Orderville Canyon

British Columbians think of hiking as routes up ridges to hilltops. Part of the reason for this is that we have to hike up through miles of forests to get to the treeline. The viewpoints are best above the treeline or somtimes on slope breaks at mid elevations. In the southwest, though, the Colorado Plateau spans 4 states and ranges in elevation from 3500 feet to 13 000 feet. Generally speaking it is a wide plateau cut by canyons. Most hikes in the area follow canyons in some form. Some of the most exciting ones are river narrows and slot canyons. There are hundreds of routes for the adventurer and hiker.

Orderville Canyon runs from the North Fork area to the heart of Zion National Park where the creek flows into the Virgin River in the Narrows. From the top down is a long day (22km) of semi-technical canyoneering. So most people scramble from the bottom up. To get to the start of Orderville Canyon, you have to wade up the Virgin River Narrows for 4.2km. At the first junction is a narrow slot canyon, heading off to the right.

The first section is narrow, but the stream is shallow. Sheer walls rise hundreds of feet on both sides, and we were awed by the sculpted sandstone sides. We followed the stream to the first barrier. Then the fun began. Over the next 45 minutes, we swam through pools, pulled ourselves up pour-offs, climbed over obstacles, waded through potholes, scrambled, edged along wet slickrock, and used team-assist techniques to get past Veiled Falls on our way to Corkscrew Falls.

Orderville Canyon from the bottom

Orderville Canyon is a playground for those with a sense of adventure. Each section brings new surprises and unique views. The narrowest sections are almost dark, but the wider sections have lots of light and even a few shrubs and trees. We were pleased that we chose to wear dry suits and canyoneering shoes, and we used our tall staffs for stability on slippery rocks. We brought dry bags for our cameras and needed them in a couple of spots. We used a rope on one short section and could have used it again, but managed to find ways up and down obstacles. We would have liked to have gone past Corkscrew Falls, but it would have involved getting a lead climber above the 15 foot drop off on slippery rock and our time was limited, so we had lunch on a ledge above the stream, and then returned back to the Narrows. The Orderville Canyon section was about 1.5 hours of a long day in the Narrows. This was our second time in Orderville Canyon and we will return again, next time past Corkscrew Falls and the Guillotine (a large, wall-to-wall chockstone) to the Upper Canyon.