The Quandry to Ramp Canyon canyoneering route is one seriously fun adventure. Located in the Hidden Splendor area of the South end of the San Rafael Swell.

To get there you will take the Temple Mountain exit off of I70 which is a few miles past the Highway 24 exit to Hanksville, and West of the Highway 6 / I70 intersection at exit 113. This is an advanced canyoneering route and you do have to deal with the difficulty of getting into and out of technical keeper potholes, technical climbing and advanced natural anchor building skills in the TKPH section. If you do the bypass, around the TKPH section, this becomes a much easier route and shaves off about 2-3 hours.

The last time we did this route was 20 May 2006 and it did have water in some of the holes as deep as 5 feet. The route was quite difficult in spots and will not be easily accomplished by the novice canyoneer without the assistance of others. An experienced canyoneer as a guide is advised. This route should take you between 8-10 hours to complete. However, you will need to add more time if you plan on doing the technical keeper pothole section, taking a lot of pictures, do any side exploring, or have more than two in your group who are inexperienced. 

The route is challenging with numerous raps, and the possibility of multi-pitch raps and exits through the TKPH section. The only map reading / GPS skills required are getting to Ramp Canyon. I have included magnetic North headings  for using a map / compass along with lat / long coordinates for use with a GPS, which makes finding and hiking the route much easier. This can be a dangerous place if you are unprepared and get lost. So, be sure of your navigational skills.

Some rap anchors can be difficult / impossible if you do not have the proper equipment or advanced natural anchor building skills. Some technical climbing and athletic skills for getting into and out of the TKPH section in Quandry Canyon are necessary. Ramp Canyon only requires climbing skills with a possible belay for inexperienced climbers. If you have at least one experienced climber in the group, he / she can spot / belay / sling assist the rest of the group.

The hike begins by going West from the parking area up the wash toward the V-notch between the two mountain peaks (see picture left). Work your way up the top of the wash and boulders. Here you will take a hard left and then up the old mining trail to the saddle pass (see picture right). This is the entrance into Quandry Canyon.

Once in Quandry Canyon, you will hike down through the wash to your first rap. Enjoy the scenery and landscape. This is a beautiful part of the canyon, especially early in the morning. When you get to the first rap you should find some slings around a boulder with quick links to use for your anchor. Now work a little further down the wash until you come to your next rap. There were no pre-established anchors with slings here. We used a grappling hook on a rock as our anchor.

As you continue down the canyon things open up and you will be able to see a lot of the surrounding landscape and scenery. You will eventually come to a natural bridge in a fairly open part of the canyon (see picture left). Keep going down the canyon and it will narrow again where you will come to the first hole with water.

Here you will find a sling attached to a natural anchor on the right (see picture right). When we rapped into this hole it had 5 feet of water in it and was very chilly. Depending on the time of year and precipitation, you may have to swim this one. Getting out at the far end is fairly easy with a short scramble.

Your next serious encounter will be the technical pothole (TKPH) section. Here you will need to decide whether you are going to take the bypass or go for it. If you are unsure of your skills or that of anyone else in your party, lack confidence / equipment, or are short on time, it would be best to use the bypass route. This is a serious section and should not be taken lightly.

Throughout the TKPH section you will find various types of anchors such as pitons, bolts and hangers, buried rocks in the sand with slings, places for hooks, natural , etc. No need to put in any more bolts and hangers or hole for hooks, there are plenty there. Just look around and you will find plenty of places for anchors. Additionally, there are a couple of places where you can set up multi-pitch raps to save time and pothole hop (see picture left).

Some of the potholes were dry and some had water. Keep this in mind, if you do not have a good plan to get out of a hole before you get into it, don't do it. Additionally, don't pull your rap rope and anchor until at least one member of your group has escaped the hole, you may need to get out the direction you came in.

The TKPH sections will take you anywhere from 2-4 hours to complete depending on your skills and that of your team. This is not for amateurs. This is serious business. If you don't know what you are doing, you could get stuck here and not get out.

Once through the TKPH you will still have a one final rap. This has a chock stone anchor with a sling attached (see picture right). Now, you can put away your climbing / rappelling gear as you are for a long hike to Ramp Canyon.

The exit to Quandry Canyon is through a marshy, high grass, wooded area to the South. Once you push through this area, you will come to a dry valley where you will turn left and head NE toward Ramp Canyon.

This is a long dry / hot hike through a dry sandy wash. You will need a good detailed map and good map reading skills here to located Ramp Canyon, especially if previous hiker tracks are erased. You will also encounter a dryfall that you can bypass by climbing up and around to the left.

The entrance into Ramp Canyon is beautiful, as is the entire Ramp Canyon hike. You will meander through some very high vertical rock walls along a sandy wash. When you get to the real bottom entrance to Ramp, you will make a hard left turn and encounter your first obstacle, a 30' high dryfall.

The dryfall is best bypassed to the left. You will notice rock trails markers (cairns) which will guide you up the the side of the canyon rim. Once past the dryfall you will need to reenter the Ramp Canyon wash and continue to work your way up the canyon. You will encounter a couple of more dryfalls where you will have to work up and around to the right.

About 2/3 of the way, or approximately 3/4 mile, up Ramp Canyon is "The Ramp". This is a rock slab to the left that you will need to climb and traverse to get around the dead end in the wash. Not difficult by any means, but not for the amateur or nervous climber. A skilled climber will be able to get up this fairly easily. If you have an experienced climber in the group, have him / her climb the slab first. Once at the top there is a great place for an anchor and top belay for the rest for the team.

Once you're past "The Ramp" it's a short hike until it opens up and you are out of the canyon. From here it's smooth sailing all the way back to the parking area. This is about 2 miles, so be patient and enjoy the stroll and share the day's war stories as concurring heroes.