Canyon Project II April 26

Fortunately a good night's sleep in a motel had me ready to go for the second, much more committing canyon project. We drove out to the same general area as the first canyon project but this time had even lesser used two-tracks to follow to our parking spot. Keith handled the overgrown sage and deep sand expertly and we had little issue making it to the end of the track on top of a slight rise. A short hike down the layers and into the head of the wash found us at the top of our slot with little time wasted. In contrast to the previous days' canyon, there would be absolutely no escape once we entered the 2000ft long slot and so we would rig everything so that we could climb back up and out the way we came. Fortunately Lukas and Suhei had already explored down the first 10 or so drops, so we knew what to expect at the top, what to anchor off of, and what length of ropes to bring. I was in charge of the bolt kit this time so my pack remained persistently heavy as others lightened as rigged ropes meant downward progress. Keith went down the first awkward pothole downclimb, the first highly scenic rappel, and through a short section of keyhole narrows. Beyond was a tight, awkward downclimb that was not going to be great for his ribs, so he ascended back out the canyon only getting a brief taste of what was in store for the rest of us. 

More downclimbs and dark corners led us into a fracture-controlled hallway with two more sizable rappels. The canyon rapidly increased in depth as we slowly rigged for forward progress. Below this hallway was another dark corner and then over/under boulder scrambling and even a couple sandy elbow crawls.

This canyon already had such a different feel than the previous day's canyon. It was deep, dark, and menacing with every twisty turn. Another rappel dropped us beneath chockstones into a pitch-black slot. I could already tell some of these drops were going to be pretty awkward ascending with a heavy pack. Beneath the slot was a 270 degree corner and an even more awkward dark slot rappel.

We dropped into a pothole room with a low natural bridge exit. Another dark corridor led us into a sandy hallway dammed by a canyon-spanning chockstone. This next section had one of the more impressive horizonlines as I walked up to the edge and saw the canyon floor drop out of sight beyond. We positioned a useful boulder as a single rock deadman anchor and continued downward. The freehang rappel over the chockstone led into a narrow downclimb past a seeping spring, and then another rappel down a smooth sloping falls into yet another fracture-controlled hallway.

The canyon floor continued to drop as the walls increased in height overhead. The canyon cut hard to the left as a tilted slot in the wall, then beyond was the darkest slot yet, and the existing limit of exploration. Enthusiasm peaked as we were now descending into the truly unknown.

Next up was a tricky stemming downclimb in pitch black darkness in the narrowest part of the canyon so far. This long narrow corridor occasionally had skylights letting light in but for the most part required us to use our headlamps. Some of it we could walk through sideways with our packs off but one particularly tricky section required difficult downward stemming above a too tight v-slot. At the end of this challenging skinny slot sequence the canyon spilled us out into a wider sand and boulder corridor. I recognized this spot from my aerial scouting- we had one more short slot section until the end of the world! 

 

We had some mild downclimbing at the start of the slot and then a short rappel into a pothole room. It was not until we were below the rappel that we could see the graceful natural bridge spanning the pothole. As I crossed beneath the bridge I was convinced I could feel the end of the world beyond before I could see it. Some of us took turns gingerly descending the rope to peer over the lip. What at the moment I guessed was a 200ft rappel turned out to be a solidly freehanging 370ft rappel! A monster! We didn't have enough rope or time to drop this grand finale and so had a quick snack in the final pothole before we worked our way back up the canyon. 

Since my pack was still full of gear it made sense for me to lead the ascent and leave the others to derig. Suhei and I worked as a team with Lukas and Jared taking up the rear. I ended up ascending most of the drops with my pack, a couple giving me considerable grief between the weight and awkwardness of the slot. About halfway up Suhei took pity on me and lightened my load by taking some of my bolt kit. Unsurprisingly there was quite a bit of downtime getting a team of four back up the canyon, but overall the ascent went very smoothly. By 4:30p we were out of the slot, Keith there to greet us. The rest of the team seemed a little exhausted but happily I was feeling solid despite the burden of my pack. It was about 5:30p by the time we reached the car and were ready to drive off. We said adios just before the highway and Keith and I (full credit to Keith for driving!) worked our way back home. We drove until 11p, eventually giving up for yet another cheap motel on the way.

The first canyon project was scenic and fun but this second one really delivered on the excitement of committing to the unknown. It was an immensely satisfying trip I was very thankful to be a part of. It reinvigorated my interest in canyoning generally, and particularly in undertaking some more first descents. A big thanks to Keith for driving (and sorry about his ribs). A huge thanks to Lukas for involving me in his canyon projects. The largest thanks go to those that enabled access to this wonderland. It was well worth the drive and provided plenty of fuel for daydreaming.