Canyoneering Route Description
PO Canyon - 2A II
Shuffleboard and Wordsmith Forks
Ticaboo Mesa, Utah.
11-02-13, 5 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 6.6 hours)
Includes time to explore up canyon above both forks.
Time Required - 4 to 5 hours
Distance - 4.2 miles Total, 1.3 miles Technical
Rappels - 0 Rappels, Longest Rappel N/A feet.
A few easy downclimbs and light stemming.
Elevation Range - 4120 - 3880 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - High Clearance
(possibly 4WD if road conditions are bad)
Permit Required - No
If the roads are in good condition a passenger car might be able
to drive most of the way in.
No technical gear is needed for PO Canyon. Wet
suits will not be needed as the canyon will usually be dry. If
recent rains have filled the canyon there are a couple spots that
can hold shin to thigh deep water.
PO Canyon has two forks. The left (north) fork is
known as Shuffleboard and the right (south) fork is known as Wordsmith.
The Name PO Canyon comes from the inscription on the wall at the
bottom end of the canyon where it dumps into Smith Fork. The inscription has the capital letters
PO and an arrow pointing up into the canyon.
PO Canyon is rated a II using the
canyon rating system. However the Right Fork has some very skinny
portions and people should expect some stemming up to 20 feet to get over
some skinny parts in the Right / Wordsmith Fork. While this
is rated a II please keep in mind the light stemming and the skinny sections
when considering the route.
This route description is for both the Left /
Shuffleboard and Right / Wordsmith
Forks of PO Canyon. This route description describes finding
your way to the top of the Left / Shuffleboard Fork and descend it
to the confluence, scrambling up between the forks to get to the top of the
Right / Wordsmith Fork, descending it back to the
confluence then down from the confluence down to Smith Fork and exiting back
to your car. This route offers a fun day allowing one to see both
forks of PO Canyon in one route. If a shorter day is desired
you can descend only one of the forks. It is an easy route find
about 0.4 miles between the heads of the right and left forks of PO Canyon.
PO Canyon is best done in cool weather.
There is little water in the area and it gets warm easily. Save this
route for a cool day.
The Left / Shuffleboard Fork of PO Canyon has spots where you may find shin or thigh deep
water if rains have recently filled it up. However most of the time
these canyons will be dry. The left fork is wide enough that
anyone will be able to get through easily as you go through some very
beautiful narrows with a few easy downclimbs. A few spots are narrow
enough that most people will need to turn sideways but it is not tight and
everyone will fit.
The Right / Wordsmith Fork of PO Canyon also has a few
spots where shin or thigh deep water may be found but
will usually be dry. The Right Fork is the skinniest of the two. The last 150 feet of of the right
fork will allow most people to pass but large people will need to stem up
about 20 feet to go up an over the skinny part. One other section will force almost everyone to stem up about 10 or 15 feet and
stem down canyon about 40 feet over the section.
If you want to see just how skinny the Right /
Wordsmith Fork
is before you commit, take a side trip up from the
confluence. The skinniest part is the last 150 feet before reaching
the confluence. To test your desire for the skinny part of the canyon
travel about 150 feet up the bottom of the Right Fork from the confluence.
Keep in mind large people will need to to stem up about 20 feet to go over
this section.
To get to the Trailhead
Note:
There is a maze of roads on Ticaboo Mesa making it a good idea
to study the map ahead of time and keep a close eye on the map
as you drive.
From Hanksville, UT., drive south on highway 95 for 26 miles to
the junction of highways 95 and 276.
From the junction, drive south on HWY-276 for 25.6 miles then
turn left (east) onto BLM dirt-road 13400 between mile markers
25 and 26 (extTicaboo1).
About 1.5 miles down the dirt road is a junction (TicabooDP-01)
to a side road on the right going south. Turn right at
this junction and drive south on a dirt road.
About 1 miles down the road will be a side road (TicabooDP-50)
that leaves the main road on the left (east) then loops back to
rejoin the main road about 350 feet farther. Continue
south on the main road.
About 1.2 miles farther is a side road (TicabooDP-51) that joins
in from the left (east). Continue south.
About 2.4 farther the road turns sharp left (TicabooDP-52) and
goes from traveling south to now traveling southeast then east.
About 1.2 miles farther will be a side road (TicabooDP-53)
joining from the right (south). This is just before
reaching Danish Knoll. Continue east toward Danish Knoll
to get to the Smith Fork area.
About 0.5 miles farther is a fork in the road (TicabooDP-54).
To get to the upper section of Smith Fork veer left and continue
east.
Note:
If you were going for canyons in the lower portion of Smith Fork
you would veer right at this fork and travel south east.
About 0.9 miles after veering left is where you can park (pkSmithForkUpr)
to start the route down into the upper area of Smith Fork.
This is a wide level obvious place to park.
Note:
It is not recommended to drive farther down the road.
After the parking area the road gets steep and has a lot of very
deep loose sand. The road ends less than 0.25 miles
farther anyway.
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 drive into the route.
Map of the entire route.
The Approach:
From the parking spot (pkSmithForkUpr)
Walk down the sandy
slope north east down
into Smith Fork.
About 700 feet from the
parking spot is a burned
up van (wSmithUprRP-01).
Continue north east down
into Smith Fork.
About 400 feet farther
the route drops into
Smith Fork
(jSmithFkUpr1) after
route finding your way
down the last bit of
sloped slick rock.
Once in Smith Fork
(jSmithFkUpr1), turn
right (south) and walk
down the gravel bottomed
wash about 0.4 miles to
where a drainage drops
in (yMinorForkBt) from
the LDC (east).
When you get to the
bottom of Minor Fork (yMinorForkBt),
scramble / walk up to
the east up along the
LUC side of Minor Fork.
Go east up the slickrock
on the north side of
Minor Fork so Minor Fork
is on your right (south)
as you walk up.
The top of Minor Fork is
about 1000 feet after
leaving Smith Fork.
The top of Minor Fork (yMinorForkTp)
is a wide sandy spot
where the sandy wash
meets the top of the
Minor Fork Slot.
Note:
Minor Fork is a short
slot that can add a few
minutes of fun if you
are out wandering the
area looking to kill a
little time. Minor
Fork is only about 1000
feet long and is mostly
easy travel with an easy
downclimb of about 10
feet, a skinny section
where you will need to
stem up about 10 feet
and one possible pool
that can be bridged
over. About 300
feet from the bottom end
of the canyon is a
hanging pothole on the
LDC side that has a set
of stairs carved into
the rock to allow access
down from the LDC (east)
rim. The stairs
and pothole are best
viewed from the west rim
while walking up along
the rim of Minor Fork.
From the top of Minor
Fork (yMinorForkTp) look
east and note a cliff
band about 1000 feet
away. Also look
north east and note
another cliff band about
1500 feet away.
Look between the two
cliff bands and note a
wide open dirt hill /
ridge between them.
Route find your way
northeast across rolling
desert and slickrock and
get up to a wide shallow
saddle like area on that
dirt hill / ridge.
When you get to the top
of the ridge
(wPO-RP-01) continue
northeast about 600 feet
down the other side of
the ridge down into the
drainage for the Left
/ Shuffleboard Fork of
PO
Canyon (yPO-Shufle-Tp).
Note -
Navigation to the top of
the Right / Shuffleboard Fork of
PO Canyon
The route
description here is for
dropping down the Left
Fork of PO
then finding your way up
to the top of the Right
Fork and descending the
Right Fork of
PO.
However if you wish to
go over to the top of
the Right Fork and not
drop down through the
Left Fork first, you can do
that. From the top
of the Left /
Shuffleboard Fork (yPO-Shufle-Tp)
route find your way
southeast about 0.4
miles over to the top of
the Right / Wordsmith Fork of
PO Canyon (yPO-Word-Tp).
As you do you will need
to sweep south down
around a prominent mesa.
The terrain is very
forgiving and easy to
find your way around.
Down the Left
/ Shuffleborad Fork of
PO
Canyon:
From where you
dropped into the Left
Fork of Shuffleboard
Canyon (yPO-Shufle-Tp)
turn right to start down
the left fork to the
southwest.
Note - Up Canyon
Info
Up canyon of where you
drop into the Shuffleboard
Fork (yPO-Shufle-Tp)
is wide open slickrock
and sand. About
0.3 miles up canyon of
here to the northeast is
the bottom of a slot
about 200 to 300 feet
long. Up canyon of
that slot is a
confluence with more
stuff to wander around
in and see. All
the slots up canyon of
the Left Fork drop in
described here are
short, mostly walk
through slots with the
occasional up or
downclimb of 6 to 8 feet
and a couple spots to
galumph over or bridge
over a shallow pool.
It is a scenic area up
canyon of here and
interesting if you have
time to wonder but the
up canyon stuff does not
offer technical fun.
About 700 feet down
canyon is the start of a
narrow section
(wPO-RP-02) about
475 feet long. A
short way down this
narrow section is a
boulder to crawl under
followed by mostly easy
walking. At
the other end of the
slot is more open area
where you can easily
walk / scramble up out
of the canyon.
About 100 feet down
canyon is the top of
(wPO-RP-03) another
walk through slot about
400 feet long that is
more shallow than the
one up canyon. At the
lower end of this slot
you can easily walk /
scramble up out of the
canyon.
About 300 feet farther
he Left / shuffleboard Fork of
PO Canyon
begins to get deeper and
more narrow
(wPO-RP-04) here.
Continuing down canyon
is mostly walking in a
narrow slot that is very
scenic. Some
galumphing is needed in
a couple spots and a few
boulders to scramble
over about 3 to 5 feet.
About 0.25 miles down
canyon is a spot you can
scramble up out of the
canyon (wPO-RP-05)
on the RDC side.
Continuing down canyon
you go into more narrow
scenic slot to walk
through.
About 500 feet farther
is the confluence of the
Left and Right Forks of
PO Canyon (jPO-Conf).
Note:
When you get to the
confluence you can go to
the end of the canyon by
continuing down the
narrow slot southwest
about 475 feet to where
PO Canyon ends
(yPO-Bt) where it
dumps into Smith Fork.
But if you want more fun,
continue with the route
description to travel up
to the top of then down
the Right Fork back to
this confluence.
The Right Fork of
PO is short
but is much more narrow than
the Left Fork and
involves more effort to
stem up over tight
sections and squeeze
through more narrow
portions than what was
in the Left Fork.
Leave the
Confluence to go the
Right / Wordsmith Fork of
PO Canyon:
To Continue up to the
top of the Right /
Wordsmith Fork
leave the confluence (jPO-Conf)
by scrambling northeast
up the steep slickrock
up between the Left Fork
and the Right Fork.
The lower portion of the
Right Fork is very
skinny so carry as
little as possible with
you.
Note:
The lower portion of the
Right Fork is very
skinny and travel will
be much easier if you do
not have a lot of stuff
with you. Leave
what you do not feel you
need at the confluence
and pick it up after you
get down the Right Fork
of PO Canyon
back to the confluence.
About 800 feet after
leaving the confluence
will be a prominent rock
outcropping that looks
like a big brown whales
tail (wPO-RP-06).
After passing by the
whale tail rock continue
route finding your way
northeast along the
slickrock following the
rim of the Right Fork
for about 0.3 miles down
into a large wide open
area (yPO-Word-Tp).
It is an easy walk down
to the wide open area
where you will find a
large rock with a
basketball sized blue
dot painted on it.
Down the Right
/ Wordsmith Fork of PO
Canyon:
From the rock with the
basketball sized blue
dot (yPO-Word-Tp) walk
down canyon about 100
feet to where more slot
starts. The slot
down canyon from the
blue dot is mostly
shallow and easy travel
with some light
galumphing.
Note - Up Canyon
Info
Up canyon of where
you drop into the Right
Fork of Shuffleboard
Canyon (yPO-Word-Tp) is a
series of shallow slots
with walking and easy
galumphing and a couple
short downclimbs of
about 6 feet also. The
slots extend up canyon
about 0.23 miles
northeast offering only
a couple spots where the
slots feel deep and
scenic but they are
short lived. Allow about
30 minutes round trip if
you decide to go check
it out for the scenic
value of a couple spots.
About 650 feet down
canyon is a drop of
about 15 feet
(wPO-RP-07) that is
a moderately easy stem
or elevator style
downclimb.
About 300 feet down
canyon is a very large
boulder wedged between
the canyon walls
(wPO-RP-08).
Scrambling over the
boulder is easy or you
can see if you fit
through the hole below
it to get by.
Shortly down canyon of
this boulder the canyon
pinches off and most
people will need to stem
up about 10 or 15 feet
to continue down canyon.
You will need to stem
about 40 feet down
canyon before being able
to drop back down to the
canyon floor again.
Just after the pinch
section is a section of
easy walking
(wPO-RP-09) for
about 200 feet.
Just after the wide open
area the Right /
Wordsmith Fork
continues for about 1000
feet in deep and skinny
feeling slot. The
last 150 feet before
reaching the confluence
is the skinniest part.
Most people will be able
to squeeze through with
a little effort.
Large people can get
through by stemming up
about 20 feet to were it
is wider. Stemming
up where it is wider
will be more work
though.
When you get to the
confluence
(jPO-Conf) take a
break to gather up
anything you left
sitting there while in
the right fork.
Down Canyon from
The Confluence:
From the confluence (jPO-Conf)
walk about 450 feet
southwest down to the
end of PO in a
pretty slot that is
mostly easy walking with
a couple spots of
possible shin deep water
if wet.
When you get to the end
of PO Canyon (yPO-Bt)
you will be back in
Smith Fork. While
in Smith Fork at the
bottom of PO
Canyon take a look at
the LUC (north) side
wall at the mouth of
PO.
There is a PO carved
into the wall with an
arrow pointing up it.
This is where the name
of the canyon came
from.
The Exit:
From the
bottom of PO
Canyon (yPO-Bt)
turn right to walk
northwest up Smith
Fork.
About 0.2 miles up
canyon will be a rock
fall to scramble up
through (wSmithUprRP-03).
About 500 miles farther
you will pass by two
small pot hole drainages
on the west side of the
canyon (wSmithUprRP-02).
About 0.3 miles farther
will be the bottom of
Minor Fork (yMinorForkBt)
on the right (east).
And finally about 0.4
miles farther will be
the point where you
first dropped into
(jSmithFkUpr1) Smith
Fork on the approach
from the parking area.
Scramble up the slick
rock and walk the trail
/ road about 0.2 miles
back up to your vehicle
(pkSmithForkUpr).
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........
| PO (1) - Drive to Trailhead |
- extTicaboo1
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.69720
W -110.67138
Elev: 4,520 Feet
Exit off of highway 276 to get to the Ticaboo Mesa area. Turn east and leave the highway on a dirt road. Near Mile post 25.
- TicabooDP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.68607
W -110.65188
Elev: NaN Feet
Continue straight for the main area of Ticaboo Mesa. Or Turn right (south) here for an alternate route over toward the Smith Fork Canyons.
- TicabooDP-50
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.67376
W -110.65978
Elev: NaN Feet
A road that makes a small loop off of the main road and rejoins about 350 feet farther. Continue south.
- TicabooDP-51
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.65940
W -110.66933
Elev: NaN Feet
Side road joins in from the left (east). Continue south to continue to the Smith Fork area.
- TicabooDP-52
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.63310
W -110.69364
Elev: NaN Feet
Road into Smith Fork area turns sharp left from south to east.
- TicabooDP-53
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62164
W -110.68041
Elev: NaN Feet
Side road joins in from the right (south). Continue east to get to the Smith Fork Area. Turning right (south) will take you down toward Hansen Creek on a road marked as 13410.
- TicabooDP-54
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62069
W -110.67088
Elev: 4,212 Feet
Fork in the road. On the drive in veer left and drive east toward the upper portion of Smith Fork or veer right and drive southeast toward the lower poriton of Smith Fork.
- pkSmithForkUpr
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62440
W -110.65604
Elev: 4,085 Feet
Park here to start down into the upper portion of Smith Fork. Driving down the road from here gets into steep loose sand and is not recommended.
|
| PO (2) - Approach |
- pkSmithForkUpr
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62440
W -110.65604
Elev: 4,085 Feet
Park here to start down into the upper portion of Smith Fork. Driving down the road from here gets into steep loose sand and is not recommended.
- wSmithUprRP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62562
W -110.65422
Elev: NaN Feet
An old burned up van.
- jSmithFkUpr1
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62629
W -110.65310
Elev: 3,935 Feet
This is where the route down into the upper portion of Smith Fork meets Smith Fork.
- yMinorForkBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62169
W -110.65004
Elev: 3,915 Feet
Bottom of Minor Fork where it dumps into Smith Fork.
- yMinorForkTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62399
W -110.64875
Elev: 3,960 Feet
Top of Minor Fork where a wide sandy wash meets the top of the Minor Fork Slot. Called Minor Fork because it is too small to be a legal canyon.
- wPO-RP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62525
W -110.64281
Elev: 4,120 Feet
Saddle like area on the dirt hill / ridge between two cliff bands on the way up to PO Canyon.
- yPO-Shufle-Tp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62485
W -110.64091
Elev: 3,975 Feet
Top of the Left Fork of PO Canyon (AKA Shuffleboard Fork). It is a scenic area up canyon of here and interesting if you have time to wonder but the up canyon stuff does not offer technical fun.
|
| PO (3) - Down Left Fork to Confluence |
- yPO-Shufle-Tp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62485
W -110.64091
Elev: 3,975 Feet
Top of the Left Fork of PO Canyon (AKA Shuffleboard Fork). It is a scenic area up canyon of here and interesting if you have time to wonder but the up canyon stuff does not offer technical fun.
- wPO-RP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62360
W -110.64284
Elev: NaN Feet
Top of a narrow walk through slot about 475 feet long. At the end of the slot you can easily walk / scramble up out of the canyon.
- wPO-RP-03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62268
W -110.64404
Elev: NaN Feet
Top of another walk through slot about 400 feet long that is more shallow than the one up canyon. At the lower end of this slot you can easily walk / scramble up out of the canyon.
- wPO-RP-04
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62097
W -110.64517
Elev: NaN Feet
The Left / Shuffleborad Fork of PO Canyon begins to get deeper and more narrow here. Continuing down canyon is mostly walking in a narrow slot that is very scenic. Some galumphing is needed in a couple spots and a few boulders to scramble over about 3 to 5 feet.
- wPO-RP-05
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61812
W -110.64659
Elev: NaN Feet
A spot where you can scramble up out of the canyon on the RDC (northwest) side. Continuing down canyon is more narrow scenic slot to walk through.
- jPO-Conf
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61701
W -110.64669
Elev: 3,880 Feet
Confluence of the Left and Right Forks of PO Canyon. The Right / Wordsmith Fork is the skinniest and the skinniest portion is the 150 feet just above the confluence. If you want to see the skinniest part before going up to the Right Fork just go up canyon in the right Fork about 150 feet.
|
| PO (4) - Confluence to top of then Down Right Fork to Confluence |
- jPO-Conf
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61701
W -110.64669
Elev: 3,880 Feet
Confluence of the Left and Right Forks of PO Canyon. The Right / Wordsmith Fork is the skinniest and the skinniest portion is the 150 feet just above the confluence. If you want to see the skinniest part before going up to the Right Fork just go up canyon in the right Fork about 150 feet.
- wPO-RP-06
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61848
W -110.64496
Elev: 3,935 Feet
A prominent rock outcropping that looks like a big brown whales tail as you hike northwest up out of the confluence.
- yPO-Word-Tp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62021
W -110.64038
Elev: 3,970 Feet
Top of the Right Fork of PO Canyon (AKA Wordsmith Fork). This is in the middle of an open area where there is a blue dot about the size of a basketball painted onto a rock.
Down canyon of here a shallow slot starts to form with easy walking and some light galumphing.
Up canyon of here is a series of shallow slots with walking and easy galumphing and a couple short downclimbs of about 6 feet also. The slots extend up canyon about 0.23 miles northeast offering only a couple spots where the slots feel deep and scenic but they are short lived. Allow about 30 minutes round trip if you decide to go check it out for the scenic value of a couple spots.
- wPO-RP-07
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61936
W -110.64232
Elev: NaN Feet
Drop of about 15 feet and is a moderately easy stem or elevator like downclimb.
- wPO-RP-08
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61888
W -110.64309
Elev: NaN Feet
Large boulder wedged between the canyon walls. Easy to scramble over or you can try to fit through the hole below to get by.
Shortly down canyon of this boulder the canyon pinches off and most people will need to stem up about 10 or 15 feet to continue down canyon. You will need to stem about 40 feet down canyon before being able to drop back down to the canyon floor again.
- wPO-RP-09
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61806
W -110.64400
Elev: NaN Feet
Middle of a walking section about 200 feet long.
Just after the wide open area the Right Fork continues for about 1000 feet in deep and skinny feeling slot. The last 150 feet before reaching the confluence is the skinniest part. Most people will be able to squeeze through with a little effort. Large people can get through by stemming up about 20 feet to were it is wider. Stemming up where it is wider will be more work though.
- jPO-Conf
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61701
W -110.64669
Elev: 3,880 Feet
Confluence of the Left and Right Forks of PO Canyon. The Right / Wordsmith Fork is the skinniest and the skinniest portion is the 150 feet just above the confluence. If you want to see the skinniest part before going up to the Right Fork just go up canyon in the right Fork about 150 feet.
|
| PO (5) - Exit (Confluence back to Car) |
- jPO-Conf
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61701
W -110.64669
Elev: 3,880 Feet
Confluence of the Left and Right Forks of PO Canyon. The Right / Wordsmith Fork is the skinniest and the skinniest portion is the 150 feet just above the confluence. If you want to see the skinniest part before going up to the Right Fork just go up canyon in the right Fork about 150 feet.
- yPO-Bt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61617
W -110.64750
Elev: 3,880 Feet
Bottom of PO Canyon where it meets Smith Fork.
- wSmithUprRP-03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61680
W -110.65004
Elev: NaN Feet
Rock fall debris where a large drainage drops in from RDC (west). Scramble through the rock fall debris.
- wSmithUprRP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61810
W -110.64965
Elev: NaN Feet
Point between two small pot hole draianges both dropping in from RDC (west).
- yMinorForkBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62169
W -110.65004
Elev: 3,915 Feet
Bottom of Minor Fork where it dumps into Smith Fork.
- jSmithFkUpr1
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62629
W -110.65310
Elev: 3,935 Feet
This is where the route down into the upper portion of Smith Fork meets Smith Fork.
- wSmithUprRP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62562
W -110.65422
Elev: NaN Feet
An old burned up van.
- pkSmithForkUpr
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.62440
W -110.65604
Elev: 4,085 Feet
Park here to start down into the upper portion of Smith Fork. Driving down the road from here gets into steep loose sand and is not recommended.
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