Right Fork via Hammerhead Canyon, Zion

Zion has always been a place where I keep gravitating towards. I continuously find myself coming back to this beautiful canyon country. World class narrows and beautiful, unprecedented scenery still make Zion one of the most beautiful destinations of the Southwest.

Right Fork has been on my radar for a very long time but rain and weather kept getting in the way. This time around we were able to thread the needle and got into this overnight canyon. We set out at 9 am which was a bit later than I wanted but we were able to bushwhack from the west rim trail to Hammerhead canyon.

Inside the canyon we found a lot of ice and set up a counterweight system to ascend to the top. We worked ourselves out of Hammerhead canyon and rappelled into Right Fork. Along the way we encountered some potholes that we had to negotiate out of in cold water as well as a long cold swim that was not as bad as I thought it would be.

The grand alcove was absolutely amazing, and I highly recommend camping there for the night. The following day you will rappel through some waterfalls and face a long hike out. The horse flies are pretty bad and the hike in the river is very slippery — but this canyon is a must-do.