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| Canyoneering | 14.00 Miles |
2,485 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 14.00 Miles | 24 Hrs | | 0.58 mph |
| 2,485 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | This is a world-class canyon!
We hiked this as a top-down trip, exiting out the Hot Loop/Jacks Canyon trails, as the new Sedona NFS Ranger Station snafus have precluded the use of the normal trailhead.
This adds about 2.5 or 3 miles to the distance.
This trip exceeded my already-high expectations. From my first views in the 'feeder' canyon I knew that this would be a terrific trip, but once at what is described in the HAZ description as 'The Dip', it turned SENSATIONAL.
The first swim was about 50 degrees, the second was ALSO a swim and was colder, likely 45-46. Boy, THAT sure gets your heart racing! As we ventured further into the depths of Woods there was awesome scenery followed by spectacular scenery. I cannot tell you how many times I heard someone, including myself, gasp, 'WOW' as they came around a bend in the canyon.
We saw no sign of man, not even a bootprint on the whole trip until we exited the canyon. Yes, the boulder-hopping can get tedious at times, but I can tell you that I'd go back in an instant to hike this one again.
Our group of six was glad to have decided to backpack this rather than try and race through the canyon in a day, thus allowing more time for photos and sight-seeing.
For the record, we started about 10AM and after a VERY leisurely day of hiking, with over 2.5 hours of assorted breaks, camped about 6.75 miles in, stopping about 5:45PM. The front-runners reached the vehicles at the Jack's Canyon T/H about 12:30PM with an 8AM-ish start from camp.
There was running water all the way, even downstream of where the Hot Loop trail exits the canyon. In warmer months this may not be the case, plan accordingly.
The weather was perfect, moderate daytime temps (75 maybe) and a cool, but not cold, evening (45 as a guess-ti-mate). I would not prefer hiking this when it gets too much hotter, especially the Hot Loop/Jacks portion.
I would suggest to anyone that enjoys canyons that he/she get out and hike this canyon; it's a beauty! |
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Wildflowers Observation Light
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"The censorship method ... is that of handing the job over to some frail and erring mortal man, and making him omnipotent on the assumption that his official status will make him infallible and omniscient."
George Bernard Shaw |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
woods canyon is absolutely beautiful and had a nice little flow in spots. Constant boulder hopping from start to finish. Pools were chilly but refreshing. We got to the ruins right as we noticed storm clouds coming in. Probably not the best place to be in a flash flood… 
The place overall is beautiful but not to be taken lightly. Like I read on here, if you sprain your ankle in the wrong place in this canyon, you’re dead. 
I had a 3-day weekend from a recent B-day and filled it up with more canyoneering. 
I've done the non-technical rock hop & swim down to the Supai Pools a few times over the years, but this was my first shot at the technical loop that drops in via a side canyon below the Supai layer into middle Woods Canyon. My buddy got us along that bumpy FR80 fairly far before we hopped out, geared up and made the almost 3 mile rim walk to the drop-in point. That side canyon is rather bushy with loads of tree fall to push thru before hitting a few 'Todd down climbs'. 
We manage to climb down most of them, but the top one had a good anchor already so we made a 50ft rappel out of it, and another we initially rappelled down but once we saw how easy it was my buddy climbed back up and dismantled the anchor. After we were done with all the down climbing, the canyon opens up with some nice angled Coconino sandstone slabs to descend and small pools to avoid before hitting the first of many drops in the Supai Sandstone layer . There was a good anchor there that we used for this 20ft drop but I suspect this is another 'Todd down climb'. 
After nearly freezing our rears off, we slowly made it further up the long rock up as the boulder got slowly bigger and tougher to navigate thru. We eventually reached the basalt layer where the boulders get even bigger until we hit the basalt falls with 3 pools above it that require a wade or swim to get across. Once across those, we quickly reached our exit canyon with a huge pool and falls in upper Woods Canyon were we dropped our wetsuits, hiked up that side canyon a bit before climbing back up to the rim, and making the final 1.5 miles of rim walking back to our vehicle making it back just after sunset. 
I went down to the pool in the Supai layer that most seem to go down to and we scrambled around & down to the pool where we swam and ate lunch. It's pretty sweet to traverse down this canyon thru the three different rock layers: Basalt, Coconino Sandstone, and Supai Sandstone. The skys up to this point had been clear after burning off the morning clouds, but once we finished lunch and scrambled back up from the pool, we saw an ominous cloud that had snuck in above the canyon wall. We planned on a quick trip so as to avoid afternoon monsoons, but they came in a bit sooner than expected. We got sprinkled on a bit, and heard lots of thunder, but we got lucky and avoided any walls of rain or flash flooding. 
Then hike NE back to where you parked your car. Just a reminder from the description, once you hit the canyon it's boulder hopping the whole time you're down there. Unlike Wet Beaver Creek or West Clear Creek, the boulders/rocks in the creek are not slick and provide good traction. No bushwacking required in the canyon, just in that section from the rim down to the canyon. Have fun, be safe, and make wise decisions when hiking in remote locations. I also recommend bringing a helmet and wetsuit in colder/rainy months, both of which I was wishing I had brought. 
