Rock Climbing The Cobblestones Of Maple Canyon, UT
After losing Tybee, 5 days at an RV parking installing our lithium batteries (more in a future post), and a shitty experience at Walmart, we were so excited to leave Salt Lake City and find ourselves in the woods with friends.
Driving into Maple Canyon.
Home at Maple Canyon for the six nights we were here. There are climbing routes on the two mountains behind us. The right rock is home to Tachycardia, a three pitch route.
View from Early Bird crag.
Cat and JF of Road It Up were in Maple Canyon to rock climb and had invited us to join them. Maple Canyon is a world class climbing destination famous for its unique rocks. The cliff walls are embedded with large rounded cobblestone like rocks, making them perfect hand- and footholds for climbing. Located in the Uinta National Forest, there are over 550 climbing routes here from 5.5 to 5.10+ grades/difficulties. This place is perfect for beginner climbers to those who are looking for challenges.
Cat belaying JF on Peterbuilt, 5.7.
Aisha on Toe Jam, 5.6
JF and Al on Tachycardia, a 5.7 - 3 pitch climb.
Mara leading Bullets of Baghdad, 5.7.
Hiking in to climb.
Cat taking a break.
Jerud and I rarely climb. Not having enough knowledge and skills to lead climbs, we depend on stronger and more experienced climbers to set up top ropes for us. Though we had already started talking about getting our own climbing gear and diving into the sport more than the once or twice a year dabble, the days spent climbing at Maple Canyon reassured us that we do want to climb more often.
Jerud's first attempt to lead, Bullets of Baghdad, 5.7.
Me climbing Bullets of Baghdad, 5.7.
Rock climbing is a very social sport. With 9 of us climbing (Cat, JF and their three girls, and Al and Beth of A Van Named Rose) and only two ropes, there was lots of hanging out, watching one another, cheering, and offering tips.
Hanging out at Billy the Kid wall.
Aisha and Jerud climbing Billy the Kid wall.
Cat on Celsa Vaca, 5.8.
JF and Cat belaying.
JF leading Monkey Duodenum, 5.9.
Stout, Road It Up's dog, pouting.
Not far from our campsite is Box Canyon, a short (~ 1 mile) hike leading through towering walls. It reminded me of hiking through the Narrows in Zion National Park, sans water. There are more climbing routes in the canyon. The hike ends at a tall waterfall (water depends on time of year, recent rainfall, etc.) with a rope. The wall was too wet for us to think about continue up and over.
A lot of fun stuff to climb over.
This time spent in Maple Canyon was exactly what Jerud and I needed. To be with friends who knew and cared about Tybee, to be in the woods where I find peace, and to work my body physically and challenge my mind mentally.
TIPS
Download the Mountain Project app to get all the intel on the climbing routes.
The weather in Maple Canyon is strange. At 6,300 ft., we experienced rain, hail, and snow while we were there. This is a good site for the weather forecast in the canyon.
Cat and I both posted reviews about boondocking here on Campendium.
The closest dump and potable water we found was in Fairview, UT at the Tesoro gas station (40 W. 400 N.). Both dumps are free, but the water was $1 for 50 gallons, $1.50 for 100 gallons, and etc.
Check out Cat's blog post and photos of Maple Canyon.
We visited here April 19 - 25, 2017.