UT: Moab SGR 5/24/2019

SGR is located south of Moab in an ATV / offroad frequented area behind the tall sandstone walls of the highway. I was amazed at the large fins and solitude of this location on a Friday morning and afternoon after quite the rainstorm the day before.

Driving out to the trailhead was easy with beta and route-finding skills of the group I went with. While some areas of the trail are strictly high-clearance, a TRD Toyota 4 Runner was able to make it without issue. Approach to the canyon was quick, and we descended into the canyon to reach the waterways that lead us to the giant headwall climb that acts as a gate to the massive fins. The hike from the vehicle to the top before entering the canyon took ~2 hrs. If you're similar to me, you'll be itching to go back just to be surrounded by the tall fins, balanced rocks, and challenging route finding again.





From the top of the hike, you see most of the town of Moab, but the view of the La Sals is like none other that I've experienced. They're "in your face".



R1 and R2 are quick in succession, and next comes the crux - stem down a slot with a huge drop to land on a shelf where then you hook up off a bush/tree above and rappel down to the canyon floor. It might look harder than it is since there's a silo that opens up the width of the canyon just before the shelf. Hang your pack and carry on through.



All water up until the last rap (in-canyon) could be avoided -- well, we had one in our party run right of the down canyon trail to backtrack the up-canyon route and circle back to this rap to avoid the water. But it wasn't without some spectacular downclimbing. Proving to us that avoiding the water totally is doable. But sometimes getting into the over-the-head water with a full-on swim is fun, right?



2 hrs for the approach, 2-3 hours for the canyon, and 1-1.5 hour to hike out sounds about right. Maybe a bit longer for route finding fun and breaks depending on your group.

I would go again just for the hike in -- it's gorgeous. The views from the top are beautiful. The canyon gives enough of a challenge. The hike in / out of the main business of the canyon overlap, so we were able to drop water weight at the entrance/exit of the canyon on the way up, to find it again on the way out to the vehicle. This was an added bonus that saved weight and size of our packs. I basically only took a liter of water into the main canyon itself and had 3 liters for the hikes in/out.

good photos and route description, enjoyed the vicarious trip through

Was out there mid June and did this canyon. Beautiful hike in and out, view from the top looking at the small town was awesome!!!! Beta said knee to waste deep water at most....... Why do I always believe this?!?!?!?! Took a second pair of shoes just for this, but that last bit of water for us was over my head and we had to swim about a 10 foot stretch. I TOTALLY would have gone with the person in your party that found a way around had I know about it. Here are a couple of videos from our outing of that last pool. Cold and Wet are my nemesis and I am a mental midget when it comes to these two factors..... Enjoy!!!!!! https://photos.app.goo.gl/A7Swfi78rb9XZFQu9