Can people cross to Pentapitch?

Wondering if there is a log crossing or sump'n to cross the creek or do people need to hike up the south side of the creek from the mouth of the canyon? Thanks for any info.

What about the pipe at the Swamp Boulders?

i watched someone cross the pipe where the bridge used to be... that caution tape is not as cautioning as the officials might think... not for stupid people at least. guess you could roll the dice if you like. he did not look stable at all... so i would say put your swim trunks on, and plug your nose... it might be a wild ride. not suggesting doing this at all dont get me wrong, but only saying i saw it this weekend.. have fun and stay dry

Honestly, either walk up from the bottom or wait until the fall and the water level is down. Trying to cross one of the pipes while the water is up could mean the swim of your life. Which could be short.

Just run across the pipe really fast.

(dont)

Yes, I agree. I'm in no rush to get over there. But the pipe at the Swamp Boulders beats looking for a log to cross on, which is what maddog asked about. At least that one has the cables.

Allen Sanderson wrote:Honestly, either walk up from the bottom or wait until the fall and the water level is down. Trying to cross one of the pipes while the water is up could mean the swim of your life. Which could be short.

Thats what the approach into the Cirque of the Unclimbables was like...log crossing over a raging stream with a 10-foot drop while carrying 100 pounds...most exciting. When does the bridge go back? Would prefer a tyrolean assist to walking in from Sandy. I've got plenty of rope laying around.

ddriver wrote: Thats what the approach into the Cirque of the Unclimbables was like...log crossing over a raging stream with a 10-foot drop while carrying 100 pounds...most exciting. When does the bridge go back? Would prefer a tyrolean assist to walking in from Sandy. I've got plenty of rope laying around.

I would have to agree with ddriver… especially after what I saw this past weekend. the way I see it... as the weather gets nicer you are going to have climbers seeing other climbers doing it and its only a matter of time until something happens. we might as well make it a bit safer until the bridge gets set back in place if it ever does... I don’t see why not after looking at it.. Seems in good shape to me. if the guy I saw made it both ways safely then good on em, but others had to of seen it, and someone is going to go for a dip.

I saw someone write something on a condition report that said not to do anything, but im not so sure that’s the safest thing to do. a plan needs to be devised unless someone has insight on when the bridge will be set back in place.

Im in no rush to get over there... nor would i cross the pipe (ok maybe i woiuld) but there should be a sign or somehting informing the dense where and how to safely get across other then the pipe. doing something is better then nothing in this case.

just thinking out loud here... after witnessing stupidity... I think this needs to be talked about

ddriver wrote:Would prefer a tyrolean assist to walking in from Sandy. I've got plenty of rope laying around.

I don't think the Forest Service and a number of climbers would prefer that option, especially after the BCC fatality near the Slips.

Walk in, or wait until the water goes down. That's the safest option.

How big is the pipe?

Brian in SLC wrote: I don't think the Forest Service and a number of climbers would prefer that option, especially after the BCC fatality near the Slips. Walk in, or wait until the water goes down. That's the safest option.

Yeah, don't die and screw it up for the rest of us. :)

Price wrote: Yeah, don't die and screw it up for the rest of us. :)

all and good for us here... but what about the fools not on this site? it is still being crossed, and not in a safe way. the caution tape is not turnin people away... so dont you think somehting needs to be done? or is that just weeding out the _____ (you fill in the blank)

if we turn the other way and act like its not gonna happen... somehitng worse will.

not a sermon... just a thought

We - as a user group - have no responsibly to do anything. There's a perfectly good trail to get to the area, the bridge just made things easier. If morons decide to take shortcuts and want to die, let them.

We probably should do something, however that means taking responsibility for the safety of whomever uses this something. Meaning it better not be some half-assed rope tied around a boulder to use as a handline. It will have to be super safe or someone will get hurt and blame "us". Designing and implementing a super safe something will take time and ressources and is a work in progress (see here, not much info but it's a start).

If a tyrolean appears I hope it comes with a stack of waivers and someone standing around forcing would-be river crossers to sign them and acknowledge that they're aware of their impending doom. Otherwise the person who sets it up had better be really stealth...

Ideally the forest service would put a damn fence around the pipe and a sign suggesting another way to cross. Until it happens maybe we can try and talk to people we see approaching the pipe, warn them that it's potentially deadly and suggest they walk an extra 15 minutes from the brige. They won't give a shit but at least they'll be warned.

Jhernand wrote: all and good for us here... but what about the fools not on this site? it is still being crossed, and not in a safe way.

Every spring runoff, the media puts out reports on how high the creeks are running, and, every year, some family loses a kid (or adult) that slips and falls in (see recent Bells Canyon accident for example). You'd think the immense amount of rushing water would be a deterrent? Nope.

I think what we can do is not encourage people to try to cross by enabling them with a rope.

The pipe isn't a bridge. It has caution tape. You could fence the place off, place signs, and folks would still figure out a way to try to cross it. But, at least you didn't enable them.

Sometimes you just can't help a certain portion of the population, no matter how hard you try.

Want an example of how folks just aren't that smart? Go see how many cars are parked on the south side of the road, under those huge loose boulders, in BCC at the trail to the Challenge area.

Or, how many folks park right under the "no parking" signs in LCC right across from the Crescent Crack Buttress access area.

Heavy sigh...

ddriver, the question is what are the choices? When there is a reasonable choice such as walking an extra 45 minutes or taking a chance on a quick but potentially deadly option I guess I am old enough to walk an extra 45 minutes.

As a friend has said more than once - "We are all do dumb things. Most of the time we get away with it but when we don't, we die."

Speaking of alternative has anyone been up stream to check out the other bridge?

The uppermost bridge is fine. If you know where the access road is to it, you can park there, cross the river, and walk down the trail to Pentapitch, etc. Prolly not that much more walking than the original way.

This thread has reminded me of something from a childhood hiking trip.

So off-topic question

In Ashley Canyon, iirc, above Vernal there was/is a series of very simple cable carriages(two short benches facing eachother). The first and only one I ever used was attached to a cliff with a tower on the far side. At least one more existed further up canyon, though I beleive that one had two towers.

Anyone know why those existed? Water company access during spring runoff is the only reason I can think of.

zoso wrote:The uppermost bridge is fine. If you know where the access road is to it, you can park there, cross the river, and walk down the trail to Pentapitch, etc. Prolly not that much more walking than the original way.

So there we have it. If some one wants to do some community work figure out where the bridge is in relationship to the road and mark it with some surveyor's tape.

Allen, looks to me based on Google maps that the upper access zoso is referring to starts at the lot across from Lisa Falls. Walk down canyon and presto. I've biked to and over that bridge any number of times but never took the trail back out to pavement. Is this a correct guess on my part? If so, it does appear to be just as short an approach.

Robert ;)

ddriver wrote:Is this a correct guess on my part? If so, it does appear to be just as short an approach.

I think that's right. I had heard that that upper bridge was affected too, but, maybe not?

We needs a recon...(followed by some misinformation so we don't have any crowds over there for awhile...).

what about the riverside boulders bridge?