Blarney

Moderate. Approximately 5 miles of hiking on uneven terrain including multiple down-climbs, squeezing and 3 rappels. This is a dry canyon so no water except after heavy storms. 250lb. Max Weight Limit.

• Small day pack
• Comfortable hiking shoes or old tennis shoes
• All clothing may get scraped up and muddy
• Long pants recommended
• Small camera

Meet us at Wild Expeditions at 7:45 am to meet your guides, fill up your water bottles and we’ll gear you up with a helmet and harness. At 8 am we’ll load up the van and head out. The drive to Blarney Canyon is just under a 2 hour drive, but it’ll feel much shorter as we share stories about the amazing landscapes we drive through including Comb Ridge, Salvation Knoll, Bears Ears National Monument and more. We’ll have one pit stop along the way at the Hog Springs Picnic Area for all us coffee drinkers and then we’ll be at our trailhead by 10 am. The hike starts out with a scramble up the sandstone ledges and we’ll ascend nearly 500’. With beautiful views of the Henry Mountains the climb up goes relatively quickly and you’ll be at the top before you know it. Hiking along the rim of Blarney canyon offers epic views and this is only the beginning. After about a 2 mile hike we get to our first rappel at the top of the canyon.

This rappel is about a 50’ rappel and can be daunting for a first timer. Your guides will take great care of you and show you everything you need to know to safely rappel down into the canyon. It’s an amazing feeling and anyone can do it! After everyone in the group rappels we’ll have lunch in the canyon before dropping into the narrow sections of the slot so we don’t mush up our sandwiches. Another short rappel here puts us in a slot 2 – 3 feet wide and the twisting red canyon climbs up to a 100’ above. These narrows are long and we’ll work as a team to down-climb, stem and work our way through the beautiful red rock. You’ll remember what climbing around the playground was like as a kid.

We’ll keep hiking through the narrows and as sun passes over the canyon the light reflects off the canyon walls so that canyon is always changing. Just when you think we’re getting close to the end we’ll reach our 3rd rappel. This 3rd and final rappel is 60’ long with a tricky start, but drops you into a beautiful deep cavern where the sun never hits. This is the deepest section of tthe narrows and you’ll want to be sure you have your camera with you. Once the full group is down we’ll stuff our ropes and we’re off through more narrows. A few longer downclimbs and the canyon starts to widen up again for a short hike back to the van. Depending on the size of the group the canyon takes about 5 hours which puts us back in Bluff between 4 and 5 pm.