Sometime in 2004. Down lil' BJ, up main then back down to lower BJ and into Horseshoe Canyon. Pictographs are great ! A very long day though. don't think all the slogging was worth it for the very short (but pretty) lower slot.
John Styrnol - Sep 23, 2008 7:21 pm Date Climbed: Nov 4, 2006
Little Blue John Combo
Did the two canyons, down Little Blue John, up the Main Fork of Blue John.
madsjim - Jun 30, 2007 7:43 pm Date Climbed: Apr 10, 2007
Fun Canyon
I thought it was a fun canyon, did the main fork and exited at the end of the narrows. It only takes a few hours and is very pretty.
madjohnbo - Jun 21, 2007 1:10 pm Date Climbed: Apr 10, 2007
Main Fork
Very enjoyable canyon. We rappelled and downclimbed the first section. I would probably downclimb the entire thing next time. The shortcut to the slot was very nice and enjoyable in the early spring.
Descended the east fork, explored the Ralston slot to the big rappel, then climbed out via the main fork. A very ho-hum canyon, though the climb out was interesting. The history, too, of course.
May 29, 2004 - I have to admit that I became interested in Bluejohn Canyon after reading about the Ralston accident. We descended the Main Fork Bluejohn Canyon. It had just rained a week before so we had to wade through a few pools of water. It is a very nice canyon.
April 24, 2005 - We entered the West Fork and did the main exit into Horseshoe Canyon. It was a drought year so the pool at the end of the big rappel was mostly dry. The weather was warm and the hike out was not very fun with the sun shining on us.
Scott - Jun 13, 2007 3:51 pm Date Climbed: Apr 11, 1998
Bluejohn
I've been there several times via several routes.
I first noticed the canyon while hiking up from Horseshoe in the early 90's. At the blocking falls I noticed "hey, it looks like there might be a slot canyon up there". A few years later I returned with a WMC group and we completed the entire canyon Main Fork to Horseshoe and found out that it was a great slot canyon complex.
I told some people about it (including a writer), but little did I know that it would become one of the most famous and popular canyons in the state of Utah.
March 20 2022
Brian, Char, Josh, Alex, Kim, and I canyoneered Little Bluejohn and West Fork Bluejohn. It was a rather cloudy day, but the weather was good. Little Bluejohn was fun as usual and the climb out West Fork was too, but it was harder than I remembered and it gave some people pause. It was still a good loop though.
October 16 2015
The night before was extremely windy and had a sand storm. Unfortunately, I left the windows part way open and the vehicle got a lot of sand inside. It was a rough night.
Shaylee, three other friends, and me decided to do Little Bluejohn Canyon and exit the West Fork. Little Bluejohn was the only part of Bluejohn that I hadn't seen, so I wanted to do it.
The canyon was pretty good, but it was short. After doing Little Bluejohn, we hiked down the Main Fork of Bluejohn to the West Fork. We climbed up the West Fork back to the trailhead. It was a good trip.
October 19 2013
Kessler, Shaylee, and I met four other people (two from 14ers.com and two from Bogley) at Granary Springs in order to do some canyons. We chose the East Fork/West Fork of Blujohn loop, though we suspected there may be some water.
The route to the head of the canyon went without a hitch, but we suspected we may be in for some nice “surprises” after seeing some mud and pools before we even got to the narrows. The canyon was fun, but it was pretty wet, especially below the rappel. The pools were also slimy and hard to climb out of. The longest pool was an estimated 700 feet long! The adults could get by without swimming for most of the time, but the kids had to swim quite a bit. The water was quite cold.
As always, the narrows were really great, but since we were chilly, it was nice to get into the sunshine. After a nice lunch where we met another couple doing the canyon, we walked down canyon to the confluence of the East and West Forks. We climbed up the West Fork with no problems, though Kessler, Anya, and Dave took a more direct and challenging route up one of the falls.
After we got back to camp, we noticed the couple we met in the canyon were nowhere to be found. Where did they go? Long after dark, we saw them mosey into camp; apparently they took a wrong turn somewhere.
That night, the RV group next to us was extremely noisy and rude, so Anya, me, and the kids left at 10:30 PM and camped up the road a ways.
March 2003
Kimberly. Kent Beverly, Penny Martins, Mark McCray and I went into the main fork via the walk in route. Kimberly was carrying Kessler, who was 10 months old at the time. We watched the "light show" in the slot canyon before heading back out. The rest of the group climbed out the Main Fork slot, but we couldn't do that with a baby!
April 11-12 1998
I didn't know the canyon was that narrow, so I lead a two day trip all the way down the Main Fork and out Horseshoe Canyon. We all had full backpacks and it was difficult getting them through the slots!
skunk ape - Nov 18, 2008 9:18 pm Date Climbed: Nov 11, 2008
Bluejohn loopGood times!
goofball - Oct 13, 2008 10:15 pm
Bluejohn - Full Meal DealSometime in 2004. Down lil' BJ, up main then back down to lower BJ and into Horseshoe Canyon. Pictographs are great ! A very long day though. don't think all the slogging was worth it for the very short (but pretty) lower slot.
John Styrnol - Sep 23, 2008 7:21 pm Date Climbed: Nov 4, 2006
Little Blue John ComboDid the two canyons, down Little Blue John, up the Main Fork of Blue John.
madsjim - Jun 30, 2007 7:43 pm Date Climbed: Apr 10, 2007
Fun CanyonI thought it was a fun canyon, did the main fork and exited at the end of the narrows. It only takes a few hours and is very pretty.
madjohnbo - Jun 21, 2007 1:10 pm Date Climbed: Apr 10, 2007
Main ForkVery enjoyable canyon. We rappelled and downclimbed the first section. I would probably downclimb the entire thing next time. The shortcut to the slot was very nice and enjoyable in the early spring.
cp0915 - Jun 14, 2007 10:34 am
East & Main ForksDescended the east fork, explored the Ralston slot to the big rappel, then climbed out via the main fork. A very ho-hum canyon, though the climb out was interesting. The history, too, of course.
mountaingazelle - Jun 13, 2007 4:52 pm
Bluejohn CanyonMay 29, 2004 - I have to admit that I became interested in Bluejohn Canyon after reading about the Ralston accident. We descended the Main Fork Bluejohn Canyon. It had just rained a week before so we had to wade through a few pools of water. It is a very nice canyon.
April 24, 2005 - We entered the West Fork and did the main exit into Horseshoe Canyon. It was a drought year so the pool at the end of the big rappel was mostly dry. The weather was warm and the hike out was not very fun with the sun shining on us.
Scott - Jun 13, 2007 3:51 pm Date Climbed: Apr 11, 1998
BluejohnI've been there several times via several routes.
I first noticed the canyon while hiking up from Horseshoe in the early 90's. At the blocking falls I noticed "hey, it looks like there might be a slot canyon up there". A few years later I returned with a WMC group and we completed the entire canyon Main Fork to Horseshoe and found out that it was a great slot canyon complex.
I told some people about it (including a writer), but little did I know that it would become one of the most famous and popular canyons in the state of Utah.
March 20 2022
Brian, Char, Josh, Alex, Kim, and I canyoneered Little Bluejohn and West Fork Bluejohn. It was a rather cloudy day, but the weather was good. Little Bluejohn was fun as usual and the climb out West Fork was too, but it was harder than I remembered and it gave some people pause. It was still a good loop though.
October 16 2015
The night before was extremely windy and had a sand storm. Unfortunately, I left the windows part way open and the vehicle got a lot of sand inside. It was a rough night.
Shaylee, three other friends, and me decided to do Little Bluejohn Canyon and exit the West Fork. Little Bluejohn was the only part of Bluejohn that I hadn't seen, so I wanted to do it.
The canyon was pretty good, but it was short. After doing Little Bluejohn, we hiked down the Main Fork of Bluejohn to the West Fork. We climbed up the West Fork back to the trailhead. It was a good trip.
October 19 2013
Kessler, Shaylee, and I met four other people (two from 14ers.com and two from Bogley) at Granary Springs in order to do some canyons. We chose the East Fork/West Fork of Blujohn loop, though we suspected there may be some water.
The route to the head of the canyon went without a hitch, but we suspected we may be in for some nice “surprises” after seeing some mud and pools before we even got to the narrows. The canyon was fun, but it was pretty wet, especially below the rappel. The pools were also slimy and hard to climb out of. The longest pool was an estimated 700 feet long! The adults could get by without swimming for most of the time, but the kids had to swim quite a bit. The water was quite cold.
As always, the narrows were really great, but since we were chilly, it was nice to get into the sunshine. After a nice lunch where we met another couple doing the canyon, we walked down canyon to the confluence of the East and West Forks. We climbed up the West Fork with no problems, though Kessler, Anya, and Dave took a more direct and challenging route up one of the falls.
After we got back to camp, we noticed the couple we met in the canyon were nowhere to be found. Where did they go? Long after dark, we saw them mosey into camp; apparently they took a wrong turn somewhere.
That night, the RV group next to us was extremely noisy and rude, so Anya, me, and the kids left at 10:30 PM and camped up the road a ways.
March 2003
Kimberly. Kent Beverly, Penny Martins, Mark McCray and I went into the main fork via the walk in route. Kimberly was carrying Kessler, who was 10 months old at the time. We watched the "light show" in the slot canyon before heading back out. The rest of the group climbed out the Main Fork slot, but we couldn't do that with a baby!
April 11-12 1998
I didn't know the canyon was that narrow, so I lead a two day trip all the way down the Main Fork and out Horseshoe Canyon. We all had full backpacks and it was difficult getting them through the slots!