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| Canyoneering | 7.92 Miles |
1,800 AEG |
| | Canyoneering | 7.92 Miles | 8 Hrs 34 Mns | | 0.92 mph |
| 1,800 ft AEG | | 35 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | This trip was incredible! The SRP staff were very kind and cut our hike out by probably close to two hours by offering us a ride. If finishing around 3 or 4 you may be lucky too! Temps around 75 make this trip perfect, would recommend this canyon in a dry March/April. Not for beginner rope skills. However, skilled mountaineers or technical rescue personnel with an understanding of Arizona weather and good hiking skills should do just fine. We used the following gear on this amazing trip; 100' 9mm rope, 200' 9mm rope, 200'4mm pullcord, 15' webbing, 3/2 wetsuits, and harness and rap devices. Also potential to require devising new anchors from natural objects such as rocks, trees, or holes in the rocks. All existing anchors were in good condition, except one sketchy 25' downclimb area with no anchor where my husband built one. could see floods destroying anchors in this area so best to come prepared. The views are incredible, and good GPS can be obtained through the canyon, although we did not find it necessary at all.
Getting there: If you drive to dirt you have gone too far. The SRP road is pretty noticeable with a no trespassing sign and a tiny marker designating "80" from there it's easy to drive to the gate where there is plenty of spaces for free camping with great views. The approach to the canyon takes about 3 hours total, maybe more with more gear. the entrance is very easy to find, a small shack and a large Federal Property, No Trespassing Sign as well as a Punch Bowl Canyon Use Only sign mark the canyon. I would recommend the shortcut to the Finn to anyone who rock climbs and has less than 50# on their back. Approach shoes would be very beneficial here. There is some scrambling that may reach about 5.6 with substantial exposure, but a spotter and one or to spots where packs are handed up end up equaling breathtaking views and a shorter hike. If you take the Finn, go about .25mi into the canyon and head up left as the rocks permit. eventually, picking your way up, you will see the fin, which you must walk accross to the first canyon. This is not your canyon, walk around it to punch bowl and you will walk into the mouth of the canyon with the first short rap not far down. Bring the printed topo map, be prepared, and this canyon makes for a long and wonderful day of hard work and big rewards! |
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Wildflowers Observation Substantial
I am from AK and not terribly fermiliar with the flowers here, however, I did see a large variety. Including cactus almost all in full bloom, (excluding saguaro, not many here or in bloom,) small, 3-petaled purple flowers that appeared to be bulbs, and a medium-sized shrub with purple flowers that reminded me of orchid, and a small succulent that looked like a tiny agave with a small hot pink trumpet flower on a 7-8" yellow stem. Just a breathtaking trip, all the way. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
The approach drainage is actually just to the right of the 2nd sign. 
We again took the exposed sheep route on the way up the ridge since it's SO scenic, challenging and direct. 
It has a few exposed sections and class 3 climbs. Once up on the mesa, we veered up canyon for a easy place to climb down into the upper canyon. The upper section if full of rock hopping & bush whacking but you hit the first rappel soon enough. In a canyon as technical as this one with 12-15 rappels, it's redundant and should be unnecessary to report them all for the experienced canyoneer. 
Most are short in the 20-60ft range but there's a few longer 80-120ft drops in the middle with the final one being that overhung 120ft drop to the Punchbowl itself. There's a sweet 100-120ft drop in the middle but the bolt is back like 40ft so bring at least a 150ft rope as your longest rope. When you rappel down to the Punchbowl you're actually a quarter mile past the 2nd sign and technically trespassing at that point when you hop back on the road, so don't say I didn't warn ya... 
This one has been on the list since last winter but winter has rolled around again, I'm now a strong enough canyoneer to descend a tough canyon like this, had a friend with permission to use the SRP road, and was able to assemble a solid group of experienced canyoneers. 
The next drop oddly had no anchor even though this canyon has been descended by a few other groups recently. Secret bolts? 
We hit drop after drop after drop and we started loosing count of the short 20-50ft rappels as the pools got deeper & deeper and before you know it chilly swimmers were a common thing with a couple potential keepers in dry winters. So glad I had my new 4/3 wetsuit on! 
Somewhere in the middle of all those drops, we hit a super sweet narrows section with a double drop of 140ft into a glowing slot with a couple swimmers below. 
After that rappel, most of the remaining drops were bigger in the 50- 100ft range. There was a dry section near the end that had a few short drops that were oddly anchorless. More secret bolts?!? I managed to find one of them hidden behind a bush and saved some of my webbing for another day... 
The sweet final ~120ft rappel was from two solid bolts down a slippery chute with a super refreshing punchbowl swimmer to cool off in on this warm January weekend. 
