the big kahuna.
Heaps is a truly wonderful canyon, but it is also BIG. Deep inside the mountain, it is dark, wet, sinuous and moody. When really wet, it is fast and cold, and such a blast! When the water levels go down, keeper potholes start appearing. As the level continues descending, more and more potholes require effort to exit. I have seen as many as 14 potholes that required significant effort to get out of.
Heaps can be very physical, which is why a one-day descent with less gear makes a lot of sense. The extra five or six lbs carried through the canyon in order to bivy adds up to a greatly increased effort over the course of the day. There are decent bivy spots in Phantom Valley before suiting up, at the Crossroads and near the end, on flat sandy shelves above the watercourse.
Heaps saves the best for last – a series of raps culminating in a 290-foot free-hanging the whole way rappel, with the wall at least 50 feet away. AWESOME, and something you want to be alert for.
In 1863, Isaac Behunin built a cabin near the current location of Zion Lodge, used to tend fields on a seasonal basis. William Heap and John Rolf moved in a few years later, Heap establishing his cabin and farm west of the river, north of the Emerald Pool stream.
First recorded complete descent: October 1982, Norman Harding and Royce D. Trapier, after substantial preparation by Dennis Turville and Mike Bogart in 1981.
The top of the approach ridge is at UTM NAD83: 12S 323930mE 4128070mN.
Canyon Profile
Logistics
RATINGS
4B VI 5.4 ★★★★★
TIME REQUIRED
12-20 Hours
PERMIT
REQUIRED. Group size limit 6.
SEASON
Summer or fall
LONGEST RAPPEL
280 feet (90 m)
Equipment
ESSENTIALS
Helmets, rappelling gear, webbing and rapid links. Drybags for your gear. Potshots and a hooking kit should be carried at all times. Family Band Radios are extremely helpful on the final rappels.
COLD WATER PROTECTION
Dry suits or thick wetsuits required at all times
DRINKING WATER
Once in the canyon, filterable pothole water is available. Usually we just carry enough for the day.
ACCESS
Heaps can be approached either from the Main Canyon via the West Rim Trail or from Lava Point. Both approaches take about 4 hours, but the Lava Point approach uses considerably less energy than climbing 3000 feet (900m) from the valley floor. See Approach Tab for details. Heaps ends at the Emerald Pools cirque. You can follow the trail out to Zion Lodge or The Grotto.
difficulties
FLASH FLOOD RISK
High - Long sections of unrelenting narrows and a large watershed above combine to make this a canyon only to be done with a totally clear forecast.
SKILLS REQUIRED
Please see the Preface to Heaps.
SEASONAL ADJUSTMENTS
Summer and Fall are the only practical times to do Heaps. Once it stops flowing from snowmelt in the Spring, it can be done (but then, we call that summer).
The big variable for Heaps is the water level in the potholes. Snowmelt fills the canyon in the spring, and thunderstorms refill it. Hot summer weather will pull the water out of it, and several weeks without rain can result in difficult to escape potholes. Many of the potholes have flat slickrock on the far side making potshot tosses ineffective.
Getting there
Option A: From Lava Point
This approach uses less energy, but does require a car spot. From near Lava Point, follow the West Rim Trail south 6.5 miles (10.4 km) past Potato Hollow to a trail junction. The West Rim Trail splits here: take the right branch to continue along the West Rim. Walk 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to near campsite #4. Leave the trail and walk to the cliff edge to the top of a ridge, between an amphitheater on the left and Phantom Valley on the right. The ridge starts at the highest point along the rim.
Option B: From the Main Canyon Floor
From the Grotto, skip up the Angels Landing / West Rim trail 4.3 miles (7 km), gaining 3000 feet (900m) en route to West Rim Spring. This is a very small spring providing a trickle of water. Take the "Rim Route" (left fork) of the West Rim Trail 1.3 miles to near campsite #4. Leave the trail and walk to the cliff edge to the top of a ridge, between an amphitheater on the left and Phantom Valley on the right. The ridge starts at the highest point along the rim.
From the Ridge
Work your way down the ridge, carefully following small social trails to avoid the worst of the brush. Progress on the ridge is soon blocked by a short cliffband. A small tree with slings above a dirt and gravel slope provides a possible rappel anchor, but a cleaner rappel can be found by stepping west ten feet (3 m) over a rock ridge and slinging a block (may require a long sling).
Rap 65 feet (21 m) to the ground. Continue down the ridge, downclimbing on the left side when needed. Delicately climb an exposed, crumbling knife-edge ridge to a large tree on the right. Rap from a tree 210 feet (63 m) to the high point of the ground, 20 feet (6 m) right of a large Ponderosa Pine.
Bag the ropes and walk down the slope to the slickrock, then follow the ridge all the way to the bottom of the wash. Walk the wash one hour to where it drops into a dark slot. Suit up!
*****
Variation Note: Heaps can also be accessed by descending The Gunsight, rather than through Phantom Valley. See Isaac Canyon, via The Gunsight for description. Follow the description for the Gunsight, then head down Heaps from the Crossroads. This route bypasses some of the best, and most challenging, narrows of Heaps.
The Business
Phantom Valley Narrows
After a few walking and wading sections, the real fun begins with a rappel through a series of beautiful pools. After a few more rappels and swims, a few pothole problems and a swim under an arch, the canyon opens up briefly (the short, gravelly corridor) before closing in for another rappel-pool-pothole section. When full, this section is easy and fun. When the water is a little lower, as many as eight challenging pothole escapes may be required.
The canyon then opens up and works its way through a section with canyons coming in on both sides. Where a major canyon (Gunsight) comes in from the north is called The Crossroads. When people bivy, they often bivy here. There is sometimes nice flat sand.
From the bivy spot, traverse right past a long pothole and rappel off a tree (or swim the pothole). A few minutes of hiking takes you to the Long Sandy Corridor. At the end of the Corridor, the canyon turns sharply left and plunges into darkness.
Terminal Narrows
The next section of narrows is long and intense. I think of it as being at least half again longer than the Phantom Valley section, with an interesting variety of problems. It also tends to be colder, and at times has really long swims. Near the end, there are potential bivy spots high and left above the streamcourse during most conditions. Strenuous climbing, pack tosses, ingenuity and, as a last resort, drilling and hooking may be required to pass the numerous difficulties. Many hours later, the intense narrows relent and the huge, smooth face of Lady Mountain can be seen on the right. A flat sandy corridor leads to a flat rock and a plunging slot on the left. The flat rock is often used to remove dry and wet suits and prepare for the final rappel sequence.
Final Descent Sequence
Take a look down the slot on the left. This is NOT the exit; a rappel from the lip of this slot is about 500 feet to the ground. (var 1.) Instead, climb a sandy chimney/corner on the right (30 feet (10m), 5.4) to the crest of a lump. Downclimb a slot on the other side to a small tree. Rap carefully 60 feet (18 m) down a slot to an exposed sloped ledge at a large tree. Be careful not to release any of the loose blocks perched in the slot, as there are hikers below visiting the Upper Emerald Pool.
From the large tree, rappel 145 feet (43 m) to a small ledge in the chimney, the “Bird Perch”. There is some loose rock on this rap too. Do NOT underestimate this rappel: it is vertical to overhanging the entire length. From the small ledge, rappel 280 feet (90 m) free to the talus below. Carefully rig the final rappel. There is a lot of poison ivy at the base of the rappel; avoid touching it.
Variation 1: The watercourse exit has been done. Rappel from logs about 60 feet (18m) into the slot. Use a retrievable anchor to avoid leaving rigging that might lead a later party astray. Walk out to the lip, and rap 80 feet (24m) from two bolts to a sloped ledge. Again, leave as little rigging as possible. The final rappel from two bolts is 355 feet (108m). Since this is IN the watercourse, this route is unpleasant to impossible if there is any flow.
The Exit
From the landing area at Upper Emerald Pool, pack up your things and stroll down the Emerald Pools Trail to Zion Lodge, about 30 minutes. Alternatively, if you left a vehicle at The Grotto you may return there via the Kayenta Trail.
Author’s experience
I first descended Heaps in 2001 with Scott Holley. I have descended it once or twice most years since, including a winter attempt in 2017 that did not go well – we escaped out Isaac Canyon.
Trip Reports
Maps
Click for higher resolution
As my feet hit the boulders above emerald pool, my first thought was “best canyon ever?”
I don't know. It's a silly question. But there is no question - that canyon is darn good.