Really beautiful day to be in WCC. We had a good sized group and a pack of dogs. We headed downstream for a while. Those dogs really had to work for this one. There were lots of swimmers for the mutts. After turning back upstream we went to check out Sundance. There weren't many people downstream but it seemed like everyone was camping upstream.

There were a lot of people camping down there including a very large group of scouts that were making their way out as we arrived. They left their fire hot and their toilet paper and waste that comes with it unburied. Maybe scout leaders need to be given a little training or a basic run down of LNT? I hate to see their reputations tarnished but honestly when I see a scout group they more often than not don't know what they're doing. It should be obvious that this is not an area appropriate for a huge group to camp not only because of the lack of space but also the impact in general. It would be a shame for this to be a day-use only area because people lack common sense.

I had originally planned to bring my kids to this section of WCC the very day the forest roads were closed due to the Pivot Rock Fire, so they've been looking forward to this hike for a while. Just pure coincidence that I ended up nearly in the same place both days this weekend. The condition of the roads back to the trailhead are great right now--truly the best I've ever seen them in. The last 1/3 mile or so on 142E is the only rough part, maybe not great for low clearance, but easy enough to park there and walk a little extra to the trailhead.

After parking at the trailhead, I got the kids ready, and gave them the pre-emptive lecture about jumping around on steep trails. Point trail is definitely steep, but nothing terrible if you're careful. My daughter handled it just fine, but I held my son's hand most of the way. He whined the first 1/4 mile or so, which is pretty standard for him, so I tuned him out. We got to the bottom, and the kids had a snack and played in the water for a while. There was a lot of water, I can only think of one other time I've seen more in this section than I say today. My kids laughed when I pointed out the spot where a dropped a camera in the water about a dozen years ago.

It was fairly easy to head upstream, the rocks generally weren't quite as slick as where I was yesterday, and there was a decent path through the brush. After a short distance, we got to the one spot I knew would be difficult. Normally, if the water is deep, I climb above the boulders on the north side of the creek, and pick my way around to the other side. Today, the vegetation made that option nearly impossible with little kids. I waded into the water a ways to see if I could get through with a kid on my back. Nope--too deep for too long for that to be a safe option, especially since I would have to do that twice going up and twice again coming back. I went back to the boulders and looked around there. Finally I decided I could get them through the boulders, one kid at a time. I took my daughter through first, then got my son (who has the coordination of a cooked noodle) through. Without kids, this spot would not have been difficult to get through. After that, the rest of the way to Sundance Canyon was very easy. There's always the pool of water in front of Sundance, but I waded the kids through one at a time since the water would have been well above their heads.

Once in Sundance, the kids were in awe. They had another snack, then played for a while. The trip back out went a little faster since I had already figured out where the kids would need help and they didn't stop to play as much. The climb back out was much easier than the descent. The trail was shaded by then, and the kids weren't slipping forward with every step. There was one moment of a seven year old having a meltdown about who was in charge--she informed me that I wasn't a very good hiker and maybe I should hire myself a hiking coach--which was more humorous than annoying, we made it out the rest of the way without incident. Great day with the kids, and they slept the entire way back home--which allowed me to listen to whatever music I wanted without the added bonus of their expert background critiques.

3rd Canyon and Last Day of the Latest Rim Trip...My Friend from Colorado would be leaving for Home right after this Canyon...We were also taking a Friend's Wife down a Technical Section for the First Time...

This Canyon will never get Old...2nd Time I've done it this Year and 3rd Time Overall...It's Different every Time I go... The Camera just always Finds New Angles and Different Light.... It was a little Cloudy when we started, but the Chance of Rain was Light, so we went, thinking we would be out of the Narrows by Noon....Well, it took a little longer than that, but it turned out ok....

It started to Rain with a little Lightning while we were still in the Narrow Technical Section, but it didn't last...After we left the Narrows behind for Good and were done with the Technical Section, it started again...It was Sporadic Start and Stop until we got to WCC and then it came on with some Gusto and never Quit until an Hour after we got back to Camp...I'm betting they got 1" of Rain up there that Day... We left our Wetsuits on for the Hike out...I actually left mine on while I Packed up Camp so I didn't have to worry about staying Dry... It quit Raining just about the Time I was done except for the Tarp...

But the Rain was the Least of the Issue...The Lightning got pretty Interesting, especially after we started up the Point Trail...4 Times I saw the Flash and Heard it at the same Time...We actually stopped for a bit, almost afraid to "Top Out" for Fear that we would be even more Vulnerable...There was no Getting away from Trees, but at least we could stay down below the Rim just a Tad....

Always a Beautiful Canyon that never Disappoints...Great Way to Top Off a Sweet Weekend of Canyons with Friends....

Foliage
Some Things are just starting to lose their "Green"....

Went up to WCC with Lily and a friend. It was a really nice day even with my lack of sleep, sore legs from biking all night, and more than slight hangover. That first deep plunge pretty much killed the hangover, though Dark clouds started rolling in and we figured it was time to head back anyways. That Point Trail is pretty steep. We stopped at THAT Brewery on the way back and got some lunch.

We had set a day to do this Canyon over a Month ago and a week before decided to make it a Multi-Canyon Camping Trip...But this Canyon was our Main Reason for going. None of us had done it and it was Time to see it...

Another Person joined us at Camp Friday Night for the Remainder of the Weekend, so we were now 4... Following the Description and knowing the Timeline could Range from a Half Day to almost a Full Day, we left Camp at 8:30. We ended up taking more Time on the Drive because we were Reading the Directions from both HAZ and Todd's Book, which matched...The Directions are Wrong, I should have gone off the Topo Map and nonot's GPS Route. I'll Post a Correction on the Page. If you go to the End of 142F, you end up on a long Sliver of Peninsula and the wrong side of the Drainage of the Exit. So we Backtracked and Parked at the Intersection of FR6379 and FR 9370.

We started out following FR6379 and using the Topo Map since none of us had a GPS. We actually turned off the Road just right, but went a little too far into the Terrain and had to Double Back a little. We sorted it out, started the Descent in and ended up Perfect, only about 100 Yards or so from the First Obstacle.

Rather than Bypass the First Obstacle, we went ahead and Rappelled in off a Tree, using an existing Anchor...Did another Downclimb into a Small Pool and then Slid into a Deeper Pool for our First small Swim. Rappelled into a Bigger Pool that went back into a Cool little Grotto and then we were at the Big Rappel with the Keeper Pothole. You couldn't see the Pothole from the Anchor, so we didn't know what kind of "Mode" it was in. I went down First, since I was most Familiar with the Canyon Description and I knew what to expect and what everyone had been doing to avoid the Pothole. The Hallway led to a Slotted Swim and then I was on the Ledge. There would not be much Troubleshooting on this Day, the Pothole was Full and looked like it had just quit Running Over a day or so before. But, I opted to Work it like it was in Keeper Mode, going around the Rock and then I went down the Fin between the Pothole and the last Drop. I got off Rope on the Other Side of the Pool and waited for everyone else, so I could let them know the Route if they didn't want to go into the Pothole.

Our Beginner Guy was next and even though I directed him to go around the Rock, he ended up trying to Descend a bit to do it and that Sealed his Fate.... He didn't have any Ascenders with him, so he couldn't correct even if he knew how, so he just went ahead and went in the Pothole and swam out to me. That's when we realized that being at our Location and trying to finish the Rappel was not a Good Thing. He dropped off to finish the last 40 Feet and with the Rope Angle at that Point he ended up doing a huge Swing to the Left which was quite interesting and not too Good on the Rope... Rather than follow him at that Point, I waited for the next Person, so I could instruct them to go down from the Top of the Fin....She came around the Rock fine and dropped the remaining 40 Feet perfectly...That just left our LMAR on Top. I decided to go ahead and finish the Rappel and we would Guide him around from the Bottom. I weighed the Risks of Ascending back up the Fin or doing that Intensive Swing and decided that the Swing was the Lesser of 2 Evils, so I dropped off the Edge and immediately Whipped Left about 30 Feet...Kind of gets the Adrenalin going a bit... And then I was Down. Last Guy came down without Incident and since we followed nonot's advice and took 2-200's the Rope Pull went very smoothly... Then, we were off to the Next Rappel down a Log, with the Last Rappel being down a Gorgeous Garden Wall...

Heading to West Clear Creek, I was slightly Off Guard and realized that the Stinging Nettles were not at the Exit to go back up, but in the Lower part of Shamrock... They were thick and it was very difficult to avoid them in spots...Everyone got into them at least once, most got hit more than once. I got hit 4 Times... Haven't dealt with those since I lived in MN long ago...When I'd hit them, it was like getting hit with a small Electrical Shock and then the Burning began...Shocking at first, then just very Annoying, but by the Time we hit the Exit Trail out, most of the Burning/Stinging was gone. We went Swimming a couple of Times in WCC so I think that helped somewhat...

The Goal on the Exit was to take the GPS Route out in a Drainage between the Maxwell and Tramway Trails...That Goal didn't work out too well. I think it's Time for me to Invest in some sort of GPS or find someone with an Old Smartphone they don't want and learn HAZ Tracks... I was told that there was a Use-Type Trail most of the Way up, but we could not find it and the Bushwacking was pretty Intense...After about 45 Minutes or so of thrashing around in the Brush and Locust, trying to find a good Way up, we voted to abort and just keep Hiking the Creek to the Point Trail and Exit there...It became very Convenient to have Camped on 142E and we had Vehicles still there, so we Hiked out the Point Trail and then hit Camp, grabbed another Vehicle and went and Retrieved the First One...It was a Good Decision as we probably were in Camp in about the same amount of Time it would have taken us to get up that Drainage and our way seemed much Easier...

It turned into a fairly long Day, we were a little Slow going through Shamrock, but that was Ok. Only 1 Mistake, by me, that was a little Rough on my Brand New Rope, but the Rope is fine, broken in and we were all Good... Pretty Canyon, but the Narrows are very Short, shorter than Bear actually. Not sure if I'll do that one again, but it was Nice. I didn't hardly take any Photos of the Canyon itself because the Light was pretty bad, but I got quite a few of the WCC Portion, half of which I had never Hiked before...It was a pretty Section of Creek...

We had planned on doing either Wilbur or Sundance on Sunday and had another Guy coming up Sunday Morning to go with us...By the Time we got back to Camp, the Ambition to do another Canyon the next Day was fading fast... We called our Friend and left a Message, but he showed up in the Morning anyway and he was as worn out as we were from a Wedding the Day before....He was just as happy to come up to Escape the Heat. So we Voted, and it was Unanimous, it had to be 5:00 somewhere, so we just sat around Camp for half the Day laughing, eating and somewhere in there, a Bottle of Tequila showed up...

Good Trip with Good Friends...Lots of Laughs and some Beautiful Canyons to top it off...Hope to do it again soon...

Wildflowers
Some Columbines in the Creek....

Camping and Canyons....
4 Days, 3 Nights, with Canyons planned for 3 Days... 3 of us met up on Thursday Night and Set up Camp...1st Canyon of the Weekend would be Bear, followed by Sundance if everyone felt up to it...The Two Guys had never done either of them. One of the Guys had some Experience, the other, had done some Climbing, but was just getting into Canyoneering...I was really looking forward to seeing Bear again, this Time, with a Full Wetsuit and a slightly Better Camera... Bear was my First Canyon ever, 2 Years ago, almost to the Day....

Got up in the Morning and headed out, dropping in almost from Camp...More Water than I remembered from last Time, but with all the Canyon Reports I've been seeing, and with all the Rain we've had this Spring and into June, I was not surprised....Made pretty quick work of the Approach and got to the Narrows...Went ahead and did the "Optional Rappel" and got to the Swimmer...Everyone had Full Suits on and although the Pool was pretty Frigid, we were fine...The Water at the Base of the 2nd Rappel was about Waist Deep this Time, but with no one behind us, we messed around a bit with some Ascending here too...

The Third Rappel, someone had removed the Anchor and replaced it with a Handline, using Webbing...Rather than build a New Anchor, one of the Guys provided a Meat Anchor for me and then they used the Handline....A Swimmer at the Bottom of that one and then another Swimmer as the Canyon widened out...

Hit West Clear Creek after a bit and took a Break at the Bottom of the Point Trail....The Guys decided that they had Time to do Sundance and I decided to Pass, wanting to not rush through Sundance and also to save some Energy for our Canyon the next Day...So they took off up the Trail and I enjoyed the Creek for awhile before heading up....

Got back to Camp and Relaxed, enjoying some Birds that were hanging around Camp...Walking Around on this Day, I found some Pretty Cool Birds...

It was a Good Day...Bear was as Beautiful as I remembered and I felt Great on the Whole Trip. There was a Spot down Canyon towards WCC where I had some Trouble last Time I was there, but this Time, I really didn't even think about it and it seemed easy to Downclimb...Must be getting used to some of this Stuff...

Bear will stay on the List of Repeat Canyons...I love that Place and it has some Sentiment for me as well....

A little over a Year Ago, Ken was generous and patient enough to offer to take me down Bear Canyon, a Technical Canyon, even though I had never done anything like that before in my Life...If that wasn't enough to get me hooked (and it was), we then bypassed the Exit and Scott, Mike and himself took me over to a Natural Amphitheatre, where the bottom of the last 180 Foot Rappel of Sundance Canyon is located...Looking up at that Rappel, a Sheer Cliff, where the last 100 Feet is Free Hanging, was an incredible Sight. I knew that someday, I was going to find a way, with a little more experience under my Belt, to see this Place from the Top and experience it fully...We tried several times this Summer to plan this Canyon but some obstacle or snafu always got in the way...Looking back now, I think Fate and Mother Nature teamed up on this one and wanted us to wait until the Canyon was at it's finest, so she could show us everything she had....

It was finally time and we were going to do this...Ken kept saying it's a short Canyon and there will be no Rush and we can take our Time to get through this one...It was Music to my Ears... I was able to fully relax and not have to worry about keeping up and this Canyon was begging to be Photographed too, so it was Perfect...As we descended down towards the Canyon, we came to an Overhang where you could look down...There was Water there and it was Flowing...Ken has done this Canyon several times already and it was enough to make him Comment and get Excited...When Ken gets visibly excited about a Canyon that he's already done, you know it's going to be even more Special than normal...

Down at the Bottom, we bypassed a couple of spots initially before committing fully to the Water...The Water was flowing at a nice Rate and was mostly Clear although it was a Rust Color probably from the Mineral Content...Some of the Pools were still Silty, but the Water was Clean, Clear, and Fresh...It was slightly Cold, but not bad at all...I had brought my Wetsuit, but opted not to use it although in hindsight that was a Mistake, because even though the Water itself wasn't bad, being Wet in the Air Temperature sent you to shivering soon enough if you weren't moving...

There was "Green" as far as the Eye could see and Waterfalls around every Corner...As the Walls tightened up, the Lichen and Ferns that covered the Rocks, Soils and Crannies were joined by the Moss...The Walls and Rocks were covered in Vibrant Green Moss so thick and swollen with Water that it felt like an Expensive Carpet with a Memory Foam Backing...We were literally descending into the Garden of Eden...There was so much Water in the Canyon, there were still small Falls coming down the Walls from the Top and the Rocks were literally oozing Water...The Place was completely saturated and the Plants and Moss above you were shedding Water, making you feel like you were being Rained on, even though the Skies were Blue above...It was nothing short of Magical...

We hiked, scrambled, downclimbed, waded, swam, rappelled, and even jumped down this Canyon...Some of the Downclimbs were more interesting as they were now Waterfalls with Slick Rock and Moss and we opted to Rappel or Handline a couple of them for that reason...All of the Potholes were overflowing with Water and were deeper than Normal and because of the Waterfalls going into them, Downclimbing would have been more difficult, so we just jumped in... I never touched bottom on either Jump and the Potholes were easy to exit with the "Beached Whale" technique...

And then, we were there...The Top of the Big Rappel...And it was a Sight to behold...I should've taken a Photo there, but everyone was cold, including me, so it was time to go...There were only 3 of us and I had volunteered to go first so we could do this one Right and leave Ken to be last...There was Water going over the Edge so it made it even more interesting, knowing that you were actually going to be doing this with a light Waterfall pounding you a little from the Top...I added extra Friction and it was a Physical Fight to even move down the first 80 feet of Wall, but then...I was over the last Edge and hanging...I have done a few Free Hangs before, but never this long and it was much more Physically demanding than I thought it would be...I had thought about trying to tie off and get some Photos but when it actually came down to it, there was no way I was going to do that on this one... And then, after a Serious Adrenalin Rush, I was down and into the shallow Pool at the bottom...What an Amazing Feeling....

Melanie came down next with me belaying her at the bottom and then she belayed Ken...Ken got down and we pulled the Rope...Melanie took off to find some Sun, but Ken and I hung back as the Party of Two behind us was having some Trouble...They had thrown their Rope, but it didn't make the bottom, instead, it was a wadded mess about halfway down...We tried to signal them not to come down and to pull it back up, but with the Water, they couldn't hear us and one of them started down...He finally could hear us and realized the problem and stopped to fix it, but he ended up having to stop 3 times to finally get the Rope fixed and to the bottom...It was interesting and a little harrowing to watch...I actually Videotaped it and will be sending it to him so he can see how it looked to us.... They both made it down and we all headed for some much needed Sun...

West Clear Creek was flowing like I've never seen before...It wasn't Clear, it was a silty brown, and moving pretty high and fast...most of the Trail along the Creek to the Exit was completely underwater....We got to the Trail going up and started the Hike out...Ken and Melanie could smell the Beer of course, so they went ahead and I got there when I got there... And then, it was done...We hung around for a bit, socializing with the other Canyoneers that had finished, including the two behind us, and then we were on our way home...

I could take a Thousand Photos of this Canyon and write a Book about what I saw, but it still wouldn't do it Justice...I have descended a few Canyons now and they were all Beautiful in their own Way and I Loved them all, but this one, on this Day, was my Favorite Descent, Hands Down...I will do this Canyon again, but the chances of seeing it like this are probably slim unless Fate decides to Smile on me once again...To do this Canyon the way we did it, with the way it was, was absolutely Priceless...I will remember them all, but this one will always be Centerstage for me...

Ken, you've Rocked my World and you have opened it up in a way that I thought I would only Dream about, and for that, you will always have my deepest Thanks and Gratitude...Thank you for being such a good Friend and I look forward to many more Descents with you....

Finally had a chance to make it back to the point trail after cutting our trip short last year. Hit the trail just after noon and made it to the creek a half hour later. The water was cold but nice as it was hitting the mid 80's in the heat of the day. Made our way down the trail and thru the creek to the site we had last year. Didn't take many pictures on this trip.. theres something about climbing down the canyon wall, with a three day pack, that takes the creativity out of me. The spring was flowing quite nicely, so we decided to get a little crazy and try some of it untreated on the way out.. I know I know, worst Idea ever, but the one upping got pretty fierce the night before, and we all agreed to do it. We're all fine by the way. We spent the days fishing and enjoying the perfect weather. Caught three nice fish one rainbow and two browns. Made good time on our way out, and I was the first one up and out. Did the climb in 30 minutes, shattering my last year record of over an hour haha. All and all another fantastic trip. I will continue to visit this area for years to come.

It was a nice relaxing day spent down in West Clear Creek. This place is paradise during the summer! Kyle and I arrived at the trailhead and made our way down to the creek. I believe this section is easier climbing out. It was a pain down climbing the trail. Anyways, we hit the creek and headed up canyon. You have to get wet early on. I have a new pair of Keen Sandals and they were excellent in the creek. We made our way up creek for a couple of hours. We eventually had lunch and headed back. On the return, we continued down canyon and checked out the Weeping Wall. This area is so lush! From there we made the hike out and headed back to Phoenix. This "hike" was a nice change of pace. I really enjoyed the slow and easy going.

This area is awesome!

It worked out to be a great day to have planned a short hike wading through cool water-- I had a hangover . There are some beautiful campsites down there that I cannot wait to use. Staying dry on this hike is not an option-- the deepest section you must wade through is waist high. I can't wait to go back!