Canyoneering Route Description
Wormhole Canyon - 3A II R or X
Ticaboo Mesa, Utah.
01-29-12, 2 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 2.75 hours) - Time estimated since we were exploring
area with other people as well.
04-22-12, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 3 hours) - Time
estimated since we included Lower Pothoez in the day.
03-14-20, 9
people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 3.8 hours) - Took long sight
seeing walk during exit
Time Required - 2 to 4 hours
Distance - 3.8 miles Total, 1,000 feet Technical
Rappels - 0 Rappels, Longest Rappel N/A.
Elevation Range - 4085 - 3800 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.
Helmet, and any pads you prefer to stay comfy while stemming.
Wormhole Canyon got
its name from one particular spot in
the canyon. While high
stemming down canyon you can cross
over a silo only to find the walls
quickly flare out and Bombay below
you. The route down canyon is
by dropping down into the silo to a
chamber below where you can then
stem horizontally down canyon mid in
a crack where it is wide enough for
travel - The Wormhole. Thanks
to Landon Michaels and Aaron Ramras
for details from their descent of
the Wormhole relayed by Ram via camp
fire lore.
The technical canyon is less than 1000 feet in total
length.
The portion of the route where all the action is, spans only about 500
feet. When comparing the canyon length to the approach and exit
length, it is hard to justify making a specific trip here for just the Wormhole.
This is a great addition to things if you already plan to be in the area
doing other things. There are other fun slots in the area to check
out (like Shuffleboard Canyon - aka PO Canyon), Smith Fork is a very scenic place to just walk in
and the terrain above Smith Fork on the east side is very forgiving and
begs to be explored. So there are plenty of other things to check
out while in the area in addition to Wormhole Canyon.
Most people will be
fine fitting through all portions of
Wormhole Canyon. Very large or
very thick people may have issues
here. The good news is you
will get to the narrowest spot on
the route before you commit to
dropping down into the Wormhole.
If you decide it is too narrow for
you, the route can be reversed with
no gear and moderate effort.
There are portions of the route
where ALL people will not fit and
will need to do some high stemming
down canyon. When I say you
will get to the narrowest spot on
the route before the Wormhole, I
mean you will encounter the
narrowest portion of required
stemming before you get to the
Wormhole.
If recent rains
have filled things up there may be a
few small spots of water up to shin
deep in Wormhole.
Warning:
While Wormhole requires no gear (other than a helmet) but is still a technical
route. Additionally Wormhole is given an R or an X rating.
This is due to the exposure in some portions of the canyon. You
will be above the deck a significant distance in a few spots and
crossing silos while completing Wormhole Canyon. Over all I put
this as an R canyon but as with all ratings this can be a very
subjective rating. Wormhole could arguably be rated an X.
The route described here involves dropping down into the Wormhole silo
on its up-canyon side. If you were to cross over the top of the
Wormhole Silo you will be exposed to a greater chance of a very bad
fall. In this case the route would deserve an X rating.
Warning:
Like Chambers Canyon and Upper Stair Canyon, Wormhole is technical route
that does not require ropes or rappelling gear. However this is still a
technical route. This route involves sustained sections of high stemming
(stemming between walls at significant height). The sustained sections
of stemming are both physically and mentally challenging.
The slick rock
terrain up out of Smith Fork on the
east side is very forgiving to
travel and overall easy to navigate
in. If you want to see more of
the area from above Smith Fork while
on the approach, you can get to the
top of Wormhole by route finding
your way along the slick rock on the
east rim. When you get to the
bottom of Minor Fork on the approach
make your way up out of Smith Fork
to route find your way to the top of
Wormhole. Have a map along and
know how to use it.
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.
Map of the technical section.
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).
Continue down Smith
Fork.
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.
About 0.3 miles farther
down Smith Fork are two
small drainages near
each other
(wSmithUprRP-02) both
dropping in from RDC
(west). Continue
down Smith Fork.
About 500 feet farther
down Smith Fork is a
large drainage dropping
in from RDC (West) where
there is a lot of large
rock fall debris.
Scramble through the
rock fall debris and
continue down Smith
fork.
A little over 800 feet
farther down Smith Fork
is a deep narrow slot (yShuffle-Bt)
joining in from LDC
(east). Continue
down Smith fork.
Note:
If you have some time, a
journey up into
Shuffleboard Canyon (aka PO
Canyon) is fun. It
is not technical and
remains narrow for a long
way.
About 0.4 miles farther
down Smith Fork is a
side drainage (jSmithHangPot)
dropping in from LDC
(east). This
drainage has a hanging
pothole at the bottom
about 8 feet up on a
ledge. This is an
escape point from Smith
Canyon if desired.
You will need to do some
moderate up climbing to
get out.
Note:
If the Smith Fork has
more water below this
point than you would
like to deal with on
your way to Worm Hole,
you can exit here and
route find your way over
to the top of Wormhole.
To climb out, climb up
about 8 feet to the
hanging pothole then
climb the slanted slot
above the pot hole for
about 20 feet. After
getting up the slanted
slot the terrain gets
easier then rim walk the
LUC (north) side of the
slot.
If you used the this
exit and are going to
the top of Wormhole
route find your way east
for about 0.2 miles then
turn right and head
south about 0.35 miles
to the obvious top of
Wormhole (yWormholeTp).
The terrain is very
forgiving here and route
finding is pretty easy.
If you do not exit out
of Smith Fork, continue
down Smith Fork for
about 0.35 miles to a
side drainage (yWormholeBt)
dropping in from LDC
(east). This is
the bottom of Wormhole.
You don't need any gear
for worm hole other than
your helmet. Take
time to drink some water
and grab a snack before
continuing. Then
drop your packs here to
grab after you get done
with the Wormhole.
From the bottom of
Wormhole (yWormholeBt)
start up into the the
slot and galumph up
canyon 30 or 40 feet to
where you can easily
scramble up out of the
slot on the LUC (north)
side.
Once up on the side of
the slot continue east
up canyon about 200 feet
to the bottom a gently
sloped section of slick
rock (wWormHoleRP-01)
allowing you to walk up
out of Wormhole on the
left (north).
Note:
If you would like to see
the end of the narrow
section before you
actually do the
technical part of the
route you can walk up
canyon to inspect.
Walk up the slick rock
to exit the canyon then
route find your way
along the rolling slick
rock rim about 800 feet
east to the obvious head
of Wormhole (yWormholeTp).
The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
From the top of
Wormhole (yWormholeTp),
scramble down and easy
drop of about 6 feet
right at the head.
A few feet farther is
another drop starting
down into a narrow slot.
This drop has a pothole
that you will need to
cross. The first
part of the drop is down
a sloped V that is an
easy slide / down climb
where you can easily
stop before the drop
goes vertical into a
silo about 5 feet in
diameter. All but
very short people should
be able to stem over
this silo but the shape
of the walls can make it
a bit awkward. The
silo appears it could be
quite deep but due to
water in it I am not
sure how deep it really
is.
After crossing the silo
it is a combination of
galumphing and walking
for a couple hundred
feet to where the canyon
gets too narrow to walk
in and the bottom starts
to drop out fast.
When this happens start
stemming down canyon at
a height that is
comfortable.
Shortly into the stem
section you will cross
over a silo.
Crossing the silo is
easier if you drop down
into it a few feet.
While in this section
and crossing over the
first silo you will be
about 30 feet above the
deck.
After the silo you can
continue at the the same
level you crossed at but
it will likely be too
narrow for most. A
little down canyon of
the silo (at the time we
went through) was a
choke stone just to
stand on just before the
slot became more narrow.
The choke stone may go
away one day from floods
but looked as though it
was not going any where
any time soon.
When the slot begins to
get too narrow for
comfortable travel you
can stem up about 10
feet to a slightly wider
level where it is easier
to stem along. The
choke stone made a good
point to start from as
you stand on it.
Stemming up this spot is
the narrowest portion on
the route. Really
thick people may have a
hard time stemming up
this 10 or 12 feet.
Note:
All but really large
people should be ok on
this route as long as
they are fine stemming
up this spot. It
may be comforting to
know that this canyon
requires no ropes or
webbing and if you feel
uncomfortable with this
spot you can reverse the
route to escape.
Reversing from this
point back up canyon is
not difficult and
requires a little effort
to up climb the drop
near the head of the
canyon.
A few feet down canyon
is a very minor silo
that is more of a
widening of the LDC wall
and may not actually be
a silo.
A few more feet down
canyon is where you will
see a large chamber
below you in a silo.
This is the Wormhole
Silo (wWormHoleRP-02)
and the section that
gives this canyon the
name of the Wormhole.
The Wormhole Silo is
about 250 feet down
canyon from the head of
the canyon.
Note:
The level you are at is
narrow and is easy to
cross over the silo.
If you continue across
the silo you will be
exposing yourself to a
large drop below.
Crossing the silo will
result in getting to an
apparent dead end as
well. Just after
the silo the walls flare
out wide and Bombay
below as this narrow
slot ends. As this
slot ends at the Bombay
you would be 40 or 50
feet up above the deck.
Instead of crossing the
Wormhole Silo
(wWormHoleRP-02), slide
/ elevator down into the
silo on the up canyon
side of it. This
is easier than it looks
from above and appears
difficult due to the
lack of visibility
caused by the shape of
the walls. The
walls are shaped such
that you have decent
control all the way down
the slot about 20 feet
down into the silo where
you will be greeted by a
wide chamber with narrow
slot continuing below
it.
When you get into the
chamber stem down canyon
and stem through the
slot on the down canyon
side still about 15 feet
above the deck.
After about 20 feet of
travel you can down
climb / stem down the
end of the narrow slot
into a wider section
(but still narrow).
Walk down canyon about
60 feet or so until the
walls become to narrow
to walk between.
Here you will have to
stem up about 25 feet or
so which is made easier
with a series of small
ridges and features to
assist hands and feet.
Next stem your way along
down canyon for about
100 feet to where things
once again get wide
again. Then drop
back to the canyon
floor. This
section does take a
little energy and has
some loose rock to be
aware of.
After dropping back to
the floor
(wWormHoleRP-03) the
major fun is over and
you will be about 450
feet down canyon of the
head of the canyon.
Walk down canyon on a
sand and rock bottom for
a little over 300 feet
before another slot
starts. Here you
have the choice to
galumph a short distance
down the slot to the end
of the canyon where it
meets Smith Fork (yWormholeBt).
Or you can walk most of
this short section along
a ledge on the right
(North).
If you walked the ledge
you will need to drop
into the slot just
before reaching Smith
Fork to galumph down
into Smith Fork to
complete the canyon (yWormholeBt).
The Exit:
From the
bottom of Smith Fork (yWormholeBt)
walk north back up Smith
Fork to head back to the
car.
About 0.3 miles up Smith
Fork will be the Hanging
Pothole exit (jSmithHangPot)
you passed on the way
in.
Another 0.3 miles up
Smith Fork will be the
bottom of Shuffleboard
Canyon, aka PO Canyon
(yShuffle-Bt).
About 0.2 miles up
canyon will be the rock
fall to scramble up
through (wSmithUprRP-03).
About 500 miles farther
you will pass the 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........
| Wormhole (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.
|
| Wormhole (2) - Appraoch |
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- yShuffle-Bt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61617
W -110.64750
Elev: 3,880 Feet
Bottom of Shuffleboard Canyon (aka PO Canyon) where it meets Smith Fork.
- jSmithHangPot
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61240
W -110.64466
Elev: 3,835 Feet
A place to climb up out of Smith Fork if desired at this drainge with a hanging pot hole. Some moderate up climbing is needed to get up out of Smith Fork.
- yWormholeBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.60860
W -110.64250
Elev: 3,800 Feet
Bottom of Wormhole where it meets Smith Fork.
- wWormHoleRP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.60902
W -110.64209
Elev: NaN Feet
Slope allowing entry and exit from the bottom of Wormhole up to the RDC (north) rim.
- yWormholeTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.60969
W -110.63974
Elev: NaN Feet
Top of Wormhole Canyon. This is the sarat of the slot just before a silo.
|
| Wormhole (3) - The Canyon, |
- yWormholeTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.60969
W -110.63974
Elev: NaN Feet
Top of Wormhole Canyon. This is the sarat of the slot just before a silo.
- wWormHoleRP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.60957
W -110.64060
Elev: NaN Feet
This is the silo / crack where the Wormhole derives its name from. When you reach this silo slide down in on the up canyon side to teh chamber below.
- wWormHoleRP-03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.60944
W -110.64129
Elev: NaN Feet
This is where the canyon exits the narrow section and most of the fun is over. It is easy walking and a little gulumphing between here and the end of the Wormhole route.
- wWormHoleRP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.60902
W -110.64209
Elev: NaN Feet
Slope allowing entry and exit from the bottom of Wormhole up to the RDC (north) rim.
- yWormholeBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.60860
W -110.64250
Elev: 3,800 Feet
Bottom of Wormhole where it meets Smith Fork.
|
| Wormhole (4) - Exit |
- yWormholeBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.60860
W -110.64250
Elev: 3,800 Feet
Bottom of Wormhole where it meets Smith Fork.
- jSmithHangPot
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61240
W -110.64466
Elev: 3,835 Feet
A place to climb up out of Smith Fork if desired at this drainge with a hanging pot hole. Some moderate up climbing is needed to get up out of Smith Fork.
- yShuffle-Bt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.61617
W -110.64750
Elev: 3,880 Feet
Bottom of Shuffleboard Canyon (aka 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.
|