Behunin

Great day. 11 hours for a group of 6 (several newer canyoneers). There was a little runoff for raps 2, 3 and 4. All anchors looked good. We got wet up to our waists on rap 7, but we also didn't bother trying to rig any ziplines or anything.

Posting for a friend:

"Pretty wet and very cold, but no snow anywhere.

I kept my feet dry until the hallway section.

There's a little snow-melt-flow in the starting section, so you get rained on during the second rappel."

*Note: This guy lives in Zion and has done Behunin many times; so as far as staying dry goes, your mileage may vary.

Lovely weather at a high of 69. We were able to avoid getting our feet wet. Absolutely gorgeous fall leaves. 9 hrs for a meandering group of 3 taking lots of pretty pictures :).

One member complained often it wasn't strenuous enough. It was his first canyon. He's a pretty intense rock climber and expected to be climbing the entire time.

Two days after substantial rains, the water was thigh deep in places but also mostly avoidable with some work. Playing "water is lava" is fun (but hard, and slow)! Group of 6, about 9.5 hours. All anchors in good shape. LDC seems preferable for the first anchor, as the pull and angle of rappel is very reasonable.

Great time of year for Behunin. All anchors in good condition. We didn't bring wetsuits and water was no more than thigh deep.

Rap 1, we used the bolts on the slab LDC (95 foot rappel). The two potholes on the rap down the watercourse looked like they would be swims.

Rap 2, we rapped all the way down to the tree for rap 3 (180 to 190 feet). You could get off sooner but it's slabby and if you slipped you could fall over the edge of rap 3.

Raps 3 and 4 were beautiful and trickling, with some green moss growing on the rock - very cool.

Rap 6, the old nut in the crack and backup sling off the log are all gone. The tree RDC dropped us right to the edge of the pool.

Rap 7, we swung over to a boulder (thigh deep) and stepped on another boulder to climb out without swimming. There are slings off a tree which would require a dirty and sketchy downclimb to get to - do NOT use these - use the bolts RDC.

Rap 9, awesome as always!

Party of 5 took 9.5 hours. Only anchors that gave us pause were the loose bolts on Rap 7. Beautiful canyon EXCEPT for the human waste right before Rap 8. Such a bummer to see this - please please pack out your waste. Hot day, but an early start helped us take advantage of shady areas in the canyon.

Group of 4 in 7hrs.

Snow near Behunin Pass, but snow spikes not needed. Water trickle on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd raps, but you won't get wet.

7th rap is chest deep but can be avoided completely if you do a spider-man move and jump from the west-wall to the east-wall.

All anchors (there are many now!) are in great shape. Didn't bring wetsuits and none got wet except up to our calves.

Took a slower group of five 13 hours. White (Parking) Pass for the Lodge came in handy. Did last rappel in dark with headlamps.

There are three options for the "first" rappel on the hillside above the main watercourse. The upper two can be a bit sketchy to access. The lowest has a much safer approach and is anchored into the rock. Currently has blue webbing.

More water than my previous trips. Everyone got wet at least to the knees. 6th Rap bypass route was into water. Guided rappel kept all but first person dry.

The log across the pool at the bottom of the 2nd stage of the 7th Rap is now gone. Again, guided rappel kept all but first person dry.

Careful descents by the last person made for easy pulls on all rappels. On last rappel I recommend making your way down and out of the scree pile, away from the cliff's edge to the sandy area and pull from there. Much easier that way.

Beautiful canyon. Love it!

Canyon was very enjoyable. There were a few puddles of water that were unavoidable but nothing to get you too wet. The first rapeler got wet a couple of times but was able to help everyone else avoid the water. Even if you do get wet the canyon is not very cold. As far as technicality goes: very easy going. A good canyon to bring newer people into. Watch rope stick on the second to last rappel. When we pulled a part of our rope fell into some narrow pot holes and a slip knot formed. We got it out after a couple of minutes but it was a little nerve wracking.

Anchors all good, no surprises. Definitely had some "rope stuck" issues, but nothing we could not work out from the ground by moving farther back. I would not go down this canyon without ascenders though, it's kinda nuts how easy it was to get the rope stuck.

For the final two raps there's a piece of webbing affixed to a dinky-ass tree on the left; ignore it and crawl through the woodpile to dramatically better anchor below.

We had two short swims and some wading. We had wetsuits, nobody opted to put theirs on though. Started hiking around 8:30, back at zion lodge around 4:15.

Trip time was 10 hours tram-to-tram for 6 people. 2.25 hours from the Grotto to the Behunin turn-off from the West Rim Trail. Another hour to the first rappel. Forecast for Springdale was for 78F with 0%/20% rain (KSL/Weather.com). We got a tiny drizzle at one point, but blue skies otherwise and great temps for hiking. In spite of significant rain in the preceding weeks, we were able to avoid all pools with the exception of ankle-deep water in a number of areas. 2-220ft ropes worked great. Rope pull on the final rappel was a bit stubborn, but we finally got it. Beautiful canyon on a beautiful day!

Small trickle of flowing water from beginning to the end.

It is possible, with a little ingenuity, to avoid all water deeper than knee deep. Because of this, we did not need wetsuits.

We had 3 people, got on the trail by about 8:30 am. Took us a little under 2 hours to Behunin pass. We did have a few wades and then the one mandatory swim which was coooooold. Had to throw jackets on after that one. No issues with any of the rope pulls, didn't see a single person in the canyon.

Our group of 4 got an early start, first shuttle out of the VC. By 6:30am we were on the trail. A couple hours to the drop-in. By 10 we were on the first rappel. After a refreshing dip in a small pool during the descent after the last rappel, we were sitting at the Lodge in the shade of the big tree by 2:30pm. All water was easily avoidable. All anchors in great condition, several with very new webbing. Lots of sand to trudge through. Nice views across to Lodge Canyon at the end. No troubles pulling ropes.

Never got feet wet. Even double stage rap into the pool was avoidable with a little effort. Watch the first stage. We caught a group who had a stuck rope there on a log in the first pool. We then stuck one there also. Recommend the last person reset the rope and rap off the log so the rope doesn't fall and tangle on it

All anchors and webbing were fine. Two rappels ended in water for the first person down; we were able to swing everyone else across the water. No wetsuits needed.

We bypassed one pool of waist deep water, and therefore only had water up to our knees. We did not take wetsuits. All anchors were acceptable.

The anchors are in good condition. The pools after the 6th rap are all either shallow or avoidable. With some effort we kept out of the water at the end of the 7th rap.

being early in the season, there was a decent amount of snow on the west rim trail.but the trail was clear. The canyon was fairly dry overall. the pool below the "rotton log rap" was much bigger then normal and still vary hard to avoid with the variation rappel. Overall amazing canyon to do in the early season!

We did Behunin and thought we would be able to avoid water. Not true. There was running water from the first rap. We didn't take wet suits but really didn't need them. The autumn colors were amazing

All anchors were in good condition.