Orderville
Last Candition: July 17, 2011
A group of 4 in 7hrs 55 mins from Upper Trailhead to Temple of Sinawava. Water doesn't start until about Bulloch junction. From there it was ankle to waist to chest deep until the big waterfall. That waterfall was waist deep - good thing no one jumped! After that, it was a riot. Hot, no wetsuits, and water felt luke-warm. A few swimmers until the junction. No major changes to report.
Here's a few pics:
http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthread.php?78245-7-28-18-Orderville-Gulch
There were a couple of swims, definitely appreciated having a wetsuit. Anchors were in good condition, nothing out of the ordinary.
No swims, chest deep once and a few waist deep wades. Water didn't seem that cold either. Easy conditions to get thru quickly.
Descended Orderville via Walker with a group of 4. The mud in Orderville wasn't a problem (as it was last time I went through). I had a 2/2 long sleeve shortie for the waterpark, which was fine to me. Others had a 3/4 full, which they were glad to have. The canyon looked great.
Very low water, mostly just ankle deep. The deepest part is in the pool after the Guillotine, which is waist deep just under the waterfall. Wetsuits definitely not needed for anyone, think neo socks at the very most.
At boundary rock there is no water pool at the bottom of the rap, just mud. Very low water conditions. Water starts after 2nd major log jam. 1 swim, 2 waist deep wades. All raps in ok conditions.
Water was very low. Only swam a couple of times. Some in our group didn't use wetsuits and were just fine, others enjoyed playing in the water more with their wetsuits on.
Due to our late start in englested we pushed hard to exit the narrows before dark, completing the section from the englestead/orderville junction to the paved temple of sinawava trail in 3 hours. The clear/low water in the narrows and orderville allowed us to move fairly quickly.
I'm giving the canyon a three because of the low water levels. The canyon is much more fun at higher levels in my opinion.
Bone dry for first 3/4. After the the first big lo
G jam the water starts flowing. Trail and anchors all good. Was a col day because a breeze was blowing up canyon for mostly of it. Narrows flow is very low. Always a good day for a birch / orderville exit
Very nice. Fall colors absolutely outstanding. Both drops downclimbable with care. Clear, cold water. Very cool in canyon, had to keep moving. Complete solitude from top of Englestead until the Narrows.
Beautiful canyon. I rated it as a four because there was a ton of mud caking the canyon until the water started flowing a little stronger. It was a little annoying and stinky. Admittedly, it was my first time through, so I'm not sure if this is typical. Of course, the canyon was well worth this minor issue. The obstacles were fun. We had our wives with us and we had to be pretty creative to get them over some of the obstacles. I definitely wouldn't do this canyon without ropes/gear. We did the canyon combined with Birch. It took us just over 6 hours to get from Birch to the Shuttle (without any significant breaks). We had 6 people (3 experienced and our wives).
Dude it is the best canyon eva! The 1st downclimb has been changed greatly since last year. It's way harder now due to a couple extra boulders and a log, and the flash flood dug all the sand out. So bring at least a 50 foot rope to aid unless everyone is a pro downclimber like me. The water starts at the normal spot as always, but there is a new logjam inside the slot to navigate for about 40 yards. Really stinkin cool. Can avoid wetsuits in hot weather but I got shivers so would recommend bringing them.