We made it back to Utah again this season! And we convinced another boy family to join us! (heh heh heh) Not sure that they really knew what they were signing up for…
But all’s well that end’s well, and this was a spectacularly successful trip. Between the four of us adults, we parented SIX boys, aged 12, 11, 9, 8, 6, and 3. And they ALL did both slot canyons, even the three year-old (Emerson). Both of these were completely legitimate slot canyons, too. During our May roadtrip our three boys did Spooky and Peekaboo, which are definitely slot canyons, but they can’t claim any sort of technical nature. The slot canyons we just did, though… well they definitely count.
We warmed up in Fry canyon, as I have done many times before. And I taught the kids how to rappel along one side of the canyon (repeat of eight years ago, when I did the same with another family). Then we headed to the North Wash campsite, which is acceptable to me this time of year since it’s less crowded.
Munchkin Canyon with Kids
Day 2 we did Munchkin. I had picked this canyon because Road Trip Ryan made it sound super easy, and I wanted to start out super easy with our unsuspecting friend family. Turns out Ryan sandbagged us a bit (he’s since updated his description, after I left a comment). There was no rappeling, and no swimming, but there was a decent amount of high stemming. Which is to say that the canyon got too narrow at the very bottom to be able to fit through, so you have to stay above the bottom of the canyon, stemming between the canyon walls. In principle, not that hard, but when it goes on for a long time (multiple sections up to a hundred yards long this case) and is high above the bottom (10-20 feet in this case), it can get spicy, and tiring. I would NOT recommend this for beginners with kids. At one point I found myself in a full body stem about fifteen feet above the canyon bottom with my three year-old Emerson on my back. I was comfortable with it, but I know that most would not be. It felt like a parenting accomplishment to be able to take all those boys down the canyon without it being an issue. If you aren’t super experienced, definitely start on easier canyons (like Little Bear and Wild Horse, for example).
The good news is that everyone was up for it, thrived, and loved it, so it worked out great for us. If it had proven too hard, we could have easily bailed out (it’s a shallow canyon), and as it turns out we only went about 2/3 of the way to the intersection because the boys were getting tired, so we escaped to the West and made our way back. I am very grateful to our friends and their boys for being totally hardcore enough to enjoy the canyoneering. The boys brought out the boldness in each other, and had to be restrained from forging ahead through the canyons (which is far more pleasant than having to goad them with feet dragging).
I had originally been planning on taking only the strongest kids down the next canyon–west fork of Leprechaun–but after everyone rocked Munchkin, I knew that we could all do Leprechaun. So we did.
I’m willing to bet that Emerson is the ONLY three year-old that has EVER descended the west fork of Leprechaun canyon. Anyone!?
Leprechuan west has some rapelling and tight deep dark narrows. It’s a spectacular beginner canyon–for adults. And it’s INCREDIBLE for kids, if you can guide them through with confidence. (note–I recommend only experienced canyoneering parents consider taking their three year-old down it)
I am very proud of my boys (and the older boys) for their accomplishments on this trip. Long hikes, deep canyons, high stemming, down-climbing, rapelling, narrows, it was quite a challenge and they all excelled.
Sorry to say I don’t have as many photos or footage of the canyoneering this time, as I was 100% occupied getting all the boys safely through the canyon.
Wow!! What an adventure! Great photos!