle (wLepRP-02).
When at the saddle take time to look north east over the Leprechaun
Canyons. You can clearly see the Left and Middle Forks. The Right
fork can be seen if you look close further up the Middle Fork from
where the Left Fork obviously joins. Further right is another
drainage that has a vertical drop as it joins Leprechaun Canyon,
this clearly visible drainage is not the Right Fork.
About 300 feet from the saddle with the view is another sandstone
peak along the ridge. Travel over the peak and continue along slick
rock to the top of the next sandstone peak about another 300 feet
along the ridge (wLepRP-03).
After another 300 or 400 feet a faint traveled path emerges in some
dirt along the right (east) side of the ridge. The path follows
around the right (east) side of the crest of the ridge for about 200
feet then turns left (wLepRP-04) toward the top of the ridge to the
west.
The path crosses over the crest of the ridge which is now covered in
dirt rather than sandstone. The path then turns right (north) and
follows dirt trail around the west side of the ridge. After
traveling along the left (west) side of the ridge for about 350
feet, the trail fades away to nothing (wLepRP-05).
Where the trail fades away to nothing (wLepRP-05) climb up a bunch
of broken slabs of sandstone to the right (east) then continue north
up a steep sandstone slope. At the top of the steep slope
(wLepRP-06), which is about 150 feet from where the trail faded, you
will be greeted with wide open flat desert dirt and views that go
way off in the distance.
Once at the top of the sandstone slope and at the start of the flat
desert (wLepRP-06), walk north and look for a trail. Follow the
trail north about 0.3 miles along side of and up to the head of the
West Fork of Leprechaun. The head of the West Fork of Leprechaun (yLep-LtFkTp)
has a cul-de-sac shape with a drop of about 15 or 20 feet down some
slick rock.
The Canyon / Technical Section:
At the head of the West Fork (yLep-LtFkTp) down climb the sloped
drop into a wide flat wash with walls on each side.
About 300 feet down canyon is a drop down more slick rock into a
narrow slot. Webbing has been placed there by some parties for a
rappel. There is no need to rappel here. Instead bypass this drop
by climbing way around LDC out along a ledge. Find a way up and
over the ridge along the ledge (wLepRP-12) then down to the slick
rock. Walk down the slick rock back toward the canyon floor. About
another 250 feet down along the slick rock is rap 1 which is at the
top of another narrow sot.
If you have time and want to play in some narrow stuff, you can
travel up canyon from rap 1 toward the drop you just bypassed. You
will find some very narrow sections to check out.
Rap 1 (dLepLftFkR1) is about 750 feet from the head of the canyon.
Rap 1 is anchored from a couple rocks placed in a shallow pothole at
the top of the rap and drops about 35 feet down into a narrow
section continuing down canyon.
Rap 2 (dLepLftFkR2) is about 150 feet down canyon of rap 1. Rap 2
is anchored from a large rock embedded in the floor about 10 feet
back from the rap. Rap 2 drops about 15 feet.
A short distance down canyon of rap 2 is the entry to an obviously
tighter section that what is immediately down canyon of rap 2. At
the start of this tight section is a down climb of about 15 feet
down a twisted slot. The down climb has an anchor attached for
rapping. On the first trip through the canyon we did not notice the
webbing until we had already down climbed. The down climb is very
easy and I have not counted it as a rap even though there is webbing
in place for an anchor.
Rap 3 (dLepLftFkR3) is about 500 feet down canyon of rap 2. Rap 3
is anchored from a dead man anchor and drops about 25 feet. The
drop looks intimidating from the top so it appears you need to rap.
We found it was easy enough to elevator and stem down this drop.
Since it looks difficult to down climb and there is an anchor most
people will choose to rap so I am counting this as a rap even though
it is a pretty simple endeavor to down climb it.
Just down canyon of rap 3 the canyon opens slightly to a view of a
huge boulder on canyon right that looks like it could fall away from
the wall at any time. The size of the boulder looking like it is
balanced there is pretty incredible looking. The canyon along the
section with the boulder in it is a little more wide open than the
rest has been, but is still fairly narrow and has some fallen rock
debris to scramble over.
About 350 feet down canyon of rap 3 is a drop of about 15 feet
(wLepRP-13). This drop will prove to be a fun puzzle for the taller
people in the group. Everyone else may want a hand line or a meat
anchor. At the bottom of the drop starts a section that narrows up
again for about 450 feet before reaching an open area where the Left
Fork you were just in meets up with the Middle Fork (jLepLftMid)
Continuing down canyon of the junction with the Middle Fork starts
another set of narrows. One section of the narrow section is
slanted to the left. The slant makes travel a bit difficult since
it is too narrow to travel facing forward and the slant makes it
impossible to stand up. You find yourself bouncing along the wall
with your body as you try to keep your feet moving. Making things
more cumbersome is the bottom not being wide enough to get your feet
to the floor so you need to jamb your foot between the walls to
stand. To top it all off you are man handling your pack along with
you since it is too narrow to be wearing it.
A few hundred feet down the narrows is a section with a lot of
fallen boulder choke stones, which I have been told change a lot
over time. Find your way under, over or through the boulders any
way you can. The narrow section containing the fallen boulders and
the tight sections around it are commonly referred to as Belfast
Boulevard.
On the other side of the boulder choke stones a narrow section
little light entering from the top. Climb down a 10 foot or so
narrow section just before reaching the junction with the Right Fork
of Leprechaun (jLepRgtMid). The junction with the Right Fork of
Leprechaun Canyon (tLepRgtMid) is about 400 feet down canyon after
the junction with the Left Fork.
Continuing down canyon from the junction with the Right Fork is a
large room like narrow section. The walls bell out in the middle
and the ceiling is very high but closed up pretty tight giving the
section a room like feel. And the floor can at times hold a little
water in the center. Chris Brennen’s site refers to this section as
Belfast Boulevard while others call the tight section a few feet
before getting to the junction with the Right Fork Belfast
Boulevard.
Just after the wide bell shaped room the canyon opens up a little to
a section that is a little reminiscent of the subway. While there
is no top to the section the walls are tall smooth and slightly
rounded in while winding a couple times over a few hundred feet. It
feels like walking down a grand corridor.
Shortly after the grand corridor section the canyon opens up more
and begins to become a wash with sections of sandstone and dirt
along the floor. A short distance down the wide open area is a drop
of about 10 feet which can be down climbed on LDC of the head of the
drop. This is marked as the end of the canyon route (yLeprechaunBt).
The Exit:
Continue about 0.2 miles back to the spot where you started to climb
up out of the wash (wLepRP-01). Next continue down the wash another
0.5 miles to where you left the vehicle and started your journey.
Optionally you could start back up the sandstone slope up out of the
canyon and go up to descend another fork of Leprechaun.
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........
| Leprechaun Left (west) Fork (1) - Approach |
- extLeprechaun
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.01754
W -110.53717
Elev: 4,455 Feet
Exit for the dirt road into the bottom of Leprechaun Canyon.
- tLeprechaun
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.01838
W -110.53685
Elev: 4,470 Feet
Trailhead for Leprechaun Canyon. There is room to park a few vehicles here off to the side of the dirt road.
- wLepRP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02504
W -110.53285
Elev: 4,520 Feet
Start climb out of wash here. Climb north up a sandstone nose on the left (west) just up canyon of a side drainage joining in from the left (west). The slope up is gentle and presents itself as the most obvious route up.
- wLepRP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02769
W -110.53232
Elev: NaN Feet
Small slick rock saddle after skirting around the left of a small sandstone peak. Great Views over the Leprechaun Canyons.
- wLepRP-03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02908
W -110.53120
Elev: 4,810 Feet
Second peak along the ridge after the saddle with the view over the Leprechaun Canyons.
- wLepRP-04
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03070
W -110.53046
Elev: NaN Feet
Faint trail turns left (west) and crosses over from the east side of the ridge to the west side of the ridge.
- wLepRP-05
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03171
W -110.53071
Elev: NaN Feet
Trail fades to nothing. Climb up the slick rock and continue north climbing more slick rock to the top of a steep slope.
- wLepRP-06
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03200
W -110.53058
Elev: 4,943 Feet
At the top of a steep slick rock slope. To the north is wide open flat desert dirt and views that go way off in the distance.
- yLep-LtFkTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03542
W -110.52892
Elev: 4,975 Feet
Top entry of the left fork for Leprechaun Canyon.
|
| Leprechaun Left (west) Fork (2) - Canyon and Exit |
- yLep-LtFkTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03542
W -110.52892
Elev: 4,975 Feet
Top entry of the left fork for Leprechaun Canyon.
- wLepRP-12
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03423
W -110.52829
Elev: NaN Feet
Out on a point along the ledge LDC to bypass a drop just down canyon of the head of the Left Fork.
- dLepLftFkR1
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03362
W -110.52860
Elev: 4,870 Feet
Rap 1 - Left Fk Lep. Anchored from a couple rocks in a shallow pothole at the top of the rap and drops about 35 feet.
- dLepLftFkR2
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03317
W -110.52871
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 2 - Left Fk Lep. Anchored from a large rock embedded in the floor about 10 feet back from the rap.
- dLepLftFkR3
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03210
W -110.52899
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 3 - Left Fk Lep. Anchored from a dead man anchor and drops about 25 feet.
- wLepRP-13
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03120
W -110.52936
Elev: NaN Feet
Drop of about 15 feet. Use a meat anchor for all but the last if the last person is tall. If no tall people are there set a hand line.
- jLepLftMid
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.03027
W -110.52862
Elev: 4,615 Feet
Left and Middle forks of Leprechaun join.
- jLepRgtMid
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02936
W -110.52918
Elev: NaN Feet
Middle and Right forks of Leprechaun join.
- yLeprechaunBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02688
W -110.53122
Elev: 4,560 Feet
Bottom exit of Leprechaun Canyon. This is a few hundred feet after the long huge subway type area.
- wLepRP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.02504
W -110.53285
Elev: 4,520 Feet
Start climb out of wash here. Climb north up a sandstone nose on the left (west) just up canyon of a side drainage joining in from the left (west). The slope up is gentle and presents itself as the most obvious route up.
- tLeprechaun
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 38.01838
W -110.53685
Elev: 4,470 Feet
Trailhead for Leprechaun Canyon. There is room to park a few vehicles here off to the side of the dirt road.
|