Canyoneering Route Description

Jolley Gulch - 3A I
Zion National Park, Utah.

Quick Facts

08-20-10, 5 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 4.5 hours)
08-21-10, 3 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 3.8 hours)

Time Required - 4 hours
Distance - 4.3 miles Total, 0.1 miles Technical
Rappels - 2 Rappels, Longest Rappel 160 feet.
Elevation Range - 5720 - 6105 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - Yes

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 160 feet and 25 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.

General Comments

Jolley Gulch is a quick fun run when you don’t have a lot of time and want an easy day out.  This is a good fall back canyon if permits are not available for Pine Creek and Key Hole.  

Looking down canyon from the top of the head is quite a view and almost invites you in.  The technical section is extremely short and involves only 2 rappels, so don’t go in thinking you are in for a big canyon experience.  Looking back up the technical section after you finish is pretty nice looking as well.

After doing this canyon 2 days in a row, we found more tires in the canyon on the second day.  It appears someone was having fun throwing them down the head of the canyon.  After completing rap 1, it might be a good idea to move along in case someone feels the urge to throw more in while you are in there.

Note / Warning:
There is a lot of hornet or bee or wasp activity around rap 2.  I am not sure if there is a hive near by or they are just there for the water.  This may be of interest to those that have an aversion to bees or anyone allergic to them.

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

The East Gate entrance to Zion National Park is about 12.9 miles west on highway 9 from the junction of highway 9 and highway 89 at Carmel Junction.  

From the East Gate entrance of Zion National Park, drive west on Highway 9 about 350 feet to the turn off for the East Rim Trail.  Turn right (north) on an access road and drive 0.1 miles to the trailhead for the East Rim Trail.  This is where you will start the route.

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.

Click the links for maps of the route. Map of the entire route.

Details

The Approach:
From the East Rim trailhead (tEastRimTrlTp) hike north along the trail.  

About 0.3 miles from the trailhead will be a culvert (wEastRimRP-01) on the left (west) side of the trail.  The culvert can easily be seen about 150 feet before getting to it.  

Another 0.2 miles along the trail will be another culvert (jJolleyGulchEx) on the left (west) side of the trail.  This culvert is not visible until you are right next to it.  There is a worn path through the vegetation down into the Clear Creek Drainage.  This is where the exit from Jolley Gulch will meet back with the East Rim trail.  Continue on the East Rim trail.  

A little over 400 feet after passing the second culvert will be a bridge (cEstRmBridge) where the East Rim Trail crosses over Clear Creek.  

About 0.2 miles after the bridge, the trail becomes very narrow as it crosses over a side drainage (wEastRimRP-02).  The trail goes from a wide path where a car could easily be driven down to about the width of a single track mountain bike trail.  A short distance later the trail becomes wide again.  

Continue along the East Rim trail as it switches back and climbs.  About another 2.1 miles later will be the drop in at the head of Jolley Gulch (yJolleyGulchTp).  

The head of Jolley Gulch (yJolleyGulchTp) is very noticeable right next to the trail and is not easily missed.  Shortly before reaching Jolley Gulch will be a fence along the left side of the trail.  A couple hundred feet after the fence will be the head of Jolley Gulch.  There is also a sign next to the trail saying (Jolley Gulch).

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
Take time to look around the head of Jolley Gulch (yJolleyGulchTp).  There are paths on each side running along the rim to allow a better view back toward the head.  The view down into the head and out along the canyon is worth enjoying.  

Rap 1 is right at the head of Jolley Gulch.  There are a couple options for anchors.   

The first option is a very large Ponderosa LDC of the head.  If using the Ponderosa as the anchor, it is a good idea to extend the webbing about 25 feet over the first lip to allow an easier rope pull from the bottom.  Also note that the rope can be damaged if it is run along a sharp edge and is allowed to roll off the edge with someone’s weight on it.  Raping from the Ponderosa will drop you along the LDC wall of the canyon slightly down from the head.  

Option 2 for rap 1 is from a medium size pine slightly RDC of the head and back about 15 feet.  Using the pine at the head will drop you along a shallow flute running most of the way down the head wall.  

Both options for rap 1 give a drop of about 160 feet.  At the bottom of rap 1 the dirt is clay like and is pretty sticky when wet.  

Rap 2 (dJolleyR1-2) is about 70 feet down canyon of rap 1.  Rap 2 is anchored from 2 bolted hangers LDC.  Next to the hangers are a piton and another very old bolt.  Rap 2 drops a total of 100 feet down a few stages.  The first stage has an awkward start over an overhanging boulder and is about 50 feet.  Continuing down the remainder of rap 2 is about another 50 feet and drops over a few ledges on the way down.  

There is a tire and wheel at the bottom of the first stage of rap 2 which some people have used as an anchor.  It is simpler to rap past this optional anchor all the way down rap 2 from the top.  The rope pull is smooth from the bottom.  If the tire has been moved into position to be used as an anchor it should be moved aside.  With the tire in position to be used as an anchor a pinch point is created between it and the canyon wall which may create rope pull issues.  

Right at the bottom of rap 2 are a couple mud filled potholes to get over and down climb to the canyon floor.  Next the canyon widens out a little.  Take time to look back at where you came from, it looks pretty impressive from that angle.  

Down canyon of rap 2 are a few simple 6 to 8 foot down climbs.  After the down climbs is a walk along a narrow section.  The end of the narrow section is what is marked as the end of the technical route (yJolleyGulchBt).

The Exit:
After the narrow section (yJolleyGulchBt), continue down canyon about 0.2 miles to a drop of about 15 feet (wJolleyRP-01).  Bypass the drop by working down the slick rock slope RDC of the drop.  

About another 0.5 miles the Jolley Gulch drainage meets Clear Creek (wJolleyRP-02).  This is a very definite meeting of drainages and marks a very obvious decision point.  Turn left (east) and travel UP stream in Clear Creek.  

About 90 feet up stream in Clear Creek look for a path on the right leading up through the vegetation up to the trail.   The path is about 40 feet long and has a culvert which is easily seen from the drainage before you climb up to get back onto the East Rim Trail (jJolleyGulchEx).   Turn right (south) on the East Rim Trail and walk about 0.5 miles back to the East Rim Trailhead where you parked your vehicle (jJolleyGulchEx).

GPS Waypoint Information

Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........

Jolley Gulch (1) - Approach

tEastRimTrlTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.23434   W -112.87744        Elev: 5,730 Feet Top trailhead for the East Rim Trail. wEastRimRP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.23841   W -112.87633        Elev: NaN Feet Culvert running from the trail over to the Clear Creek drainage. This culvert is easily seen about 150 feet before reaching it. jJolleyGulchEx          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24078   W -112.87658        Elev: 5,800 Feet Junction where the Jolley Gulch exit route meets the East Rim Trail. While hiking in on the East Rim trail, the culvert is not easily seen until you are right next to it and is about 10 feet to the left (west) of the trail. cEstRmBridge          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24164   W -112.87566        Elev: NaN Feet Bridge over Clear Creek on the East Rim trail. wEastRimRP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24340   W -112.87322        Elev: NaN Feet The start of a short section of trail which is significantly narrower than the rest of the trail. yJolleyGulchTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25183   W -112.87721        Elev: 6,105 Feet Top of Jolley Gulch. Possible short canyon route to check into.

Jolley Gulch (2) - The Canyon and Exit

yJolleyGulchTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25183   W -112.87721        Elev: 6,105 Feet Top of Jolley Gulch. Possible short canyon route to check into. dJolleyR1-2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25166   W -112.87722        Elev: NaN Feet Raps 1 and 2 - Jolley Gulch. Rap 1 is at the head of the canyon and has two options. Option one is a huge ponderosa LDC of the head where the webbing should be extended to make a rope pull easier. Option 2 is a medium sized pine slightly RDC of the head about 15 feet back. Rap 1 drops 160 feet to the canyon floor. Rap 2 is about 70 feet down canyon of rap 1 and is anchored from 2 bolted hangers LDC. Rap 2 drops a total of about 100 feet over stages. yJolleyGulchBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.25014   W -112.87650        Elev: 5,950 Feet This is after a few down climbs and a narrow section after the rappels in Jolley Gulch. wJolleyRP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24731   W -112.87601        Elev: 5,905 Feet Drop in the wash of about 15 feet. Bypass down the slick rock slope RDC. wJolleyRP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24084   W -112.87692        Elev: NaN Feet Jolley Gulch drainage meets the Clear Creek drainage. When exiting Jolley Gulch, turn left (east) and travel up stream in Clear Creek about 90 feet to a short path up to the trail by a culvert. jJolleyGulchEx          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.24078   W -112.87658        Elev: 5,800 Feet Junction where the Jolley Gulch exit route meets the East Rim Trail. While hiking in on the East Rim trail, the culvert is not easily seen until you are right next to it and is about 10 feet to the left (west) of the trail. wEastRimRP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.23841   W -112.87633        Elev: NaN Feet Culvert running from the trail over to the Clear Creek drainage. This culvert is easily seen about 150 feet before reaching it. tEastRimTrlTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 37.23434   W -112.87744        Elev: 5,730 Feet Top trailhead for the East Rim Trail.