⊗ Neon Canyon ♦

August 24, 2017 tarannosaurus

Epic Travel → North America → Mountain States → Utah → Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument → ⊗ Neon Canyon

⊗ Technical Route ⊗
♦ Intrepid Top Pick!

Warning: Do Not Attempt Without Proper Training – click here for details

Location: Egypt Bench, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah

Distance: 4.2 miles roundtrip to/from Fence Canyon Camp, ~0.5 miles technical

Elevation Ascent/Descent: 500 feet/500 feet

Time Required: 5 hours from Fence Canyon Camp or 8.5 hours from Egypt Bench trailhead

Rappels: 5, lengths up to 80 feet

Red Tape/Notes: No permit required (unless camping overnight), no shuttle required. Notorious keeper pothole that can be extremely troublesome depending on the water level. Some of the most detailed beta we’ve found for this route is Chris Brennen’s description.

What’s Nearby?: Ringtail Canyon, Egypt Bench to the Escalante River

Neon is a classic, famous in the canyoning world for it’s beautiful final rappel through the roof of the Golden Cathedral. Many people do this canyon as a day trip from the Egypt trailhead, but the canyon itself is so short that I’m not entirely sure it would be worth it, although the length of the canyon does make the day trip feasible. I personally think it’s a better day if you camp at the mouth of Fence Canyon and pair Neon with Ringtail, but if you don’t have that kind of time, a day trip is a nice option. The hike down the Escalante is quite fun and once you’re in Neon Canyon the approach to the top isn’t too bad. After you drop in, it’s nice and cool with some swimming slots and small potholes, until you come to the large keeper pothole. The depth of this pothole tends to vary significantly from year to year, sometimes being mostly full of sand, sometimes having little sand and being quite deep. The rim is overhung and there’s little purchase on the far side for a bag or pack toss to assist with the exit so don’t pull your descent rope until someone is able to exit the pothole! If it’s full of water, like it was when we went, then obviously it’s extremely easy and you just swim across without even really noticing. And then you have your amazing exit through the Golden Cathedral and you’re very sad that it’s over already. We packed a lunch so we’d have time to dry out a bit and watch the light on the walls and enjoy the cathedral a bit. It really is lovely.