Outlaw Canyon
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| | Difficulty:3B IV (v2a2 IV) Raps:1, max ↨35ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:4WD - High Clearance Rock type:Sandstone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 5 Oct 2024
"Outlaw needs more technical obstacles to make the pay to play worth it. The canyon action is rather minimal and the unremarkable canyon walking is len |
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| Best season: | Sep-Oct
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40.5052, -108.9053
40.4815, -108.9414
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Introduction[edit]
The canyons north of the Yampa River are big days in a wonderfully remote location. Outlaw is one possible descent from the approach to the Key Saddle, and has a very short narrows section with one required rappel of 35'.
Plan for September or October when temperatures are better, the Yampa River is lowest and the spring and summer Peregrine Falcon closure north of the river has passed.
Approach[edit]
Drive East of Dinosaur, CO turning north at the Canyon Visitor Center onto Harper's Corner Rd for 25.5 miles on pavement. Along the way, a bathroom is available at the Plug Hat Butte parking and dispersed camping is available down Blue Mountain Road.
Late arrivals beware the many deer and black cows on the open range along Harper's Corner Road.
Turn right toward Echo Park at Sand Canyon Road, which is easily passable with 4WD HC in dry conditions. Drive Sand Canyon Rd 7.5 miles to the intersection with Yampa Bench Road. Echo Park is to the Left. Turn right on Yampa Bench Road for 3.9 miles. Yampa Bench Road is also easily passable with 4WD HC in dry conditions to where it intersects Red Rock Canyon.
Park next to Yampa Bench Road just before Red Rock Canyon. Kelsey details a few other approaches and parking options in his 2nd Edition Technical Slot Canyon Guide to the Colorado Plateau.
Hike: 1.9 miles -400' down Red Rock Canyon to the Yampa River. The north side of Red Rock Canyon seems to offer better cattle trails to follow.
At the end of Red Rock Canyon just before a barbed wire cattle fence are some petroglyphs in a sandstone alcove on the north side of the canyon with an inscription from Bert Hadfield in 1919.
Round the corner to the north after Red Rock Canyon opens on the west side of the Yampa River following worn cattle trails. The bench above the river provides quicker travel.
As the bench runs into a tall sandstone cliff and the Yampa turns to the east, either:
- hug the west bank to avoid a full swim, but be careful of thick poison ivy or
- swim directly across the river, which is too deep to touch (as of 2022 and 2023). Inflate dry bags for floatation.
Note this location on the map to most easily transition between the river bank and quicker trails on the bench. On return, if staying low by the river too long another upstream swim or a short unprotected cliff climb will be required.
Round the corner back to the West toward Tiger Wall, a landmark black-striped tall north-facing wall. Cross the Yampa to the north side only knee deep (as of 2022 and 2023) and aim uphill toward the key saddle.
If backpacking and preparing to overnight to do more canyons in this area north of the Yampa, camp options exist on the South side of the Yampa before Tiger Wall or across the Yampa North of Tiger Wall.
Trend uphill for +900' first in a shallow canyon, cross Tiger Wall Canyon, then proceed up slickrock. A few upclimb locations are noted on the interactive kml map on this page. Round a final corner on a high ledge above the Key Saddle and downclimb in a gully just west of the Key Saddle, cross it and proceed downhill on the opposite side into Outlaw Canyon. Go north under the sandstone walls when possible. Continue up Outlaw Canyon and enter the canyon for the descent when available.
Descent[edit]
Once on the canyon tributary floor, continue downstream to the southeast. The first obstacle is an easy walk down around a pothole.
DC DCL bypassing an overhung rappel
R0: 80' from a tree, partner assist this as a downclimb after the first person rappels or bypass completely DCR
DC bypass a dryfall DCR
Downclimb the final spillover into the main drainage DCR
The main drainage is wide and mostly uneventful for the next 0.8 miles.
Three small arches can be spotted twenty feet up the wall DCL, which indicate the few technical obstacles are around the corner.
DC into a wet pothole or bypass by climbing around on either side
R1: 35' rappel from an rock anchor set further back. Avoid a swim in the pool below by gaining an angled bench close to the water level on Rappeller's Left.
DC the rest of the large boulder strewn canyon to the Yampa River below.
Exit[edit]
Retrace the path for the remaining 3.15 miles back to the Red Rock Canyon Trailhead.
Red tape[edit]
The North side of the Yampa is closed to access March 1 - August 15 for Peregrine Falcon nesting. This coincides with the Yampa being in a better state for crossing in the Fall avoiding the higher river levels during Spring melt.
A National Park's pass or a Dinosaur National Monument entrance fee is required.
Beta sites[edit]
Yampa River Stream Gauge at Deerlodge Park, CO - 09260050
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/09260050/#parameterCode=00065&period=P7D
Super Amazing Map : Outlaw Canyon- http://www.13ergirl.com/outlaw/outlaw.html
- SummitPost.org : Outlaw Canyon
p24 Kelsey's 2nd Edition Technical Canyoneering Guide to the Colorado Plateau
Trip reports and media[edit]
Photos added and kml updated from an Oct 2024 descent
