Quicksand and warm springs in Kaiser Spring Canyon

Kaiser Spring Canyon
8 miles
BLM land, northwest of Wickenburg
01/24/10

 

As a massive storm violently ripped through Arizona last week, pounding the state with rain and filling its reservoirs, David and I pondered what kind of outdoor activity we would be able to do over the weekend and still bring our dog. After talking with Mike he suggested Kaiser Canyon, a non-technical hike with tight canyon narrows and a warm spring.

The weather on Sunday was wonderful in Wickenburg with the highs in the upper 50s and clear blue skies. While driving northwest on US 60, other than wide sandy washes flowing with water that would otherwise be bone dry you would not have guessed such a powerful storm had passed through just days earlier. Parking under highway 93 we headed up canyon and were quickly surrounded by towering rock walls. The lower narrow section of the canyon that is normally dry had some flowing water and ice-cold pools that we can only assume collected from the storms earlier in the week. Along with trying to avoid the chilly pools of water on the canyon floor we encountered an abundance of quicksand that was hard to avoid and difficult to recognize. David seemed to have the most issues with the quicksand immediately sinking up to his shins after one faulty step.

Having Briscoe along for the day was fun. Geared up with his super doggie harness he rock hopped and splashed through the canyon. On the few climbing sections it was easy to pick Briscoe up like a brief case and carry him forward. (Click here and here and here for other adventures with Briscoe)

After the first section of narrows the canyon opened up to a sandy flat wash. We continued up canyon to a second section of narrows and riparian area. Fighting through thick thorny brush for a few minutes we gave up and turned around heading back down canyon the way we came. Retracing our steps with Briscoe in the lead we walked past where we parked the car and continued down canyon to the warm springs. I didn’t have the highest hopes for the pool but it turned out to be just warm enough to enjoy in the brisk late afternoon air. The temperature of the water was around 95 degrees. Briscoe made an island out of David and we all relaxed in a Zen-like state of calm. 

-Laura

 

The first adventure of the decade in Punch Bowl Canyon

Punch Bowl Canyon, 3BVR
15 miles (approximate)
Tonto National Forest – Superstition Wilderness Area
01/02/10 – 01/03/10

 

After seeing some photos of a canyon known as Punchbowl Canyon on a website of a canyoneer who goes by the name the Desert Nomad, John and I started studying maps and comparing them to the photos to determine where the location of the canyon might be. After getting an idea I went out on a brutally long solo-scouting trip and felt extremely confident that I had a location.

Over a month later Eric and I decided to start out a new decade by attempting a descent. Unfortunately we were without John, who decided to hang back because he and his wife, Kim, are expecting their first child within the month. The first day was spent on a strenuous approach, climbing up and over mesas and canyons until we camped on a wind swept mesa above Punch Bowl. As the sun began to set the winds picked up and howled with ferocity, continuing throughout the entire night. I buried myself deep in my down mummy bag and tried my best to fall asleep.

At first light we quickly packed up as the wind took several of my items across the mesa only to be stopped by the claw like fingers of a large cholla cactus. Escaping the viscous winds by descending into Punch Bowl proper we stopped to make hot oatmeal when we reached the first pothole that had clean looking water. Shortly after breakfast we hit our first rappel. Seeing webbing slung around a choke stone only increased our confidence that we were in fact descending Punch Bowl. Immediately the rappels began one after another, interrupted by pools of cold water covered in a layer of velvety fluorescent green algae. One of the pools was covered in strands of algae crisscrossing and bending to create a magnificently intricate design. The potholes were filled to the brim with water but it appeared in dry conditions keepers could exist. Facing a 12-foot drop into a deep pool with no natural anchor opportunities, Eric volunteered to become a meat anchor that I rappelled off of. A meat anchor is when a human being uses his body weight to become an anchor for rappelling. Obviously that person has to find other means to descend the obstacle. For Eric, the means were sliding and jumping the fall into the frigid water.

Despite its difficult access and remoteness, Eric and I were surprised and delighted that a canyon with such a relentless technical quality could be so close as the crow flies to our homes in one of the nations largest metropolitan areas. 9 rappels, plus three additional meat anchor rappels, and probably a half dozen swims brought us to the final dramatic 150-foot plus rappel to a clearly punch bowl shaped pool (I am sure its namesake) at its confluence with another larger canyon.

A four-hour exit hike much of it through the dark brought us back to our car and end of the first adventure of the decade. 

 -David

 

2009 Year in Photos

After pressing play on video, press pause & allow a minute for video to load & buffer before viewing. Thanks!

 

In the tradition of the all the end of the year lists you may be seeing in websites, newspapers, magazines and television, we have put together a video montage of our favorite 2009 “Canyonlands: Tales from Narrow Places” photos. It was an amazing year exploring canyons: from the epic to the relaxed, from the classic route to the first descent, from swift water to sideway squeezes. We worked hard, learned news skills, made new friends and had a blast along the way. A new year is here and we can’t wait to experience what lies ahead in the canyon lands.

-Laura & David

The West Fork of Oak Creek

The West Fork of Oak Creek
Coconino National Forest
12/28/07, 11/29/09

 

The West Fork of Oak Creek canyon is an intense and sublime place that can be explored during a perfectly mellow day hike. In the summer the hike provides shade and a cool escape from the Valley. In the fall you can see the brilliance of the foliage and in the winter it is a slippery trounce through the snow and ice. I imagine in Spring this place also provides a contrasting and unique wilderness experience but I have yet to trek through during this time of time year.

The West Fork of Oak Creek is always a welcome sight after a long day of technical canyoneering as a number of technical canyons drain into it (Barney Spring & Flintstone). The creek meanders through boulders and red rock. Along the way it carves narrow channels, sharp pools and tiny waterfalls. Look up and you can see precarious rock formations perched 500 feet overhead. The warm toned sandstone walls are stained black and pink and yellow from wind and water.

Most recently David and I took his parents and sister hiking while they were in town visiting from the East Coast for Thanksgiving (click here and here for previous adventures with David’s family). With each stream crossing Sarah and Marsha gained confidence in their footing and after 26 times back and forth across the creek they were pros with dry feet. By the way, David’s feet were the only ones that were wet.

The West Fork is a photographer’s paradise, In addition to the big picture I like to focus on the abstract with my photography. A lichen-covered tree caught my eye with its interesting natural texture. A boulder covered in snow in the middle of the creek caught David’s. This place is vast and detailed, intense and mellow. A place we always enjoy whether just out for a relaxed walk or the end of an intense day of canyoneering.

-Laura

 

Snow on the Grand Canyon

 

The Grand Canyon is a spectacular sight to behold. I have had a chance to visit the park on a number of occasions since living in Arizona. Each time I visit the canyon I have my breath taken away by its beauty and grandeur.  I have always wanted to see the canyon covered in snow. This week I got my wish. I tagged along with David while he was working on a travel story for the Arizona Republic. We drove up Monday and while David was shooting I went for a walk along the Rim Trail. The weather was cold but pleasant and there was some snow on the canyon but it was not exactly how I had envisioned the grand snow covered canyon. The Grand Canyon got several inches overnight as we slept. Tuesday morning we woke to a picture perfect postcard better than I could have imagined. The powder white snow decorated the trees along the rim and wispy clouds hovered throughout the canyon. While David finished his travel assignment I walked around the south rim and took about a million pictures. Standing in one place the canyon would change before my eyes, as clouds would blow in and out, blue sky peaking through then abruptly disappearing.

-Laura

 

 

Exploration and technical canyon discovery in the Four Peaks Wilderness

Blue Tank Canyon, 2BV/ Hells Hip Pocket 3BV
Tonto National Forest – Four Peaks Wilderness
11/22/09, 12/12/09 – 12/14/09

 

The system looked promising on topographic maps, but remote. Canyon Lake and the Salt River blocked it to the south. A large road less area (or least roads that are passable) of the Four Peaks Wilderness Area filled with rolling washes, and rugged canyons surrounded it to the west, north and east.  Did a technical canyon exist within? I decided to find out on what would be one of my first real canyon pioneering adventures.

 PART 1:

The first leg of the exploration began partially as training for an adventure race I would be participating in several weeks with my friend and one of my canyoneering partners, John. The adventure race included a section of kayaking. John and I thought it would be prudent to do a trial run in a tandem kayak before the race. A perfect opportunity to get some paddle in and allow for penetration into the canyon system from the bottom. Along with Laura in a single kayak, we made our way across a choppy Canyon Lake and up the Salt River into a direct head wind to the bottom of Blue Tank Canyon. Mormon Flat Dam at Canyon Lake has raised the water levels of the Salt River back into Blue Tank Canyon making for a short stretch of paddle surrounded by narrow canyon walls. After stowing our kayaks on dry land, we continued through the narrows by foot. The walls quickly got higher and tighter and transitioned from beige to blue in color revealing the origins of its name and giving us a beautiful stretch of canyon. A 10- foot dry fall was climbed with not too much difficulty. Before not too long the canyon opened up and became less interesting. John, Laura and I slogged up the canyon, negotiating several easy dry falls and passing an area of crystal clear spring fed pools hidden beneath thick vegetation before reaching the confluence of Hells Hip Pocket. With our rental kayaks due back that evening and the long paddle to the Canyon Lake Marina ahead of us, we only ventured a short distance up Blue Tank Canyon past Hells Hip Pocket before heading back down canyon. Even though I was slightly disappointed that during our ascent we were not stopped dead in our tracks by an un-climbable dry fall signaling technical canyon above, I felt confident there still could be something of note in either upper Blue Tank or Hells Hip Pocket. I looked to return to the system from above as soon as possible. 

 PART 2:

Nearly a month later, with 60- pound packs on our backs filled with a full arsenal of canyoneering gear, Eric and I slowly hiked up Trail 84 to set up a base camp and further explore the system from above. Hiking through mine fields of cholla pods and past wild burros we set up camp near a natural spring alongside a bullet ridden aluminum shack in the shadow of Four Peaks. That afternoon we dropped into the far upper reaches of Blue Tank Canyon. The first mile and half of the canyon were chocked with catclaw, prickly pear and other evil desert vegetation, shredding our legs, arms and hands. Eventually the vegetation subsided and the canyon changed character as walls closed in and the canyon got deeper. We were faced with several moderately challenging down climbs and waist deep pools to wade. We continued to the point where John, Laura and I had turned around a month earlier from below. It was confirmed. Blue Tank though challenging and beautiful does not require the use of ropes for a descent. Finding an alternate route back to camp along a high ridge and adjacent canyon we reached our camp several hours after dark. The following day we planned to descend Hells Hip Pocket and exit the system via Blue Tank.

From camp it took several hours of hiking up onto a ridge to reach the upper confines of Hells Hip Pocket. Along the way we saw deer and javelina. Hells Hip Pocket consists of five branches all draining from the same high ridge. We decided to descend via the easternmost branch, which is the one furthest from the confluence with Blue Tank and on the map appeared to be the main drainage. The canyon was moderately interesting and very different in character from Blue Tank. Certain sections were filled with brush but for the most part the hiking was not too unpleasant. We were able to avoid getting wet and rappelling by traversing ledges and moderately difficult down climbing. We did set up one 35- foot rappel off a pinch point down a dry fall. The fall could have been down climbed but appeared sketchy and under a light drizzle we felt rappelling was the safer option. As we slowly passed Hells Hip Pocket’s adjoining branches under the steady and cold drizzle, a slight level of disappointment was setting in that were not going to find anything of note. Then out of nowhere the canyon rounded a bend and dropped into a deep and dark slot. Eric and I were giddy with excitement as we evaluated the drop and looked for a natural anchor.

With no signs of webbing anywhere we decided on a small, but secure boulder above the drop. The rappel was approximately 40- feet. The canyon walls were beautifully tight and convoluted, undulating in weird angles. About 100- feet beyond the first drop, a second longer drop ended in a deep pool. Again there were no signs of webbing anywhere, so we took our time to evaluate the natural anchor options. Using a pinch point on a shelf above the drop, the rappel was exactly 50- feet into a 75- foot swimmer.

After the frigid swim and very short stretch of tight narrows to follow, the canyon opened back up to its former self. We hit the confluence with Blue Tank and began the long and strenuous climb up the canyon, followed by the alternate return route of the previous day. Again we reached camp several hours after dark. Around the campfire we discussed the possibility that we made the first descent. Though I feel it is impossible to make the claim with 100 percent certainty, the canyon’s remoteness and the complete absence of any signs of webbing seemed that ours was in fact a first descent.

The following morning we slept in and lounged around camp before the backpack out on a crisp December Arizona day. For the first time all weekend all four of the Four Peaks were not shrouded behind clouds. A lot of work had gone into the exploration and approach of this remote canyon that only yielded a short section of technical canyon.  I could not have been more thrilled with the discovery and the process, adding a whole new element to the sport.    

 -David

Diversity of the desert in Aravaipa Canyon

Aravaipa Canyon
approximately 23 miles
Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness Area
10/5/08 – 10/6/08

 

The desert is not a uniform world. Mountains and canyons break the desert up into pockets of diversity that are entirely different from adjacent areas. On the northern end of the Galiuro Mountains, the perennial Aravaipa Creek has carved a canyon of staggering beauty that pushes ones preconceived idea of the desert. My co-worker and friend, Pat Shannahan and I explored Aravaipa Canyon and some of its side canyons on a two-day backpacking trip. Along the way we observed big horn sheep and coatimundis, we rested under giant Cottonwood trees, drank fresh spring water coming right out of the dark red porphyry rock, gazed at the stars and the surreal geologic formations and sloshed our feet through the cool waters of the creek. I will close and let our images speak for this place and our time in it. 

-David

Underestimating Ash Canyon

Ash Canyon, 3CIV
6.2 miles
Coronado National Forest, Pinaleno Mountains
11/08/09

A November descent starting at well over 9,000 feet through potential swift water conditions in a rugged and remote wilderness is nothing to take lightly. Instead we packed lightly. With a strong team of three we decided to go light and fast, foregoing wetsuits and perhaps underestimating the difficultness of this canyon in its current conditions. Driving nearly 30 miles and gaining 6500 feet of elevation from Safford to a high ridge of the Pinaleno Mountains we began the descent on a to be expected cold morning. The drastic increase in elevation created fogginess in my head as we began the easy approach to the canyon.

Passing rusted relics of lumber equipment coupled with the isolation of this wilderness set the tone. Leaving the trail and continuing down the drainage we descended a vast expanse of polished slick rock that made it near impossible to keep our footing. After I slipped and lost control sliding down the rock, Eric followed suit and got flushed down the toilet into the flowing drainage. Recovering with only a few scratches we made our way on to the first rappel. Ice greeted us at the bottom of this long rappel.

Further along, the canyon funneled into a steep and narrow chute, completely changing the character of the water flow. We were greeted by several consecutive rappels directly in the watercourse where anchors had to be reset. The steepness of the canyon did not allow the water to pool (so there was no swims or deep wades) but wetsuits were missed as the water flow surrounded us throughout this section. All of the pulls on these rappels were difficult and a slightly tense moment ensued when after partially pulling the rope the water current forced our rope down and around a rock. I had to partially stem back up the canyon to dislodge our rope while being pummeled by the water. After the technical section was over we made a fire to warm up before the long and strenuous hike back to our car.  

Note: I dusted off a film camera and shot black and white film during this descent. I think the graininess and tonal neutrality of the images suits the quality of this canyon well. 

-David

Getting back out in Minnow Canyon

Minnow Canyon, 3AI
2.3 miles
Tonto National Forest – Superstition Wilderness
12/22/08, 11/15/09

The fall in Arizona is wedding season and just about every weekend I am either shooting a wedding, assisting another wedding photographer or photographing an engagement session and for that reason it has been over a month since I have been on rope (my last canyoneering trip was Imlay in Zion). I have started to get that antsy feeling of needing some quality time in the wilderness. Sunday was finally a day when both David and I could go canyoneering together, along with our good friend John. Having shot a wedding all day on Saturday I had some criteria for our outing- I didn’t want to drive far, I didn’t want to get wet if possible and I would like a relatively short day. Shooting weddings are a joy but I generally come home extremely wired and I did not want to wake up super early Sunday morning. David suggested Minnow Canyon in the Superstitions. It was a perfect choice. David had also done Minnow Canyon last year with Mike.

The coolest thing about Minnow are all the caves created by fallen boulders, with earth and vegetation filling in the gaps. This makes for the true canyon bottom below a second level above. Creativity and route finding is necessary to navigate through the two tiered maze. There is one 150- foot rappel towards the end of the canyon.

David and John jogged the 2+ miles back to the car as I waited with the packs happy to be out enjoying a beautiful fall afternoon in Arizona.

-Laura (click here to see my wedding website)

A note on beta

 

Information on canyons is a precious thing in our sport. With Laura and I having been very busy with other things in the last month or so and a subsequent dry spell in canyoneering descents, I wanted to take the time to thank those that shared this information. Thus far this blog consists of no first descents or even anticipated first descents. Therefore, the information for our canyoneering adventures has been shared from a variety of other sources.  Nearly half of the posts on this blog are with information from the book “Arizona: Technical Canyoneering” by Tood Martin. You can probably tell from the photograph I shot of my copy of the book how worn it is.  There is also great canyoneering and hiking information from Todd’s website, “Todd’s Desert Hiking Guide”.

Other sources of beta for descents shared on this blog are “Zion: Canyoneering” by Tom Jones, “Canyoneering Arizona” by Tyler Williams, and the website, “Adventure Hikes and Canyoneering in the Southwest” by Christopher Brennen.

-David