Nightmare in Robbers Roost Canyon, UT

March 1st, 2006 invert3

The other day I was at a gear shop and saw a licence plate holder that said, “My Vacation is Your Worst Nightmare”.  The 48 hours I spent exploring Robbers Roost Canyon in SE Utah was my greatest adventure ever, but to most people it would have been a miserable nightmare.

I took my trip at the beginning of April, 2005.  My reason for going to Robbers Roost was to see how I far I could hike in 24 hours, solo.  This deserty sandstone area was perfect the location that I was looking for: it was isolated, remote, had plenty of beautiful scenery, and had a collection of natural springs to refuel myself with.  I planned a 60 mile loop or “square” in which I would hike east up Robbers Roost Canyon, climb out of the canyon and hike south across a plateau, then climb down into antother canyon and hike west, then hike upstream Northwards along the Dirty Devil River until I reached the mouth of Robbers Roost once again.

Because this area is far off the beaten path, it is seldom visited.  My source of information was simple guidebook with hand drawn maps.  Only the first few miles of my trek would involve a trail, the rest of the way I would have to invent my own route.

Everything started out just great.  It was a mild, sunny day and the views were stunning with sheer 1000 foot red sandstone  walls around me,  much like Zion National Park.  My first obstacle was crossing the Dirty Devil River order to enter Robbers Roost Canyon.  This river, according to the guidebook, is usually quite small and tame, but a storm the day before had risen the water level questionably high, and was about 40 feet wide.  I had no idea how deep it was or how swift the current would be, so I found a stick for extra balance and hopped in.  The crossing wasn’t too difficult afterall, and I began my eastward hike up Robbers Roost.

I hiked all day up the beautiful canyon.  The route involves crossing springs, climbing over sand dunes, and squeezing through bamboo type brush.  There is even a nice arch halfway up the canyon.

I exited the canyon at about 4 pm.  My plan was hike halfway across the plateau and make camp at spring.  I was shocked to find out that this plateau, known as Robbers Roost Flats, is not flat at all, but a dendritic system of sheer canyons, gorges, and stream beds.  None of these things were shown on any map I had looked at.  I spent the next 7 hours trying find away down into and back up these canyons so I could make my way southward to the spring.  It was cloudy that night and I had no idea of what direction I was traveling in, and I was out of water. Finally around midnight I gave up trying to find the spring.

I awoke Saturday morning to find myself about 8 miles of course!  I was extremely thirsty, so immediatley headed for the spring.  8 miles later I found it, only to to discover that it was dry.  I realized I was in big trouble.

I figured that the quickest way to water, according to my stupid guide book, was to hike west about 10 miles and climb into Robbers Roost canyon near it’s mouth.  The Canyon walls are vertical, and this is the only way back in.

I followed the instruction of the book and hiked the 10 miles west, but I was never able to find the entrance.  It was now about 3 pm, and I had gone almost 24 hours without water and had hiked about 20 miles since then.  i realized that the only  thing i could do now was retrace every step i had taken and go back the way i came.  I knew where a spring was were I originally exited RR canyon, only it was another 10 miles away.

I was already at the point where I felt like I couldn’t take another step, but standing around doing nothing would make the situation any better.  to make matters more interesting, a thundstrom came out of nowhere.  First hail, then rain, then snow.  All I had to wear were cotton pants and a long sleeve shirt.  Luckily, it rained long enough to create puddles on the rocks, and i sipped those up and filled my Nalgene.

It was pitch dark by the time I reached the spot where I would climb back into the canyon.  The entrance was nothing more than a short slot canyon that involved a lenghty section of 5.8 downclimbing.

I decided just to camp there.  I had no tent, and freezing rain poured on me all night.  When the sun came up, I discovered that my sleeping bag was covered in frozen ice. I spent that morning hiking the last 14 miles back to my car.  All in all, I hiked about 90 miles in during those 48 hours, and my feet had become so swollen from overuse that my regular shoes would not fit on my feet for the next few days.  Can’t wait to go do it again.

Entry Filed under: Whatever!, Hiking, Competitions