Freeman Creek May 24

Round about 1:30p we drove to a pullout where obstructed glimpses of Freeman Creek could be seen through the trees. What we could see looked scenic but far from something requiring ropes and wetsuits. Everyone's enthusiasm seemed to plummet but I still wanted to see what the next lower portion of canyon looked like so I awkwardly walked downhill through the scrub in my Crocs. After a couple hundred feet I could see a little lower. Hints of potential: a couple hanging potholes and a large slabby waterfall rolling over out of sight. I returned to show everyone a pixelated zoomed-in image. Still limited enthusiasm. If we were going to do this it would seem the decision was on me! Waste of time or heinous bushwhack? My fault! Deciding there was not time for much else and that we were here, now, I said we should go for it. And so we did.

The approach to Freeman Creek was ridiculously pleasant. Wide open forest with a deer trail to follow around a sloping granite dome I thought would maybe be a rappel. In all of 13 minutes we reached the creek from the car!

The creek was very scenic with small waterfalls and pools surrounded by lush vegetation, but did not give off any hint of a canyon. We continued on, opting out of several short slides and wades in the interest of time. After about 40 minutes from the car we reached an impressive horizonline. This part of the canyon looked great! I was delighted to see a healthy pine tree growing in a dry pothole that would place us right in the center of this nice waterfall. We suited up here and worked our way down the waterfall.

Beneath us was a second slabby waterfall, low enough slope that it could be easily downclimbed on the side. Trying to give the others the most bang for the canyon (after trusting me with the rest of their day), I explained what we would be doing next. We rigged a 150ft rope off a chockstone such that a short 40ft rappel led to the top of the fanning waterfall. From here we each would lay on our back, letting the slippery waterfall slide us down while we used our brake hand to control our descent speed. The rope was intentionally rigged 15ft too short to allow us to rappel off the end and slide the remaining distance into the shallow pool below. It was a big hit and everyone in our group repeated it. I think I did it a total of 4 times and would have happily done it more. This seemed to help moral a bit though there was still talk of bailing on the canyon from here and heading back up to the car. Knowing there was at least one more rappel (near the river, visited by rafters and kayakers), I led us onward to the lower reaches of the canyon.

Continuing on the creek was pleasant enough with more little falls and pools. Skirting around one pool and through a darker stretch of vegetation I was suddenly presented with a surprising sight. Straight ahead was a beautiful waterfall plunging sideways in a short but very scenic gorge. This was the best waterfall in the canyon, not least because we were not expecting it at all. We found perfect tree anchors that placed us right in the middle of the flow, making for a very fun rappel. The last part of the canyon had quite steep walls and the others seemed worried about our escape options while I reassured them.

Through the gorge and around the last corner we could hear and see the Kern River, and then the final waterfall the rafters visit. This was also a fantastic spot! I found a chockstone anchor hidden in the flow which put us right down the meat of this final waterfall. The pool below was vast and seemingly bottomless, requiring a couple hundred foot swim to exit. I found a neat bouldering traverse over the water which allowed a sporty climb up to a perch from which you could jump. The day was getting on and everyone seemed to be dreading the uncertain escape, but I was pretty confident we would make it out by dark. We followed a deer trail on a loose slope above the river, and around the corner to the next drainage to the south. The deer did an amazing job for us and we had no trouble following deer trails all the way up the steep hill right back to our waiting vehicle. In a short and pain-free 45 minutes we were back at the car, well before dark and with extra energy to spare. Everyone seemed jazzed that we had done this first descent and I felt relief in making the right decision to go, despite the canyon appearing dull on topo maps.

Freeman was a really nice canyon and I have no doubt it will be visited by many other groups. I'd love to go back in high flows. Thanks to Alden, Sara, Scott, Pete, and Celia for an awesome day. Two canyons, two first descents!