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| Canyoneering | 8.60 Miles |
1,792 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 8.60 Miles | 7 Hrs | | 1.43 mph |
| 1,792 ft AEG | 1 Hour Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Having collected a few scrapes on the old legs the day before and the heat wave coming in, I thought today would be a good day to see what this canyon had to offer. She was great, she took plenty of flesh from my legs and arms, didn't seem to let up once I dropped in, and offered complete solitude.
I got out to the parking area around 8am and off I went after getting a brief history lesson from a guy in the parking area as well looking for old horse shoes since the stables from the old fish creek house was suppose to be near or where we were standing? I wouldn't see another soul until I got back to the Jeep where people were taking pictures of the surrounding area. The only thing I did wrong today was forgetting the map of the area which could have turned into disaster but I was able to avoid that by climbing all the way to the ridgeline and traversing that to find the right drainage to drop in, or what I thought was the right one. It worked out with only adding over a mile of extra traversing but was rewarding with some pretty spectacular views of the area.
I got to where I was sure was the drainage and started to descend and realized that it was the right canyon once I got to the first drop. There was some good sized pools in the canyon and it was funny to see the water go from clear to stagnant the lower I went. After the first rappel in a narrow channel I was able to stay dry with my stemming technique that seemed near perfect in my mind but luckily nobody was there to take pictures to prove otherwise. Once in the basalt narrows the first three raps come pretty quickly, then after that you will have to negotiate your way down a brush filled canyon that certainly doesn't want to help you out showing you the right or best way to go down. I think it was the fourth rappel where the webbing was too worn with the quicklinks rusted out sitting in some water. I broke that down and found a new spot to anchor from. Once I got to the final rappel into the alcove just above fish creek I was worried my rope wouldn't reach the bottom since I couldn't see the bottom due to the spectacular overhang you will free hang from. Luckily it was enough no problem, a 200ft rope will get you through this canyon just fine. Boy I love handling rope all by myself.
Once down the final rappel and in the alcove, I thought I would be home free, but sure enough more brush awaited along with some good downclimbs into fish creek. Once I got into the gateway I couldn't wait to walk in the water and cool down my newly torn up legs. I wasn't expecting the hike out to be so brushy and amazing at the same time. Some more flesh left behind and of course the worst thing that happened to me today was walking through one of the last pools of water where I slipped on the rock and landed straight on my behind. I could only sit in the water for a minute and laugh since I knew I didn't have a change of shorts waiting for me. I was about 15 minutes from being done, so I wouldn't dry off anytime soon. Thanks Fish Creek. But all in all, this was a pretty good day. I don't like to wear pants, but if I ever do this canyon again I might have to break that rule?  |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
