# Bluejohn Canyon/Horseshoe Canyon



## scott_rn (Sep 11, 2007)

I finally let my brother-in-law (Paul) talk me into a canyoneering trip with him. I insisted we do the canyon that Aron Ralston lost his arm in. Here's a link about Ralston http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aron_Ralston

We did the exact same loop Ralston intended to - park a car at the bottom of the route (horseshoe canyon) bike 15 miles up a road to the top of Bluejohn Canyon, then make our way down to horseshoe canyon and check out the great gallery.

Monday morning we got up early and did the 15 mile bike ride up the road, and dropped into the canyon. The canyon was a great break from the heat. We hiked about another 15 miles down the canyon including some technical slot canyon stuff and a rappel. There were some wild burros and the largest display of pictographs in the US (the grand gallery).
























Sliding the packs down a "zip line" in a tight section








The Pictographs








The Rappel








Dino Footprint









Did a little fishing on the way home


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## .45 (Sep 21, 2007)

You're nuts brother !!! :shock: 

Thanks for sharing those picture's though...


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## Petersen (Sep 7, 2007)

Wow, you certainly picked the hard way to get into Horseshoe Canyon. I've been there several times myself, but never from the wrong direction. 

I was familiar with the Aron Ralston story, but for some reason it never clicked for me that it was the Bluejohn Canyon upstream from the Grand Gallery. It's hard for me to imagine some guy hiking down into there by himself without even telling people where he was going. Then again, anybody capable of whittling off their own arm with a Leatherman knife and pliers obviously isn't someone to be put off by a little danger. I don't suppose you located the spot where the boulder pinned him down, did you? It looks like that trip of yours (not his) was all kinds of fun.


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Wow, wish I was just a little younger and a little thinner.

Nice report.


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## scott_rn (Sep 11, 2007)

Petersen said:


> I don't suppose you located the spot where the boulder pinned him down, did you?


The log picture is fairly close to it, but I couldn't figure out exactly which boulder it was. There was a lot of debris that was hanging from most of the rocks. If I remember right they went back and retreived the hand to cremate it.


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## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

Great pic there. Man you are crazy.You would not catch in any where like that.


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