Canyoneering Route Description

Trachyotomy Canyon - 3B II R
AKA - Witch's Cauldron or Trachyte Slot
Trachyte Creek area, Utah.

Quick Facts

11-13-11, 3 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 3.75 hours) Pictures Icon
03-08-14, 4 people, 1 day (Travel time in route 5.5 hours)

Time Required - 3.5 to 5 hours
Distance - 5 miles Total, 0.7 miles Technical
Rappels - 1 Rappels, Longest Rappel 35 feet. 
Need more rope for a 50 foot drop since anchor is set back.
Elevation Range - 5200 - 4500 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - High Clearance - possibly 4WD depending on road conditions Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 50 feet and 30 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.  Wet suits are recommended since there is a possible keeper pot hole and a couple other spots with possible water.  A wet suit may be optional on hot days but keep in mind you may be in the water a while if you run into issues with the keeper.  Also bring potshot bags or other pothole escape tools.

General Comments

Travel down Trachyotomy Canyon involves sections of high stemming.  In some places you will be stemming close to 30 feet above the deck.  If you are unfamiliar with tight canyons you should try an easy narrow canyon first to see if you are comfortable with it.  The Middle Fork of Leprechaun Canyon is a good test to see how you like skinny canyons and is short to give you a taste with minimal commitment.

The R rating for Trachyotomy is due to a pot hole that can be in keeper mode depending on water conditions and for the stemming about 30 feet above the deck in places.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

From the junction of highways 276 and 95, travel south on highway 276 for 3.6 miles to a dirt road turn off on the left (east) side of the road (extLandOZ-Hogs). 

Turn left (east) onto the dirt road and drive about 2.1 miles to the crest of a small hill (pkHogsUpper).   This spot is also where the road starts to veer from east to south east and where you could park to start the route into the Hogs from the top.

Continue southeast for about 1.5 miles to where the road winds left and and begins going east again.  As the road winds continue for another 0.5 miles to shortly after the road winds to the right and begins traveling southeast again.  As you round the corner look left (southwest) for a drill hole pipe sticking up out of the dirt about 170 feet from the road (wDrillHoleHog1).

Continue about 0.35 miles farther southeast after passing the drill hole and find a convenient place to park (pkTrachyotomy).

Note:
Optionally you can continue to drive about 0.6 miles farther on the road to where the top of Trachyotomy meets the road (tTrachyot).

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

No exit vehicle required.  The Hogs are done as loop routes.

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 drive into the route.
Map of the entire route.
Map of the technical section.

Details

The Approach:
From the parking spot (pkTrachyotomy) continue walking southeast along the road.  The head of Trachyotomy is about 0.6 miles from the parking spot.  A convenient spot to leave the road (tTrachyot) and drop down into Trachyotomy is about 250 feet before reaching the actual head.

When you are about 250 feet before reaching the head of Trachyotomy (tTrachyot), turn right (south) and route find your way down into Trachyotomy.  While route finding your way down in it is easiest to stay a a bit high on the RDC (west) side of the canyon and travers down along the slick rock.

About 0.2 miles after leaving the road you should be down on the floor of the drainage (wTrachyotRP-01).  Continuing south down Trachyotomy the wash is wide and a mix of sand and slick rock.

Note:
The first mile or so down Trachyotomy can seem like a convoluted mix of sand, slick rock, a few drops and a lot of little side drainages.  Since this section is wide and a mix of a lot of things each party will likely take different paths through here.  The description in this first part of the drainage may be a little different from your experience depending on your path.

About 600 feet farther down the wash are some drops that are easily bypassed by going up and over on slick rock LDC.

About another 600 feet down canyon is the start of a narrow slot (wTrachyotRP-02).  This narrow slot is about 400 feet long and can hold water at times.  This slot can be easily bypassed by going up and over the slick rock LDC then dropping back down to the floor after.

Note:
So far I have only bypassed the slot and have no details of what is in it.

After getting to the other end of the narrow slot continue down canyon in a sandy wash for about 150 feet and to where another narrow section begins (wTrachyotRP-03). 

This next narrow section (wTrachyotRP-03) is not as narrow but is much longer and looks to have more water holding capacity.  This narrows section can be bypassed by scrambling about 15 to 20 feet up the steep slick rock on the RDC side then route finding your way along the slick rock.  Route find your way for about 850 feet until you get to a point (wTrachyotRP-04) where you have a good view down to the wash below that is down canyon of the narrow section.  To get down to the wash look west for the head (wTrachyotRP-05) of a side chute about 250 feet away.  Find your way over to the head of the chute then scramble and down climb in the chute to get back down to the wash below.

Note:
So far I have only bypassed the slot and have no details of what is in it.

After getting into the wash after the second narrow section (wTrachyotRP-06) travel down the wash is easy walking on sand and a few short sections of slick rock.  About 0.7 miles down canyon the walls will get higher and closer together just be fore reaching a very narrow slot (yTrachyotomyTp).  This is where the fun begins and is the first mandatory slot. 

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
From the start of the first mandatory slot (yTrachyotomyTp), down climb about 15 feet down into the slot and start working your way down canyon between the narrow walls.  Small people may be able to fit on the bottom all the way through this section but larger people will be forced up high often.  When stemming up over the narrow portions of this slot you may find yourself stemming about 30 feet above the deck.  This first technical slot is about 0.2 miles long and full of scenic candy.

After getting out of the first technical narrows (wTrachyotRP-07), the canyon widens out briefly where another small drainage drops in from LDC.  This wider section is a little more than 100 feet long and looks like it may be an easy spot to escape if you decide to abort.

Continuing down canyon is a mix of walking in the sand, scrambling through short easy narrow spots and stemming over or around small pools.  One of the pools can be up to waist deep.  About 0.25 miles down canyon after the first technical narrows is rap 1.

Rap 1 (dTrachyotomyR1) is about 0.25miles down canyon of the first technical narrows, is anchored from a dead man anchor about 10 feet back from the drop and drops about 35 feet down a mostly vertical wall in a slot.  Be sure to extend the anchor webbing all the way over the drop to help with rope pull and avoid rope pull grooves. 

Starting out on Rap 1 climb out and into the crack at the top then down through the crack.  Leaving the anchor webbing long helps make the start of rap 1 a little less awkward since you will have enough slack to allow an easy climb out into the crack.

After rap 1 walk and light scramble down canyon between V shaped walls.

About 350 feet down canyon of rap 1 is the start of the second technical narrows (wTrachyotRP-08).  As this narrows starts you will begin to need to stem up over some narrows sections.

About 40 feet into the second technical narrows is a small pot hole that can be stemmed over very easily.  Just after this pot hole is a second pothole that only tall people can stem over.  This second pothole is what I think was named the Witch's Cauldron.

If you are lucky enough to have a tall person that can stem over the Witch's Cauldron they can go over then assist others up out of the pot hole.  Most people will need to go down into then through the pot hole.  Slide down a steeply sloped slot down into the Witch's Cauldron.  If the pot hole is full the slide down will be 15 to 20 feet or longer if the pot hole is low on water.  If full simply swim about 10 feet across the water and climb up into the slot on the other side.  If the water is low you may need to use pot hole escape methods to get out the other side.

Note / Warning:
The Witch's Cauldron and be a keeper pot hole.  Be prepared to use pothole escape techniques if needed.

So far I have only seen the Witch's Cauldron full so there are no details of how deep it can get.

After climbing up into the slot on the other side of the Witch's Cauldron continue under a log jam just overhead.  The canyon continues down a very narrow section which can get kind of dark in spots.

Just past the Witch's Cauldron is drop of about 25 feet which is easily down climbed by slithering down a steeply sloped V shaped slot to a pool below.  The pool below his down climb can be a swimmer for a few feet if full.

After getting across the pool continue down canyon between narrow walls which will soon become too narrow for travel down low.  When it gets too narrow stem up high to continue.

Next is a drop of about 15 feet where the walls open up into a chamber like area.  This drop is easily down climbed but can be anchored from a choke stone at the top of the drop if a hand line is desired.

On the other side of the chamber is the top of the last drop in the canyon (wTrachyotRP-09).  The last drop is about 25 feet down a steep slot.  The top of the slot has very featured walls and is shaped in a way that will force a down climber out of the slot which feels exposed and awkward.  However the down climb is not as difficult as it looks.  Climb out over the very tight section near the top then just before being forced out of the crack slide straight down into the crack again.  After getting past the first skinny obstacle the rest of the down climb is pretty simple and straight forward.

There is a pool at the bottom of the last drop that may be a waist to chest deep if sand washes out but will likely be only thigh deep.  After crossing the pool you are roughly 250 feet down canyon of the Witch's Cauldron. 

After the last drop it is a walk down a huge wide corridor all the way to the exit climb out with the exception of one pool to stem over along the way.  The walk down canyon is in a huge wide corridor that sweeps to the right for about 0.25 miles down to the exit climb out.  During the walk in the corridor keep your eyes open for an arch high up along the RDC wall.

A few hundred feet down canyon of the arch the RDC wall will drop down as the corridor opens up significantly.  As the wall drops look for the first opportunity to scramble up out of the canyon on the RDC (north) side of the canyon.  The climb out starts up a steep slick rock nose about 40 feet high.

Example Pic.
The climb up out of the canyon can be seen ahead on the RDC side. Look close and you can see John standing on the ridge part way up the climb out.

The picture below shows a view looking up from the base of the exit climb out (yTrachyotomyBt).

Example Pic.
A look up the start of the climb up out of the canyon.

The Exit:
From the base of the exit climb out (yTrachyotomyBt) climb up the slick rock nose about 30 or 40 feet up out of Trachyotomy.

After getting up the slick rock nose continue northeast up the slick rock.  About 300 feet after exiting the main drainage of Trachyotomy the route will level off a briefly (wTrachyotRP-10) and you will have a view of more slick rock to route find your way up to the northeast. 

As the route gets to the brief level area look north west for a wide saddle a little over 300 feet away.  Route find your way up to the saddle (wTrachyotRP-11).

Example Pic.
Route find over to the saddle center image to continue the exit out of Trachyotomy Canyon.

When you get to the saddle (wTrachyotRP-11) look north up the mix of slick rock and dirt.  About 0.4 miles away you should be able to see a flat topped peak on the horizon.  Aim for the base of that flat topped peak and route find your way there.

Example Pic.
When this comes into view aim for the flat topped peak in the distance.

When you get to the base of the flat topped peak (wTrachyotRP-12) walk around the right (east) side of it.  As you get around the east side of it you will be able to see a cliff band about 500 feet away.

Example Pic.
Aim for a spot about center image for a route up to the top of the cliff band.

Walk north east about 500 feet to the cliff band.  As you walk over to the cliff band note the prominent point on the left and aim for a spot a couple hundred feet right of the point.  This is where you will find a route to climb up to the top of the cliff band.

The climb up to the top of the cliff band is an over all easy scramble / up climb with the exception of one spot.  One portion of the up climb will be a little difficult for weak up climbers where mantling makes it easier. 

When you get to the top of the cliff band (wTrachyotRP-13), you are greeted with wide open rolling desert to walk in and enjoy the solitude and easy travel. 

If you parked at the parking spot near the drill hole (pkTrachyotomy), your vehicle is a little east of north on a bearing of 27 degrees about 1.2 miles away.  A compass is helpful to keep your wandering feet on the straight and narrow but is not needed.  If you get off track you will run into the road at a different spot and need to walk the road to find your car.  The route will roughly follow a canyon rim on the left (west).

Note:
If you drove in past the parking spot and drove to the head of Trachyotomy Canyon, your vehicle will be about 1.4 miles away on a bearing of 48 degrees.  To get to the head of the canyon you will roughly follow the rim of Trachyotomy on the right (east).

Enjoy the walk across the desert to the car by the drill hole (pkTrachyotomy) or by the head of the canyon (tTrachyot) to complete the route. 

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........
Trachyotomy (1) - Drive in to Trailhead
  1. extLandOZ-Hogs          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97361   W -110.56810        Elev: 4,770 Feet
    Exit off highway 276 for the Land of OZ canyons and access to the top entry for the Hogs. This is between mile markers 3 and 4. Dirt road needs high clearance and 4WD is recommended as the road condition varies greatly.
  2. pkHogsUpper          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.97219   W -110.53028        Elev: 5,175 Feet
    Park here for access to the Hogs from the top. This is at the crest of a hill andjust as the road begins to veer from east to south east. The Hogs can be done as a loop route from here.
  3. wDrillHoleHog1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95545   W -110.51005        Elev: 5,088 Feet
    Drill hole with a pipe sticking up out of the ground. Stuff has been welded on it including it being described as in Hog Canyon and called Hog 1. Lots of room to park and camp here.
  4. pkTrachyotomy          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95161   W -110.50769        Elev: 5,100 Feet
    Park here to start the route for Trachyotomy or optionally drive aonther 0.6 miles south east to where Trachyotomy meets the road.
Trachyotomy (2) - Approach
  1. pkTrachyotomy          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95161   W -110.50769        Elev: 5,100 Feet
    Park here to start the route for Trachyotomy or optionally drive aonther 0.6 miles south east to where Trachyotomy meets the road.
  2. tTrachyot          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.94982   W -110.49867        Elev: 5,205 Feet
    Leave the road here to start down into Trachyotomy. This is about 250 feet from where the actual head of the canyon meets the road a little fartehr east.
  3. wTrachyotRP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.94764   W -110.49950        Elev: NaN Feet
    After route finding your way down the RDC slick rock you should be down in the drainge approximately here.
  4. wTrachyotRP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.94418   W -110.50144        Elev: NaN Feet
    Start of a narrow slot in the wash that is about 400 feet long. Bypass this slopt by going up and over on slick rock LDC.
  5. wTrachyotRP-03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.94259   W -110.50168        Elev: NaN Feet
    Another narrow section begins. Not as narrow but longer and can hold more water. There are a couple drops at the end of the narrows. Bypass this narrows by going up and over to the right (west) and looking for a gully to scrable down to teh canyon floor. The
  6. wTrachyotRP-04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.94148   W -110.50391        Elev: NaN Feet
    A spot on the slick rock above the wash wiht a good view down to the wash below. To get down into the wash travel west about 200 feet to the head of a side chute to scramble down.
  7. wTrachyotRP-05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.94183   W -110.50437        Elev: NaN Feet
    Head of a side chute that is used to scramble back down to the wash after bypassing a long narrow section.
  8. wTrachyotRP-06          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.94070   W -110.50411        Elev: NaN Feet
    Back in the wash after the second narrow section.
  9. yTrachyotomyTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.93459   W -110.51220        Elev: 4,725 Feet
    Start of the Trachyotomy slot. This is the first mandatory slot and is where the fun begins. There are a couple other short slots that are optional in the wash up canyon.
Trachyotomy (3) - The Canyon,
  1. yTrachyotomyTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.93459   W -110.51220        Elev: 4,725 Feet
    Start of the Trachyotomy slot. This is the first mandatory slot and is where the fun begins. There are a couple other short slots that are optional in the wash up canyon.
  2. wTrachyotRP-07          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.93255   W -110.51358        Elev: NaN Feet
    End of the first technical narrows.
  3. dTrachyotomyR1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.93104   W -110.51635        Elev: 4,650 Feet
    Rap 1 - Thrachyotomy Canyon. Anchored from a dead man anchor about 10 feet back from the drop and drops about 35 feet down a slot and mostly vertical wall.
  4. wTrachyotRP-08          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.92999   W -110.51635        Elev: NaN Feet
    Start of the second technical narrows. The second pothole in this section is nick named the Witch's Cauldron.
  5. wTrachyotRP-09          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.92948   W -110.51588        Elev: NaN Feet
    A down climb of about 25 feet drops into a pool as the canyon opens up into a huge corridor.
  6. yTrachyotomyBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.92818   W -110.51858        Elev: 4,500 Feet
    This is the end of the technical portion of Trachyotomy where the exit climb out starts up from the base of a slick rock nose on the RDC (north) side of the canyon.
Trachyotomy (4) - Exit
  1. yTrachyotomyBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.92818   W -110.51858        Elev: 4,500 Feet
    This is the end of the technical portion of Trachyotomy where the exit climb out starts up from the base of a slick rock nose on the RDC (north) side of the canyon.
  2. wTrachyotRP-10          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.92894   W -110.51808        Elev: NaN Feet
    Exit route briefly levels off with a view of more slick rock to route find up to the north east.
  3. wTrachyotRP-11          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.92975   W -110.51758        Elev: 4,685 Feet
    On a saddle about 650 feet after leaving the main Trachyotomy drainage.
  4. wTrachyotRP-12          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.93530   W -110.51792        Elev: 5,000 Feet
    At the base of the flat topped peak you were aiming for.
  5. wTrachyotRP-13          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.93663   W -110.51730        Elev: 5,040 Feet
    Top out of the climb up onto the cliff band.
  6. pkTrachyotomy          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.95161   W -110.50769        Elev: 5,100 Feet
    Park here to start the route for Trachyotomy or optionally drive aonther 0.6 miles south east to where Trachyotomy meets the road.