Canyoneering Route Description
Telephone Canyon - 3A III
Zion National Park, Utah.
08-22-09, 2 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 10.1 hours)
07-24-11, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 10.5 hours) -
Telephone Canyon and Refrigerator Canyon on exit.
12-25-14, 5 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 12.5 hours) - Lots
of snow making things difficult - Not the recommended season
Time Required - 9 to 11hours
Distance - 9.6 miles Total, 0.8 miles Technical
Rappels - 12 Rappels, Longest Rappel 185 feet.
Elevation Range - 4280 - 6765 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - Passenger
Permit Required - Yes
Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up
to 185 feet and 60 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.
Telephone Canyon was a pleasant surprise. The approach is a bit of
a climb but is worth it. The technical section is about 0.3 miles
long and has 13 rappels in it. The rappels are rapid fire.
some of the raps you can simply drag the rope over to the next rap
rather than put it away after rappelling. Some of the down climbs
are fun and different. The views of the tall sheer
flat walls as you get further down canyon are awe inspiring.
Depending on your comfort and down climbing skills 2 to 4 of these
rappels can easily be down climbed reducing time and total rap
count.
To get to the Trailhead
Park a vehicle at the Zion Visitor Center and ride the shuttle
to the Grotto bus stop.
To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod
No exit vehicle is needed. After exiting at the Grotto bus
stop, ride the shuttle back to the visitor center to get your
vehicle.
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:
After getting off the shuttle at the Grotto stop (wBusStpGrotto),
walk across the road and start down the trail to Angel's Landing.
The trail starts out flat and easy for a while but soon starts to
climb switchbacks as it climbs to Refrigerator Canyon. Continue on
the trail through Refrigerator Canyon. Next will be a series of 21
short but steep switch backs called Walter's Wiggles (sWaltrsWiglsTp).
A short distance after getting to the top of Walter’s Wiggles you
will come to Scout’s Lookout which is about 2.1 miles from the
trailhead. From Scout's Lookout follow the signs pointing to the
West Rim Trail (not Angel's Landing).
As you continue up the West Rim Trail you will come to a section of
slick rock where it would be easy to lose the trail. A few sign
posts along the slick rock with a boot print on them have been
placed to mark the way over to the continuation of the trail. After
crossing the trail less slick rock area, the trail will begin to
descend again. About 1.2 miles after Scouts Lookout the trail will
have a bridge that crosses a stream.
As you continue on from the bridge the trail will slowly begin to
climb again through wide open spaces with lots of views to take in.
About 0.75 miles after crossing the bridge the trail will begin to
get steeper as it starts into an area with more vegetation (some of
which had recently burned in a fire). The trail will no longer be
in a wide open area but will have walls on both sides.
The trail will start up a series of gentle switch backs with an
overall direction of southwest. About 1 mile after crossing the
bridge is where the switch backs will top out at an area kind of
like a saddle. At this saddle the trail will turn from an overall
direction of southwest and start up northeast (yBehuninTp).
Continue up the trail which is cut into the side of a huge cliff
heading northeast for about 0.5 miles to the next trail junction.
The trail junction (jTelphnCynTrl2) is where the Telephone Canyon
trail and the Cabin Spring trail both meet the West Rim Trail.
If you need water Cabin Springs is about 300 feet down a trail. It
is a good spot to filter water. If you stay quiet and keep an eye
out you may get to see a variety of animals looking to get some
water after you leave. Be sure to check with the back country desk
before starting your trip to see if there is water flowing at the
spring. There are times when there is little or no flow.
From the trail junction follow the Telephone Canyon trail north.
Note:
From the junction, look toward the trail down to Cabin Spring then
look slightly left. The trail immediately left is the trail to
Telephone Canyon. The trail immediately left of that is the
continuation of the West Rim Trail. The trail just left of
that is a short trail over to camp site number 2.
The Telephone Canyon trail has closed to general hiking for short
periods of time after fires in the area. The trail is beginning to get overgrown and is easily un-noticed
from the junction to Cabin Spring.
After getting past the downed trees, the Telephone Canyon trail
starts off very defined then starts into a meadow like area. In the
meadow, the grass and brush has begun to grow over the trail and it
becomes a bit difficult to follow in places. The trail winds a
little but continues over all on an almost due north direction.
As the trail crosses the meadow area it also passes through a lot of
dead black burned trees. The burned forest thins out about 0.2
miles from the trail junction leaving you in a wide open meadow.
As you come out of the burned forest and travel through more meadow
you will be able to see another section of burned forest further
down the trail. About 0.4 miles from the trail junction in the open
area between the burned forests will be a single tall burned tree
sitting all by itself right next to the trail on the right (east)
side of the trail (jTelephonAprTp). This is where you leave the
Telephone Canyon trail to get to the head of Telephone Canyon.
Leave the trail and walk about 324 feet on a bearing of 66 deg. to get
to the head of the canyon (yTelephoneTp). There is a lot of small
dense vegetation to plod through on the way down the slope to the
head of the canyon.
The Canyon / Technical Section:
The head of Telephone Canyon (yTelephoneTp) is an abrupt deep drop
in the water course. Above the head of the canyon the drainage is
wide open and pretty flat. At the head is a drop of over 100 feet
down into a tight slot section. Rap 1 is on the RDC (west) side of
the canyon right at the head.
Rap 1 is anchored from a large but dead burned tree. As of summer
2009 the tree seems very strong and solid. All the trees on this
side of the head of the canyon are dead due to fires. Over time
these trees may not be the best choice for an anchor. There are few
rocks and not much else to anchor to. In the future an alternate
anchor option might need to be explored as the trees here decay.
Bolts could be placed in a large boulder near the tree that is now
the anchor but natural anchor options should be explored first.
Rap 1 is right at the head of the canyon on the RDC (west) side and
is anchored from a dead burned tree. Rap 1 drops about 185
feet to the canyon floor. The first part of rap 1 is down a
mostly vertical wall followed by a section of free hang for about 50
feet. Once at the bottom of Rap 1, do not get off rope
just yet. Walk around the corner and across the next pothole to
continue the drop down another drop of about 20 feet. The total
rope length needed for rap 1 is 185 feet. From the bottom of Rap1
the ropes clear the walls most of the way up but have about 50 feet
of drag along the wall at the upper part of the rappel.
Note:
It is important for the last person down to make sure the ropes are
not twisted on the upper part of the rappel. If there are any
twists in the ropes on the upper section of the rap, the pull will
be difficult.
Note:
Optionally
Rap 1 can be broken up into two raps by dropping down about 40 feet to a shelf with another tree on it (this
one is alive and well). But it is recommended not to break rap
1 up into two parts.
Getting to the shelf does not follow
the natural fall line from the tree anchor of rap 1. Getting over to
the shelf involves traversing a bit as you rappel down. If the
person rappelling were to slip while descending rap 1 they would
pendulum over and drop down lower than the shelf they are trying to
reach. The only way out would be to ascend back up, rappel all
the way to the canyon floor or get help. The angle of the traverse
is such that it could easily cause someone to slip and pendulum over
the edge. Adding to the situation is the loose rock and dirt along
the way.
A suggestion to help with safety if rapping over to the ledge is to
have a person at the top keep the lower end of the rope that is
being rappelled on. If the person rappelling were to slip and
pendulum over the edge, the person at the top could walk around the
edge and pull them over to where they need to be. The first person
down could tie the rope off to a tree (leaving lots of slack) so
they do not lose it. If the next person down, slips and pendulums
over, the person below can grab the rope to pull them back onto
course.
At the bottom of rap 1 gives a good idea of the rest of the
technical sections character. Narrow, twisty and drop after drop.
Rap 2 is right at the bottom of rap 1. Rap 2 is anchored from
2 bolted hangers LDC and drops about 45 feet.
Rap 3 is right at the bottom of rap . Rap 2 is anchored from 2
bolted hangers LDC and drops about 35 feet.
Just below rap 3 is a down climb of about 8 feet then
into a very narrow section. The narrow section is less than a foot
wide at the bottom and a bit more than shoulder width at shoulder
height. The slot starts pretty vertical but soon leans almost at a
45 degrees. Part way down the angled slot is a choke stone with an
anchor tied to it.
Rap 4 is anchored from the choke stone part way down the angled
slot. The slot can be down climbed but gets a little slick (smooth
walls and lots of dust) near the bottom so using the rappel anchor
will help keep things safer. The bottom end of the angled
slot gets a bit wide to climb down so you would do a little sliding
if not on rappel. Rap 4 is about 60 feet to the bottom end of
the angled slot.
Rap 5 is about 100 feet down canyon of the angled slot. Rap 5 is
anchored from two bolted hangers RDC and drops about 85 feet to a
sloped floor and looks beautiful from the top. The floor at the
bottom of rap 5 is sloped and scrambling down canyon can be risky
depending on how much sand is on the rocks at the time. After
getting to the bottom of the rappel, stay on rope and scramble down
canyon on the LDC side to a ledge near the bottom of the sloped rock
(the rope pull for the rappel is fairly easy here). The rope
travel from the top of the rappel to the ledge will be about 100
feet. After pulling the ropes it is an easy down climb of
about 15 feet to the canyon floor.
Rap 6 is about 100 feet down canyon of rap 5 with a short down climb
along some log debris along the way. Rap 6 is anchored from a log
at the top of the rap and drops about 30 feet to a pothole. From
the top the pothole looks like it might be a challenge to climb out
of but is no big deal once you get to the bottom to look over.
Rap 7 is about 200 feet down canyon of rap 6 at the top of a large
pour off. Looking up from this area you start getting great views
of the huge flat wall RDC in the canyon. Rap 7 has 2 possible
anchor stations. One is a choke stone in the water course while the
other is from a tree RDC. The tree seems to give a better line to
pull the rope. Rap 7 drops about 40 feet from the tree.
Rap 8 is at the bottom of rap 7. Rap 8 is anchored from a choke
stone and drops about 12 feet.
Rap 9 is about 50 down canyon of rap 8. Rap 9 is anchored from a
large choke stone RDC. Below the choke stone is a down climb of
about 8 feet then another drop around a corner to the right. There
are a lot of rope pull marks on the canyon wall here. Best bet is
to extend an anchor from the large choke stone long enough to go
around the corner below so it can be used to rap the next couple
drops. Use the extended webbing for the anchor as a hand line to
get down the first drop (no hand line is really needed here
though). The drop around the corner is about 30 feet with an
overhang under a large boulder. After the 30 foot drop, walk down
canyon a few feet to another drop around a corner to the left. This
second drop is about 20 feet. After dropping down both the 30 foot
and 20 foot drops the ropes can be pulled from the bottom. This
section had 3 separate anchors but can be done as one long rap as
described above.
Rap 10 is about 80 feet after rap 9. Rap 10 is anchored from a
very twisted looking log and a medium sized boulder at the top of
the rap and drops about 25 feet.
Shortly down canyon of rap 10 is a down climb of about 12 feet down
a slick rock wall with a crack running down the middle of it about
6†wide. The first person can be belayed as they down climb then
assist the rest. A fun way to get down this down climb is using
hand / arm jams. By going down feet first belly to the wall you can
insert an arm down the crack and wedge it to lower you a little.
Then the next arm does the same below that. While doing this,
keep your toes jammed into the crack below.
Rap 11 is right at the bottom of this down climb. Rap 11 is
anchored from a boulder and a piece of a log and drops about 25
feet.
Rap 12 is about 150 feet down canyon of rap 11 with some boulder
hopping down climbs just before reaching the anchors. Rap 12 is the
last rap and is anchored from two bolted hangers RDC. Rap 12 drops
about 60 feet. From the top of rap 12 take time to look back
at the huge smooth wall of the canyon. It is quite impressive from
here.
Note:
The final rappel is anchored from 2 bolted hangers RDC way up over
head. There used to be a rock shelf below the anchors making
the anchors about head high. Sometime after 2005 the ledge
below the rap station has collapsed and is now a lot of boulder
debris. This makes the bolted anchors about 9 feet up from
where you can stand. The easiest way up to the anchors is to
pull yourself up the existing webbing to get up there. Doing
this could be fatal if the webbing broke while inspecting. It
might be a better option to rig a new anchor using the rock debris
at the top of the rap.
After rap 12 follow the canyon about 600 feet to where it starts to
open up. This is the end of the technical section (yTelephoneBt).
The Exit:
As the canyon opens up (yTelephoneBt), stay a bit high on the right
(south) side of the drainage and follow the natural flow of the
slick rock. It will be about 0.5 miles to get back over to the West
Rim Trail.
Once back on the West Rim trail it is about 3.5 miles back down to
the Grotto bus stop to complete the route.
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........
| Telephone (1) - Approach |
- wBusStpGrotto
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.25908
W -112.95121
Elev: 4,280 Feet
The Grotto shuttle stop on the Zion - Floor of the Valley road.
- tAngleLnd
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.25998
W -112.95152
Elev: 4,300 Feet
Angel's Landing Trailhead.
- sWaltrsWiglsTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.27534
W -112.95128
Elev: NaN Feet
Top of Walter's Wiggles. 21 short steep switchbacks cut into the rock for the trail.
- jWestRimS
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.27492
W -112.95085
Elev: 5,330 Feet
Junction off the Angel's Landing trail for the Southern West Rim Trailhead. This is known as Scouts Lookout.
- cWstRmBridge
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.28598
W -112.95582
Elev: 5,590 Feet
A bridge allowing the trail to cross a stream.
- jTelphnCynTrl2
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.28674
W -112.96846
Elev: 6,740 Feet
Junction where the Telephone Canyon trail and the Cabin Springs trail both meet the West Rim Trail.
- sCabinSpng
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.28756
W -112.96841
Elev: 6,706 Feet
Cabin Spring. Seasonal Water filtering source.
- jTelephonAprTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29258
W -112.96912
Elev: 6,765 Feet
Leave the Telephone Canyon trail here and head 324 feet east (°66) to get to the head of Telephone Canyon.
- yTelephoneTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29295
W -112.96810
Elev: 6,655 Feet
Top entry of Telephone Canyon. Rap 1 is from here with rap 2 just below.
Rap 2 is the longest rap in the canyon at 160 feet.
|
| Telephone (2) - The Canyon |
- yTelephoneTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29295
W -112.96810
Elev: 6,655 Feet
Top entry of Telephone Canyon. Rap 1 is from here with rap 2 just below.
Rap 2 is the longest rap in the canyon at 160 feet.
- dTelephoneR07
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29166
W -112.96740
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 7 - Telephone Canyon. Anchored from a tree RDC and drops about 40 feet.
- dTelephoneR12
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29066
W -112.96629
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 12 -Telephone Canyon (last rap). Anchored RDC from bolt and hangers and drops about 60 feet.
- yTelephoneBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29153
W -112.96508
Elev: 5,920 Feet
Bottom exit of Telephone Canyon. Follow the natural contour of the slick rock to the south and find your way back to the West Rim Trail.
|
| Telephone (3) - Exit |
- yTelephoneBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.29153
W -112.96508
Elev: 5,920 Feet
Bottom exit of Telephone Canyon. Follow the natural contour of the slick rock to the south and find your way back to the West Rim Trail.
- jTelephonAprBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.28680
W -112.96032
Elev: 5,740 Feet
Back on West Rim trail after exiting Telephone Canyon.
- cWstRmBridge
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.28598
W -112.95582
Elev: 5,590 Feet
A bridge allowing the trail to cross a stream.
- jWestRimS
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.27492
W -112.95085
Elev: 5,330 Feet
Junction off the Angel's Landing trail for the Southern West Rim Trailhead. This is known as Scouts Lookout.
- sWaltrsWiglsTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.27534
W -112.95128
Elev: NaN Feet
Top of Walter's Wiggles. 21 short steep switchbacks cut into the rock for the trail.
- tAngleLnd
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.25998
W -112.95152
Elev: 4,300 Feet
Angel's Landing Trailhead.
- wBusStpGrotto
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 37.25908
W -112.95121
Elev: 4,280 Feet
The Grotto shuttle stop on the Zion - Floor of the Valley road.
|