Trip Date: October 27, 2018

2018 UTAH ADVENTURE VACATION

Bluejohn Canyon Exploration Loop

Bluejohn Mesa
Little West Fork of Bluejohn Canyon aka Little West Bluejohn Canyon
Upper Main Fork of Bluejohn Canyon aka Upper Main Bluejohn Canyon
(Note: erroneously spelled “Blue John” in some references)

Trip Report Summary

Region: Utah

Sub-Region: Southeastern Utah

Sub–Sub-Region: Robbers Roost Country

Area: Horseshoe Canyon Wilderness Study Area on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property

Starting & Ending Point: Burr Pass Camp on Hans Flat / Maze Road (Elev. 5800 feet)

Way Points: Bluejohn Mesa & Little West Bluejohn Canyon & Main–West Canyon Confluence & Upper Main Bluejohn Canyon & Main–West Canyon Confluence & East–Main–West Canyon Confluence (off-trail hike & rock scramble & rappel);  return via westside exit gully & Bluejohn Mesa (off-trail hike)

Invert: Little West Bluejohn Canyon (top-down traverse of full length)

Invert: Upper Main Bluejohn Canyon (up & back traverse of middle segment)

Approximate Stats: 7 miles traveled; 600 feet gained & lost; 8.2 hours elapsed.

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Trip Overview

While car-camped on the rim of Horseshoe Canyon, Lisa, Kevin, Dwayne, Eileen, and I spent a day exploring two upper branches of Bluejohn Canyon—specifically, the Little West Fork and the Upper Main Fork. This canyon network lies on BLM property just outside of the Horseshoe Canyon Unit of Canyonlands National Park. The entire region is whimsically known as “Robbers Roost Country” because Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch gang used the various canyons as their hideout.

Bluejohn Canyon, in particular, is now famous for being the location where Aron Ralston got his arm stuck between two rocks and subsequently was forced to do a self-amputation, as graphically depicted in the movie 127 Hours. We were somewhat relieved to learn that his horrific event occurred in the Lower Main Fork, considerably farther downstream from the site of our exploration described herein.

Full Trip Report

From our car-camping site, we drove out the Hans Flat (Maze) road toward Burr Pass.  We parked at Burr Pass Camp and hiked eastward across the desert mesa for a mile until reaching the head of Little West Bluejohn Canyon.

After some initial scrambling, we came to a steep drop.  Here, we made the first of several rappels into deep, dark slots.

More scrambling and tricky down-climbing led us into a series of twisty passageways.

A second rappel was made into a beautifully scoured chimney.

A third rappel deposited us in a dark slot that gradually opened up.

Eventually, we came to a confluence of the Little West and Main branches of Bluejohn Canyon (3.2 hours from car).  It felt good to see the sky again.

Because the day was still young, we spent 2 hours exploring Upper Main Bluejohn Canyon.  This mile-long segment is a marvelously narrow slot with interesting textures, colors, and features—including several large chock stones and even a “chock tree.”

Upon returning the Little West – Main canyon confluence, we walked a mile downstream to the East-Main-West canyon confluence.  Our exit from the canyons was made via a westside gully that led back up to the Bluejohn Mesa and the Burr Pass Camp parking lot (8.2 hours round trip).

Route Maps

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Photo Gallery

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