Cassidy Arch Canyon Anchor Work, Capital Reef National Park, UT

Cassidy Arch Canyon has gotten rather popular, of late. The Park has become concerned about the wear and tear in the canyon, including on the tree used for the first anchor. We had been telling people to use a retrievable anchor system so as not to leave a sling for the hiking visitors to fret over, but... With increased traffic, slings left on the tree were a regular thing...

Canyoneering, Capitol Reef, Trip ReportTom JonesJuly 19, 2016Cassidy arch, anchors, anchor maintenance, anchor rigging, canyoneering anchors, canyoneering

Pandora's Box Canyon, Capital Reef, UT

It's my party, and I get to choose the canyon and the company. For this year's TomFest, the sparsely-attended Friday canyon would be Pandora's Box, a wonderful though vigorous canyoneering adventure in Capitol Reef National Park. There have been several rescues in there the last couple years, as novice groups have underestimated the difficulties (foreshadowing!)...

Canyoneering, Capitol Reef, Trip Report, Winter, Zion Adventure CompanyTom JonesNovember 13, 2015pandoras box, capital reef, Pandoras Box Capitol Reef, Pandora's Box canyon, canyoneering, WINTER CANYONEERING

Big Rattlesnake Canyon and Fiddlesticking, Escalante Canyoneering

Victory in Midget Rattler the day before encouraged us. After the requisite post-party casual breakfast, a gang was rounded up to try the next one.

Anchors, Big rappel, Canyoneering, Capitol Reef, Exploration, Trip ReportTom JonesMay 26, 2013big rattlesnake, big rattlesnake canyon, burr trail, rattlesnake, rattlesnake bench, canyoneering, capital reef canyoneering, fiddlestick

Midget Rattler, Escalante Canyoneering

Another Memorial Day Weekend, another visit to the Saddle in Boulder Utah for a social weekend. But, we were SUPPOSED to actually go out and do canyons too, AND get back in time for Pim’s hour, which might strike as early as 4 pm…

Anchors, Arch Rappel, Canyoneering, Capitol Reef, Exploration, Trip Report, Tom's First VisitTom JonesMay 25, 2013Burr Trail, escalante, Escalante canyoneering, canyoneering, canyons, canyon, capital reef, capital reef canyoneering

Pandora's Box Canyon, BEST Canyon in Capitol Reef

Though Utah's Capitol Reef National Park has a big handful of good canyoneering, Pandora's Box is clearly the BESTest! I hooked up with Ram and Brendan Busch (plus Jonathan Zambella, and Dirk and Nancy Tyler) for a few days out there

Canyoneering, Capitol Reef, Tom Jones, Trip Report, Steve RamrasTom JonesOctober 23, 2012Pandoras Box Capitol Reef, pandoras box, canyoneering Pandoras Box, capital reef

Cassidy Arch Canyon, Capitol Reef, UT

Next day, we were looking for something rather casual, so a quick lap through Cassidy Arch Canyon would fit the bill.

Arch Rappel, Canyoneering, Capitol Reef, Tom Jones, Trip Report, WildflowersTom JonesAugust 23, 2010Cassidy Arch, Ryan Cornia, capital reef, capital reef canyoneering, canyoneering

Canyoneering Pandora's Box, Capitol Reef National Park, UT

I've been hounding Malia for the last couple of weeks, trying to persuade her to endure the heat and show me through Pandora's Box. After a couple of weeks of nearly hooking up, the timing finally worked for Sunday, and off we went.

Canyoneering, Capitol Reef, Dan Ransom, Guest, Trip ReportDan RansomJune 3, 2007Brandon Ransom, Dan Ransom, Malia McIlvenna, Pandora's Box canyon, Pandoras Box, capital reef, capital reef canyoneering, pandoras, Pandoras Box Capitol Reef, pandoras box, canyoneering

First Trip Through Pandora's Box, Capital Reef, UT

Start with The Squeeze, end with Wiggun's. After a slideshow at REI, we blast down to the Factory Butte campsite, arriving at 4 am. Jeez. Never seen stars so bright...