Conditions:Insomnia Canyon-20230911165736
Latest: |
9 Sep 2023 (1 yr, 8 mos ago) |
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| Reported by: | Cheveran (92 reports) | |
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| Quality: | Great |
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| Waterflow: | Deep pools |
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| Wetsuit: | Full wetsuit |
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| Water temperature: | ||
| Difficulty: | Normal |
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| Time: |  9 hours
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Team: 4 people
Trip report URL:
Comments: Pretty canyon - big rappel is stunning. The carpet rope protection is magnificent, kudos to those that brought it. We were happy for 4/3 & 5 mm wetsuits despite an air temp of mid 80s. Anchors were in good shape. The approach was brushy but only a little annoying. We took the sneak exit out described in the Bluu Gnome beta up to Buckhead point and the suck factor was high. LOTS of veg, almost all of it with thorns! Very not nice.
All condition reports
| Date | Quality | Waterflow | Wetsuit | Difficulty | Time | Team | Reported by |
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| Great | Deep pools
| Thick wetsuit
| Normal | 9 hours
| 5 people | AZ Advocate (55 reports) | |
Comment: Another stellar trip through this amazing canyon. The water is still relatively clear, cold, and high, so no issues with any keepers; even the rap after the big one was an easy swim out as the water was right at the lip. We took the OG exit through COTC which is quite long but also amazing. Excellent day out.
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| Great | Very Low
| Thick wetsuit
| |  8 hours
| 3 people Advanced | EMoorcroft (450 reports) | |
Comment: if anyone finds a green dry sack, please contact me at [email protected]
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| Amazing | | Full wetsuit
| | 6 hours
| 4 people | RFontaine (271 reports) | |
Comment: A wonderful route made better with the new Super Sneak! Showing 3 first time Insomniacs through! 2 came out from Utah! We camped at the Super Sneak exit. Installed webbing on a young but strong Oak DCL at R1 of approach drainage, in lieu of the aforementioned log. Careful when pulling, we stuck our biner block on a knob on the log below and ascended to adjust/recover. Insomnia drainage had 1” thick ice throughout after a 15 degree F night. 5/4 wetsuit with cavesuit and wool baselayers was comfortable enough but probably last weekend 5/4 will be feasible as temps are dropping fast. We fiddled the bigdrop and my 316’ rope landed in a neat pile on the small ledge 15ft above the ground. I was luckily able to upclimb to grab it but something to keep in mind… Super sneak exit is very engaging with plenty of 4th class scrambles. A bit more bush/effort than standard sneak but not bad! Makes this route maximum juice for the squeeze! Amazing fall colors throughout!
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| Amazing | Deep pools
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 9 hours
| 3 people | AZ Advocate (55 reports) | |
Comment: Echoing the community, and it's definitely no surprise, this is a great route. We started from the OG approach and exited through Call O' the Canyon. The first rap on the approach to the drainage is attached to a dead tree which won't be around much longer though it's still stout. Would be good to sink a bolt into the rock face just up from that tree.
The rest of the anchors were in decent shape except for the webbing at the anchor for the big rap. It wasn't equalized at all so 1 bolt held all the load. We removed the new black webbing present and installed what we had, which was green, and equalized all 3 bolts. We also slightly adjusted the carpet edge pro, changing the wear points, so it's got a bit more life in it. Other than that, no surprises. The pools were cold but pretty dang clean.
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| Great | Deep pools
| Thin wetsuit
| | 5 hours
| 4 people | EMoorcroft (450 reports),Nclegg (409 reports),RFontaine (271 reports) | |
Comment: A thunderstorm rolled through the night prior so pools were full and access roads were muddy. We took the "super sneak" no-shuttle loop from Buckhead Ridge, moved at a moderate pace, and finished in just over 5h. We fiddled off trees for the two raps in the access drainage. The exit was more sun-exposed and involved more scrambling than the Illusions sneak alternative, however it was fairly straightforward, had minimal brush (thanks EM and JF), and was quick - taking us only 1h to reach the rim from the base of the final rappel.
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| Great | Low
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 9 hours
| 6 people | EMoorcroft (450 reports) | |
Comment: A cool stream of water coming off the big rappel. All pools are clean and full. Carpet edge pro is pretty beat up. The sneak exit sucks, but the canyon is worth it.
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| | | | 5 hours
| 2 people Advanced | EMoorcroft (450 reports) | ||
Comment: Insomnia sneak exit was a long slog in the humidity. We were able to complete the route in 5.5 hours car to car. The canyon was in good shape. The approach trail between r1 access rappel and r2 is quite overgrown. We wore thin wetsuits and were very warm. After insomnia we ran illusions. Great day.
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| Great | | Full wetsuit
| | 8 hours
| 5 people Intermediate to Expert | RFontaine (271 reports) | |
Comment: A great canyon route with some beautiful features and a fantastic large rappel!
The slot prior to big drop is very short and has some nice features similar to Illusions but second best in my opinion. This canyon is really all about the big drop. Someone replaced bolts with glue-ins and new edge pro at big drop. Kudos! The 320' drop is wonderful and feels huge as it pulls you far away from the wall. We all stopped on the big ledge for lunch. Option to re rig from a tree on big ledge to break up the big drop. The potholes were not as cold as Illusions and not as much water exposure. I wore a 5/4 and feel a 4/3 would have been fine. We took our time moving at a leisurely pace. Exited up the Illusions Sneak. 8.5hrs
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| Amazing | Deep pools
| Full wetsuit
| Normal | 8 hours
| 2 people Intermediate to Expert | Ingalls (28 reports) | |
Comment: Awesome late season run through Insomnia. The canyon itself was a breeze for us, all anchors were in decent shape including anchors for the final rappel. There is a decent amount of wood in the canyon that looks like it came from the fire which slows things down a bit.
For new folks who might read this: if you are doing the canyon this late in the season be absolutely confident in your skills. Full immersion took place on at least 2 of the potholes, the water is very cold, and the canyon, even after the big rappell, get's little to no sun. The edge protection is also still present and in good shape. We opted for the escape exit without a shuttle. The lack of a shuttle didn't prove to be any problem and we cruised the ~3mi back to the entrance. The escape exit however is a fairly brutal slog. If I did this canyon again I would almost certainly take the time to run a 2 car shuttle to the traditional exit.
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| Great | | Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 7 hours
| 3 people Advanced | EMoorcroft (450 reports) | |
Comment: Approach 30 min
Canyon 5 hours Exit 1.5 hours
Sneak exit was in good shape.
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| Amazing | Deep pools
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 7 hours
| 3 people Advanced | Cooper smith (30 reports) | |
Comment: Water levels were great through the canyon. All anchors looked good. Group was comfortable in 4/3 wetsuits. Big rap was spectacular. A 315' rope got us comfortably to the bottom. The anchor and carpet rope pro all looked great. Picked up a pool noodle rope pro and some trash that had washed down from above. Took illusions sneak exit which has burned in nicely since earlier this summer.
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| Great | Deep pools
| Full wetsuit
| Normal | 9 hours
| 4 people | Cheveran (92 reports) | |
Comment: Pretty canyon - big rappel is stunning. The carpet rope protection is magnificent, kudos to those that brought it. We were happy for 4/3 & 5 mm wetsuits despite an air temp of mid 80s. Anchors were in good shape. The approach was brushy but only a little annoying. We took the sneak exit out described in the Bluu Gnome beta up to Buckhead point and the suck factor was high. LOTS of veg, almost all of it with thorns! Very not nice.
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| Good | Deep pools
| Thin wetsuit
| Normal | 8 hours
| 2 people Intermediate to Advanced | Teamsnuggle (13 reports) | |
Comment: Anchors good, water level throughout the canyon is fairly low. The 300 is beautiful as always. The anchor and edge protection are in great shape. Took the illusions sneak, certainly some changes this year, steep but we didn’t find it too be terribly loose or dirty if you just stay in the drainage all the way.
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| Great | Deep pools
| Full wetsuit
| Normal | 8 hours
| 6 people Advanced to Expert | Erek (206 reports),Coalemus (160 reports) | |
Comment: All anchors good condition. All pools pretty deep. Time is Sneak Exit but others in group continued on to West Fork exit.
Big Rap: anchor was hot mess. Carpet washed away. Webbing cleaned up and what was left of paracord was removed. Also removed 60m of dynamic rope with a couple core shots from bottom.
Insomnia/Illusions Exit ~Look out for poison ivy!! ~lots of downed trees and landslides ~terrain is not as stable as before ~there was mud covered snow
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| Great | Deep pools
| Full wetsuit
| Normal | 11 hours
| 3 people Intermediate | Stber321 (38 reports) | |
Comment: The big rap is a lot of fun! Be aware the carpet has washed away, bring your own rope protection. All potholes were overflowing and had logs in them. I imagine the 2 potholes might be bypassable even without the logs by doing some stemming or rappelling over a different lip.
The pull on the big rap is difficult with a biner block, even from the bottom. We stuck our rope for almost 2 hours, it finally came down as we were planning to leave it. Someone left a 300ft rope(with no pull cord or seemingly any intention to recover it) at the big rap. We dropped this rope since it might have interfered with our pull. I did not have space to carry it out, it is currently at the bottom of the big rap. It looks old and I would not rappel on it, it is just trash. The sneak exit is brutal. There appear to have been a number of landslides with sections where the drainage is filled with nothing but loose dirt, all living vegetation has been wiped out. We found loose rocks over a large block of snow, you should not trust any rock no matter how large. There are comments from old trip reports to the effect that this exit is easier than immaculate but given current conditions I found it to be significantly longer steeper and more difficult than the immaculate sneak, which I did the next day.
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