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San Rafael Swell > Eardley Canyon
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Undisturbed, peaceful and geologically varied, Eardley is one of the
best canyons in the San Rafael Swell. It begins a few miles inside the eastern San Rafael Reef, just south of
I-70, where several shallower tributaries meet, has a number of impressive narrows sections of increasing depth
then becomes more open and V-shaped but deeper still, with much colorful crumbling rocks and some interesting
water-carved passages, before exiting the reef after 10 miles via a series of huge sheer-sided potholes that
require rappelling equipment to negotiate although they may be bypassed by climbing the cliffs and walking at rim
level. Two days are needed for the complete trip and a week could be spent exploring this and other canyons in
the area. |
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Location: (see note about directions) Eardley
Canyon may be explored from the north end by various dirt tracks starting from three I-70 exits, entering via
either one of four tributary canyons named Crawford Draw, Middle Fork, Red Draw and Hyde Draw, or from the south
end via UT 24 - a rough side road follows the streamway, here known as Straight Wash, to the point where it emerges
from the Reef. The northern routes are best as they offer the quickest access to the upper narrows, and the easiest
is along a small side ravine between Red and Hyde Draws. The start is from an exit of I-70; along a good quality
unpaved track that parallels the interstate for a couple of miles, crosses underneath, turns south and forks twice,
passing the site of a former airstrip at Cliff Dweller Flat then ends at the edge of a rocky scrub-covered plateau
- an isolated location, and an excellent place to camp.
The land falls away steeply to the south and several canyons are visible in the distance - Eardley is the
deepest, running northwest-southeast. The suggested route is down the slope and across the flat land below,
veering west slightly to the edge of a short ravine. A little way beyond where this joins the main canyon the
otherwise sheer walls are interrupted by a steep, boulder-covered slope, and the canyon floor may be reached by
scrambling down.
Photographs: 15 views of Eardley Canyon.
Description: Rocks around the canyon edge have a mixture of colours, eroded formations
and plentiful exposed thin-bedded sandstone - a hint of the attractions to come. Once on the canyon floor, the way
ahead is sandy with occasional downward steps of a couple of feet and is generally quite open. The streamway turns
due east and narrows after a while, with one particularly pretty stretch of crisp angled strata carved into
different forms, soon after which the Hyde Draw tributary joins from the left; this can be used as an alternative
entrance but ropes are needed to overcome a sheer drop at the junction.
The main canyon veers south and soon enters deeper narrows with no obstacles, just a clean flat sandy floor
beneath high Coconino sandstone walls. In some places clear (drinkable) water seeps out from between layers near
the base of the cliffs. The gorge becomes gradually wider and another tributary joins from the west, from behind
a high sandbank. The rocks above rise steadily higher and the curves become wider, with several hundred feet of
the canyon visible ahead. Pebbles and boulders are scattered in the streamway, which is now quite overgrown with
large cottonwood trees, reeds and grass. Later these fade away, replaced by more fallen rocks and flat terraces
with smooth, water-carved channels.
Other notable features are a clear pool with deep water, a dryfall several meters high that may be passed by
climbing down on the right hand side, and another sheer fall after about 6 miles. This marks the point at a 180°
bend in the canyon where the floodwaters once broke through a narrow separating ridge, creating a rincon (abandoned
meander), and leaving an isolated peak in the middle of the two channels. From here the boulders in the canyon
become larger, with many downward drops of a few meters and frequent pools underneath. There are several V-shaped
narrow passages with very old-looking, weathered limestone rocks, one of which leads steeply into a muddy area,
site of a deepish pool in wet weather.
More boulders and exposed strata follow, as Eardley Canyon nears the edge of the San Rafael Reef; just before is
the technical section with 6 deep potholes, all or most of which require swimming. This part is usually explored
starting from the southern entrance.
I visited in mid October, on a still, essentially cloudless day with clear blue sky from dawn to dusk,
conditions which emphasised the striking colours and textures of the rock. The canyon had absolutely no litter
or other footprints and seemed completely unspoilt. A round trip to a point not far above the potholes (ca. 16
miles) took 8 hours.
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