Canyoneering Route Description
Mis-Me Canyon - 3B III
Zion National Park, Utah.
09-24-10, 1 person, 1 Day (Travel time in route 9 hours)
Time Required - 7 to 10 hours
Distance - 10.6 miles Total, 1.3 miles Technical
Rappels - 3 Rappels, Longest Rappel 60 feet.
Elevation Range - 4370 - 6640 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - Passenger
Permit Required - Yes
Rappelling and anchor gear, two 200 foot ropes, 200 pull cord
(incase a rope is stuck) and 70 feet of 1†webbing for sling
placement.
Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up
to 60 feet, 30 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement. If you
are going during a cooler part of the year you may want to bring a
wet suit for the swims in Lower Orderville Canyon during the exit.
Mis-Me Canyon itself is a Class A canyon but the route has been
given a rating of Class B since it drops into Orderville Canyon for
the exit which has water in it.
Mis-Me Canyon is not a fun route if you are looking for the classic
Zion Canyon experience. But if you are just looking to get away
from the crowds for a while and get some canyon time in at the same
time this might be a good choice. The upper half of the canyon has
2 raps and travels down steep loose rock and dirt (not fun in my
opinion). The lower half is more enjoyable with multiple down
climbs and a final rappel of about 25 feet. The lower half of the
canyon is also very secluded feeling with some vegetation to add to
the scenic value. Then there is the exit down the lower part of
Orderville which is always pretty and enjoyable and the exit down
the last bit of the Zion Narrows.
Note on getting to the correct canyon head:
At times people drop into the wrong canyon while looking for Mystery
Canyon. While looking for Mystery Canyon, some have accidentally
dropped into NotMystery Canyon (sometimes called MissMe Wash) which
is west of Mystery or have accidentally dropped into Mis-Me Canyon
which is east of Mystery. To be sure you do not drop into the wrong
canyon, refer to the notes in the route description.
Not Mystery (the one west of Mystery) is the only one you definitely
do not want to drop into by accident. Not Mystery has a very large
drop or rappel sequence at the end that drops down to the River Walk
trail below. Since it is a popular trail below the lower portion of
NotMystery is closed. Also if you drop into NotMystery by accident
you will likely have insufficient rope to get down the last drop
anyway. Doing this has left some parties stranded and requiring
rescue.
When viewed from the head, some of the down canyon walls
of NotMystery are higher than you are while looking into it. This
is not the case for both Mystery and Mis-Me Canyons where the down
canyon walls are lower than you are while looking into it from the
head.
For more on locating the correct canyon refer to the route
description.
To get to the Trailhead
Park at the Zion Visitor Center and ride the shuttle to the
Weeping Rock â€" Observation Point shuttle stop.
To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod
No exit vehicle is needed. After exiting at the Temple of
Sinawava ride the shuttle back to the Visitor Center.
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.
Map of the technical section.
The Approach:
From the Weeping Rock shuttle stop get to the trailhead sign for
Weeping Rock and Observation Point (tObpntWpRk). Follow the trail
leading toward Observation Point. The trail here is paved and
starts up a series of steep switchbacks.
About 0.7 miles from the start, you will pass the junction to Hidden
Canyon (jHiddenCynBt), stay left and continue toward Observation
Point. About 0.5 miles after passing the junction to Hidden Canyon
the trail will level off and turn into a big narrow section, echo
canyon.
After winding through this portion of Echo Canyon for a little over
0.25 miles the trail will start up the left side leaving the canyon
floor. This is where Upper Echo Canyon exits onto the trail (yEcho-MidBt).
About 0.3 miles later will be a trail junction for the East Rim or
East Mesa trail (jEastMesaTrl), stay left and continue on the East
Mesa trail toward Observation Point.
Continuing up from the East Mesa Junction toward Observation Point
the trail starts up another series of steep switch backs (still
paved trail) as it continues toward Observation Point. There are
great views in this area so get a hold of yourself and stop staring
at the ground. After about 1.6 miles the trail will level off a bit
at another trail junction (jObservatnPt).
From the trail junction to Observation Point (jObservatnPt), turn
right (north east) and follow the East Mesa Trail (not toward
Observation Point). The trail from the junction starts out mostly
level then soon starts to climb again. Shortly after leaving the
junction you will be able to see a large canyon on the left (north)
which is NotMystery Canyon or sometimes referred to as Miss-Me
Wash. About 600 feet after the Observation Point junction you begin
to have views down into NotMystery. The trail will continue to
climb while going around the head of NotMystery.
Note:
Differentiating Not Mystery Canyon from Mystery Canyon.
NotMystery Canyon can be seen from the trail when you are slightly
west of its apex and some of the down canyon walls of NotMystery are
notably higher than the trail. By contrast Mystery is not seen from
the trail (you need to walk about 60 to 80 feet north of the trail
to see it) and the down canyon walls are all lower than the trail.
Also of note, while going around the head of NotMystery the trail
will have some steps in it made from logs placed across the trail
and filled in with dirt. This is good to note to help prevent
dropping into NotMystery when you are looking for Mystery.
Approaching from the Weeping Rock trailhead you will need to climb
up the trail using these steps and continue along the trail to the
next canyon. If you are approaching from the east side of the park
and you find these steps in the trail you will know you have gone
too far and passed Mystery Canyon.
Note / Warning!!:
NotMystery
Canyon (Miss-Me Wash) is closed since the final rappel sequence
drops down over the Zion Narrows River Walk trail. The lower
section of the canyon is closed to keep people on the River Walk
trail safe from falling debris. Some people have mistakenly dropped
into NotMystery Canon while thinking they were in Mystery Canyon,
which has resulted in emergency rescues. The final rap sequence in
NotMystery is quite long and those prepared for Mystery Canyon do
not have the rope length needed to complete final section. They do
not find this out until they have already pulled ropes from previous
rappels on their descent. This leaves them stuck between raps and
requiring rescue. NotMystery is west of Mystery Canyon and should
not be confused with Mis-Me Canyon which is a relatively easy canyon
and is to the east of Mystery. Since NotMstery is sometimes
referred to as MissMe Wash it is easy to confuse it with Mis-Me
Canyon.
About 0.7 miles after the Observation Point junction the trail will
top out and level off for a short distance then begin to lose
elevation down the other side of the top out. About 500 to 900 feet
after the top out of the trail Mystery Canyon will be on the left
(north). From the trail Mystery Canyon is not readily seen. You
should find a few social trails leaving the main trail and going
north over to the head of Mystery (yMysteryTp).
Continuing east, the
East Mesa Trail continues to drop elevation only slightly and feels
almost level. The junction to Mis-Me Canyon (jMis-MeCanyon) where
you will leave the East Mesa Trail is about 1.0 miles east of the
head of Mystery Canyon. There are no identifying landmarks or items
that can be easily described. Good map reading skills and a
watchful eye on travel distance or a GPS are the easiest ways to get
to the correct spot.
Note:
If you are close to where you need to be,
it will be easy to spot the head of Mis-Me Canyon as you walk off
trail towards it. The spot where you might notice a faint path
leading away from the main trail is in a section where the main
trail has two worn lines showing it was obviously a road at one
time. The trail on each side of this spot is more of a single track
width. The path leading to the head of the canyon is faint as it
leaves the trail since it is not used very much. If you have chosen
the right spot the path leading from the main trail will become much
more defined after about 50 feet and will lead right over to the
head of the canyon.
Like Mystery Canyon, Mis-Me cannot be seen from
the trail. Walk about 180 feet from the trail to where the path
stops at the rim of Mis-Me Canyon (wMis-MeRP-01). From the head you
will be able to see this is also similar to Mystery in that the down
canyon walls are lower than the trail not higher. Where the faint
path meets the head are a few spots where people have dropped down
into the canyon. This is not the best spot since it is steeper and
will place you over drop you will need to get around. The best drop
in point is to the right (east) of the apex of the canyon.
The
drop in point for Mis-Me (yMis-MeCynTP) is about 200 feet right
(east) of the obvious apex of the head. There is a tree next to the
drop in that has been burned and hollowed out on the side facing the
canyon. Some rocks have been placed in the hollowed out side to
mark the drop in.
The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
From the drop in point at the head of Mis-Me Canyon (yMis-MeCynTP)
start down the very steep loose dirt slope and slowly traverse left
(west) over toward the center of the water course. The slope to the
right of the drop in is steeper so traversing left feels like the
natural direction to go. The ground is steep and slipping is almost
certain but the ground is soft and forgiving.
About 250 feet after the leaving the rim you should get to the top
of a gully or ravine (wMis-MeRP-02) running down the slope you are
on. The top of this gully is about 250 feet northwest of the drop
in point.
Following the gully down about 200 feet you will pass under a sheer
ledge then come to a drop (wMis-MeRP-03) that some have set anchors
for to rappel. If you had dropped in from center of the head of the
canyon you would find yourself at the top of the ledge rather than
passing under it.
The drop (wMis-MeRP-03) is down a sloped narrow section. The slope
is easily down climbed but you will need to take it slow and be
careful of all the loose rock you are on. The walls are close
enough to help use as holds to get down. If you are not confident
in your down climbing skills you can set up a rappel here. The
anchor here is from a pine tree LDC and the drop would be about 60
feet before it starts to level off.
Rap 1 (dMis-MeCynR1-2) is another 60 feet down the slope. Rap 1 is
anchored from a large pine tree and drops about 60 feet. At the
bottom of Rap 1 the canyon continues down a steeply sloped dirt
floor.
Rap 2 is a few feet down canyon of rap 1. Rap 2 drops about 20 feet
and has no obvious anchor option. A crack on the LDC side lends
itself as a good place for a knot chalk anchor. The angle of the
crack is not optimal so be sure to test it well before committing to
it.
Down canyon from rap 2 the canyon drops down along a steep slope of
loose dirt, rock, tree and log debris and some vegetation to
occasionally push through. Be careful in the canyon of the vines
with thorns on them. They pop up from time to time and can be quite
annoying.
A few hundred feet down canyon is a drop of about 15 feet that looks
like it will be difficult to get down. The drop is actually pretty
easy to get down by squeezing down a crack on the RDC side and
working under the boulder you were standing on at the top of the
drop. It is a good idea to drop your pack here since wearing it on
this down climb can push you out too far and make things unsafe.
Shortly after the down climb the grade of decent starts to level off
a little making travel easier. Only the notable down climbs are
noted in this description. There are a lot of easy down climbs of 3
to 6 feet along the canyon.
A few more hundred feet down canyon is another down climb of about
20 feet. This drop can be down climbed LDC but is not a simple down
climb. The better down climber in the group can provide a meat
anchor for everyone then can down climb it last.
About 50 feet down canyon is another drop of about 10 feet. It can
be stemmed by tall people. Shorter people will want to set up a
hand line or a rap here.
A short distance down canyon of the 10 foot down climb will be a
large sand hill on the RDC wall created from sand running down a
crack in the wall and piling up on the canyon floor.
Further down canyon after the sand hill will be a drop
(wMis-MeRP-04) that is easily down climbed along a sloped flute then
scramble down a few boulders. The down climb will place you under a
monolithically huge boulder with a sandy floor under it. This drop
should be about 0.4 miles down canyon of rap 2 and about 0.6 miles
from the junction with Orderville Canyon.
Almost 0.25 miles down canyon of is another down climb of about 12
feet that has a lot of tree and log debris making travel difficult
for a short distance.
A short distance later will be a drop of about 20 feet
(wMis-MeRP-05) that is easily bypassed by climbing around LDC.
Next is a boulder field to navigate through and down climb in. When
you see a series of drops that looks like you can’t tell the best
way to get down. Stay RDC and climb down through the boulders with
a stem down climb of about 12 feet.
A few hundred feet down canyon is a narrow section to walk through
before getting to rap 3.
Rap 3 is about 80 feet before reaching the junction with Orderville
Canyon. RDC is anchored LDC from 2 bolted hangers and drops about
25 feet. There are other anchor options in the area if you decide
not to use the anchors.
From the bottom of rap 3, walk about 80 feet down canyon to the exit
of Mis-Me Canyon (yMis-MeeBt) where it joins Orderville Canyon.
The Exit:
From the exit of Mis-Me Canyon (yMis-MeeBt) turn left (west) and
start down Orderville Canyon.
About 0.9 miles down canyon of Mis-Me Canyon is Orderville Rap 2
which is about 2.4 miles down canyon of Orderville rap 1.
Rap 2 in Orderville has a huge (house sized) choke stone overhead
that has a tree and bushes growing on it known as The Guillotine. The rappel drops about 12
feet to a pool below and is anchored from 2 bolted hangers LDC.
This is one of my favorite rappels when the canyon is such that
water is flowing over the rappel (which isn't always the case). It is short but has very high
wow factor with the huge rock over head and the pool below. It is
just very pretty.
Down canyon from rap 2 in Orderville the canyon has more and more
water. The further down canyon you go the more the water is
flowing. This is some of the best scenery in Orderville. There are
also more down climbs. One of the down climbs drops into a pool
that requires about a 30 foot swim.
About 1 mile below Orderville rap 2 is the junction with the Zion
Narrows.
From the Narrows junction turn left (south) and travel 1.4 miles
down the narrows to the steps leading to the sidewalk. Follow the
sidewalk another 1 mile to the Temple of Sinawava Shuttle stop.
From there it is a shuttle ride back to the visitor center.
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........
| Mis-Me (1) - Approach |
- wBusStpWeepRock
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.27098
W -112.93942
Elev: 7,327 Feet
Weepeing Rock and East Rim trail bus stop.
- tObpntWpRk
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.27053
W -112.93855
Elev: 4,371 Feet
Trail head for Weeping Rock and Observation Point.
- jHidnCynTrlBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.26949
W -112.93615
Elev: 4,760 Feet
Junction off the Observation trail where the Hidden Canyon trail starts.
- yEcho-LowerTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.27049
W -112.93247
Elev: 5,250 Feet
Of note there is a USDI - NPS elevation marker here that says the elevation is 5194.
- yEcho-MidBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.27237
W -112.93107
Elev: 5,320 Feet
Bottom Exit of Echo Canyon.
- jEastMesaTrl
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.27427
W -112.92827
Elev: 5,620 Feet
Junction where the East Mesa trail starts off the East Rim trail and heads toward Observation point.
- jObservatnPt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.28105
W -112.93656
Elev: 6,510 Feet
Junction off of the East Mesa trail to Observation Point.
- jNotMystery
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.28246
W -112.93565
Elev: 6,474 Feet
This is where you would leave the trail to get to teh head of NotMystery Canyon. The apex of the NotMystery Canyon meets the trail about 800 feet east of this point.
- yMysteryTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.28903
W -112.93019
Elev: 6,775 Feet
Top entry to Mystery Canyon.
- jMis-MeCanyon
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29653
W -112.91672
Elev: 6,650 Feet
Junction where you will leave the East Mesa Trail to get to the drop in for Mis-Me Canyon. There are no easily defined or describable marks here.
- wMis-MeRP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29700
W -112.91689
Elev: 6,607 Feet
Path leading from the main trail leads to his spot on the rim at the head of Mis-Me Canyon.
- yMis-MeCynTP
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29727
W -112.91593
Elev: 6,600 Feet
Top entry for Mis-Me Canyon. This a little to the right (east) of the obvious epex of the head. There is a tree near this drop in that is burned out on the half facing the canyon. There is a pile of rock nestled in the hollowed out side.
|
| Mis-Me (2) - The Canyon, |
- yMis-MeCynTP
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29727
W -112.91593
Elev: 6,600 Feet
Top entry for Mis-Me Canyon. This a little to the right (east) of the obvious epex of the head. There is a tree near this drop in that is burned out on the half facing the canyon. There is a pile of rock nestled in the hollowed out side.
- wMis-MeRP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29767
W -112.91656
Elev: 6,455 Feet
Top of a gully or ravine running along the slope down the head of the canyon.
- wMis-MeRP-03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29810
W -112.91688
Elev: 6,325 Feet
Drop in the water course that can be down climbed. Some set up a rap here but it is sloped and easily down climbed if you take time to be careful of the loose rock. If rappeled the drop down the slope would be about 60 feet before is started to level off.
- dMis-MeCynR1-2
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29842
W -112.91694
Elev: 6,150 Feet
Raps 1 and 2 - Mis-Me Canyon.
Rap 1 ancored from a large pine tree and drops about 60 feet.
Rap 2 a few feet down canyon of rap 1 and drops about 20 feet. There are no obvious anchors avalable for rap 2 but there is a crack LDC that works well for a knot chalk anchor.
- wMis-MeRP-04
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.30453
W -112.91945
Elev: NaN Feet
Down climb around a monolithically huge boulder with a sand floor under it. Down climb LDC along a sloped fluted wall.
- wMis-MeRP-05
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.30870
W -112.92204
Elev: NaN Feet
Drop of about 20 feet that is not down climbable but easily bypassed LDC.
- dMis-MeCynR3
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.31214
W -112.92295
Elev: 4,941 Feet
Rap 3 - Mis-Me Canyon. Ancored LDC from 2 bolted hangers and drops about 25 feet.
- yMis-MeBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.31230
W -112.92319
Elev: 4,960 Feet
Bottom exit of Mis-Me Canyon where it joins Orderville Canyon.
|
| Mis-Me (3) - Exit |
- yMis-MeBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.31230
W -112.92319
Elev: 4,960 Feet
Bottom exit of Mis-Me Canyon where it joins Orderville Canyon.
- dOrderVileR2
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.31167
W -112.93784
Elev: 4,820 Feet
Rap 2 in Orderville Canyon.
Drops about12 feet anchored from 2 bolt and hangars LDC. The pool has a waterfall. There is a huge boulder overhead with tree growing on top. One of my favorite rappels.
This is sometimes called the Guillotine due to the huge boulder chock stone over head.
- yOrdervilleBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.30803
W -112.94661
Elev: 4,670 Feet
Bottom exit of Orderville Canyon.
Junction where Orderville Canyon meets the narrows in the North Fork of the Virgin River. Zion Ntl. Park
- yMysteryBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29928
W -112.94447
Elev: 4,560 Feet
Bottom exit of Mystery Canyon where it meets the Virgin River Narrows after the 120 foot Rap 11.
- jRiverWalkEnd
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29672
W -112.94818
Elev: 4,560 Feet
This is where the river walk side walk meets the river in The Narrows.
- tNarrowsBot
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.28535
W -112.94785
Elev: 4,440 Feet
Bottom trailhead for the Virgin River Narrows at the Temple of Sinawava.
|