Canyoneering Route Description

Shillelagh Canyon - Right (east) Fork - 3A I
North Wash, Utah.

Quick Facts

05-29-10, 6 people, 2 Day (Travel time in route 2.25 hours) Pictures Icon
04-06-13, 2 people, 1 Day (Time Unknown) - Did all seven Irish Canyons in a day with this being one of them. 
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 miles Total, 0.6 miles Technical
Rappels - 2 Rappels, Longest Rappel 110 feet.
Elevation Range - 4510 - 4850 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 110 feet and 60 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.

General Comments

The view from raps 1 and 2 make you think there is a big adventure ahead.  Truth is, after these raps it is a long walk with very little down climbing excitement to complete the canyon.  Take your time around raps 1 and 2 since it is the best part.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

The Right (east) Fork of Shillelagh Canyon uses part of the same approach as Blarney Canyons.  

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.

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 entire route.

Details

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.  

After the last slick rock scramble follow the well worn path about 0.3 miles to a junction in the trail (jBlarnyShilela).  To the left (north west) leads to the Right Fork of Shillelagh Canyon.  To the right (north east) leads to the Left Fork of Blarney Canyon.  

From the junction veer left (north west) and follow the path toward the head of the Right (east) Fork of Shillelagh Canyon. 

About 700 feet from the junction there is a faint spur trail branching off left (northwest) leading down into the Right Fork of Shillelagh Canyon.  You can follow this trail about 100 feet over to an easy down climb into the Right Fork of Shillelagh (wShillRp-01).  Or do not take the side trail and stay on the more well worn path and continue north another 200 feet where the trail turns left and heads north west to an easy walk down into the Right (east) Fork of Shillelagh (jShillelaghRF).

After dropping into the Right Fork, turn left and walk south down the wash about 120 feet to the head of the Right Fork of Shillelagh (yShilelahRFkTp).

The Canyon / Technical Section:
At the head of the Right Fork of Shillelagh (yShilelahRFkTp) is a drop of about 15 feet which can be bypassed by downclimbing LDC or RDC.

After downclimbing around the drop travel down canyon about 650 feet to the top of rap 1.  There are a couple narrow sections to play in between the head and rap 1. 

Rap 1 (dShillRtFkR1-2) is anchored RDC from a boulder at the head of the rap.  Rap 1 drops 45 feet to a large ledge where lots of people can fit.

Rap 2 is from the ledge right below rap 1.  Rap 2 is anchored from a large rock LDC and back about 30 feet from the top of the rap.  Webbing should be slung from the anchor rock over to the edge of the rap to avoid rope pull issues. The drop for rap 2 is 110 feet from the lip.  Rap 2 has a large grotto feel to it and is very pretty while on rappel.  Take the time to look around and enjoy it.  

Down canyon of rap 2 the canyon is narrow but with walls that flare out quickly so it does not feel closed in.  Travel is easy walking in sand with a few easy down climbs ranging from 5 to 10 feet each.   

About 800 feet down canyon of rap 2 a couple small side drainages join in (wShillRp-02).   Another 800 feet down canyon a large side drainage joins in from RDC (wShillRp-03).  This large drainage is not the Left Fork of Shillelagh.  Shortly after a smaller drainage joins from LDC.  

Next is a tighter narrow section that is about 100 feet long or so.  

Another 800 feet down canyon is another drainage joining in from RDC (yShrtEndBt).  This is where the bottom of the Short End of the Stick route drops into Shillelagh.  The canyon at this point is very wide open.

Down canyon of this drainage, follow down a narrow section with a series of small potholes.  

Another 900 feet down canyon is a huge drainage joining in from RDC (yShillelaghBt).  This drainage is the Left (west) Fork of Shillelagh Canyon.  This is marked as the bottom exit for both forks of Shillelagh Canyon.

The Exit:
From the Junction of the 2 forks of Shillelagh Canyon walk the wash 0.4 miles back to the road (tShillelaghBt).  Next walk south 0.2 miles back to where you parked near the bottom of Blarney Canyon.

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........
Shillelagh Right Fork (1) - Approach
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. wBlarneyRP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.02397   W -110.54431        Elev: NaN Feet
    Smooth sand stone high point on the ridge.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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).
  10. wShillRp-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.03266   W -110.54192        Elev: 4,850 Feet
    Leave the trail here to drop into Right Fork of Shillelagh with an easy down climb.
  11. jShillelaghRF          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.03326   W -110.54193        Elev: 4,875 Feet
    Trail drops down into the Right Fork of Shillelagh here. Turn south and walk down the wash to drop into the Right Fork of Shillelagh. Or continue west accross the wash and up the otehr side to continue over to the Left (west) Fork of Shillelagh Canyon or the Short End of the Stick route.
  12. yShilelahRFkTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.03298   W -110.54179        Elev: 4,860 Feet
    Top of the Right (east) Fork of Shillelagh. There is a drop of about 15 feet here which can be bypassed RDC or LDC. Just down canyon of here is a short section of narrows.
Shillelagh Right Fork (2) - Canyon and Exit
  1. yShilelahRFkTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.03298   W -110.54179        Elev: 4,860 Feet
    Top of the Right (east) Fork of Shillelagh. There is a drop of about 15 feet here which can be bypassed RDC or LDC. Just down canyon of here is a short section of narrows.
  2. dShillRtFkR1-2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.03169   W -110.54322        Elev: NaN Feet
    Raps 1 and 2 - Shillelagh Right Fork. Rap 1 anchored from a rock RDC and drops about 45 feet. Rap 2 anchored from a rock LDC about 30 feet back from the lip and drops about 110 feet from the lip of the drop.
  3. wShillRp-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.03002   W -110.54410        Elev: NaN Feet
    A couple small side drainages join in.
  4. wShillRp-03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.02851   W -110.54517        Elev: NaN Feet
    Not Left Fork of Shillelagh. Large drainage joins in from RDC then another smaller one from LDC.
  5. yShrtEndBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.02726   W -110.54751        Elev: 4,590 Feet
    Bottom of the Short End of the Stick route where it drops into the Right Fork of Shillelagh Canyon.
  6. yShillelaghBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.02573   W -110.54944        Elev: 4,560 Feet
    Bottom exit for both fork of Shillelagh Canyon. Junction of the right and left forks of Shillelagh Canyon.
  7. tShillelaghBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 38.02088   W -110.54842        Elev: 4,510 Feet
    Bottom trailhead for Shillelagh Canyon where the wash meets the road.

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