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| Canyoneering | 4.00 Miles |
1,510 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 4.00 Miles | 3 Hrs 40 Mns | | 1.09 mph |
| 1,510 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | After doing Bill Williams Mt. I decided to drive on over to the Kelsey Springs TH to see if the spot was open to camp for the night and get ready to do my first solo technical canyon the next day. The drive in on FR 538 was great as I spotted two deer on up a hill who stayed put long enough for me to get a couple pictures of them. Then the turn towards the actual TH proved to be a fun rudded road with a few mud holes for the Jeep to play in. I got to the TH before 4pm with nobody around and a nice fire pit already there so I found my campspot for the night. The view from up here of Sycamore Canyon was fantastic and to the NW you could see Bill Williams Mt. where I had just come from, perfect.
As the cold morning came I gathered everything up and headed on down the Kelsey Spring trail to get to the entry point of Babes Hole Spring Canyon. On the way down to Kelsey Spring I passed a few great campspots that I will keep in mind for future outings that would require a short 10 minute hike to get to. Got to the canyon drop in point in 20 minutes or so and started rock hopping with the nice spring water flowing in 2 spots. It was an interesting start as you rock hop you just wouldn't expect the canyon to open up and drop off the way it does. Once I got to the technical drop in I was amazed by the views from up here.
I set up the first rappel to drop right into the narrows which was a nice bowl shaped descent into a small pool big enough to just get your feet wet. The second rappel is at the base of this and was one of the sweetest parts of the canyon as you go through a narrow channel in the rock and then drop 40ft or so. I stopped several times to enjoy the views behind me while on rope. The canyon is pretty solid and drops off several times which makes it a solid contender in my mind for those wanting to do a shorter canyon that doesn't involve route finding or too much effort to get to other than the drive in.
I managed to only get my feet wet until the exit where you go under a large boulder and into a knee high pool. But even being cold, it was nice that it was crystal clear water and had no funky smell to it at all. The sunlight was waiting for me at the intersect of Little Lo Spring Canyon where I checked out the bottom portion and enjoyed the still clear pool leading you off into the narrows.
Didn't spend too much time in the bottom of Little Lo as I figured I would just see it when I finally do that canyon one day. Turned around and went to the exit and into Sycamore Canyon. The trail is right there and very steep at the bottom which will get your legs burning and up to the halfway point in no time. The light breeze on the way back up was perfect and again I couldn't have asked for a better day and trek to do. I ended up doing 5 rappels as the one spot I could have downclimbed was a little wet and I didn't want to risk anything. Nice solid natural anchor points at every spot you would need to rappel. I really enjoyed this canyon and think it is a nice little gem and a gem of an area for sure overall. |
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