trips / utah/ san rafael swell

Hype

The Lower Black Box is one of the classic San Rafael adventures. The hike combines expansive views, with an amazing canyon. Although a classic adventure, it requires skills and good judgment to descend. Even on the hottest days, hypothermia is a real danger. You will be wading and swimming in the river for several hours. For the prepared, this is a magical adventure not to be missed, for the unprepared, it can be a miserably cold experience or worse. Several groups have had very close calls, and lives have been lost in the canyon in accidents in the past. Be prepared!

Trailhead

Travel to exit 131 on Interstate I-70. This is about 30 miles west of Green River. At exit 131, go north, following the well maintained road toward the San Rafael Camground/Buckhorn Wash. The road turns east and parallels the highway for about 3 miles before turning north. There many smaller side roads that leave the main road, but stay on the main road. You will pass a Sinkhole 5.2 miles from the interstate. At 5.7 miles, a side road goes off on the right. Reset your odometer as you turn off on this side road. The side road is signed Jackass Benches.

Follow the side road 1.8 miles to a junction go left here. At 4.5 miles, go right. At 6.2, stay left, and at 6.7 stay left again. Finally at 8.0, go right. The road deteriorates badly here. Follow it as far as possible. At 11.3, the end of the road is reached at a fence and gate. The road is generally passable with a 4x4, but is very rocky and is slow going.

Route

From the trailhead, follow the old road past the gate as it heads down to the San Rafael River. As it nears the river, you will reach a junction. Go right, with the road quickly dropping into a wash. Follow the wash to the river. This is where you will exit the river on the way out, so take note.

Cross the river, it is normally about knee deep. If it seems exceptionally high, now is the time to turn back. After crossing the river, work your way north and west on the bench above the river. There are many cow trails in the area. Commender one that is heading in the direction you want to go. You should be paralleling the San Rafeal River. As you follow the river up stream, the cow trails tend to merge and become more unified. It takes an hour to 90 minutes from the crossing to Swasey's Leap. It is easy to recognize Swasey's Leap, as your very near Mexican Mountain, at the entrance to the Lower Black Box. It is impressive how it goes from an open river to a deep canyon in such a short distance.

History Swasey's Leap is named after Sid Swasey. Legend has it that Sid bet his brother, for a herd of livestock, that he could jump this narrow spot on his horse. The leap is likely less that 10 feet across at this point, but as you visit this spot, ponder the take off and landings and make your own determination of the legends validity. There was an old sheep bridge at this point, the Hanson sheep bridge, that was build in the early 1900's. Unfortunately it finally succumb to gravity and the elements, and collapsed in the late 1990's.

Begin the watery journey

Now is your last chance to change your mind. Be sure the flow is reasonable at this point. Once you start into the Black Box, it's difficult to reverse if the flow is high, and escape options out the canyon walls are few or none. As you start into the canyon, it generally has several deep pools and swims right from the get go, as it narrows and goes under Swasey's Leap. For the next 30-45 minutes, work your way down canyon, finding ways around or through several large boulder piles. This section is narrow, dark, and exquisite.

45 minutes or so from the start, the canyon eases a bit. There are still a few boulders to work around, but generally the going is easier. The canyon also opens and deepens through here, with more options for getting out on sandy benches on the sides to walk out of the cold water. Simple continue down canyon. It will take 3 hours or so before the canyon walls begin to subside as the canyon opens. The last section, before is opens, has fantastic dripping springs on the walls and vibrant colors. Once the smell of sulfur permeates the air, you know you close to your exit. Exit on the right, where you crossed the river on the approach and follow your trail back.

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