Crawdad Canyon - Canyoneering Outside Phoenix Arizona

Crawdad Canyon is my latest canyoneering trip that I found myself scrambling and swimming my way through. Crawdad Canyon is not the official name this canyon goes by though the group I go with switched the name to Crawdad to keep people away from the canyon that my trash it. It is disappointing to see the lack of respect some people have for beautiful places.

Crawdad Canyon starts slow with a dry drainage or entrance canyon until we run into a nicely flowing stream. I was pleasantly surprised with this canyon as I expect most scrambling with a few places where we would wade. Instead we spent the entire time in the water. There were numerous pools that required swimming and we spent the entire trip in a good flow of water. The flow also kept the water clean which was a nice change from the stagnant water you can find in some canyons.

Crawdad Canyon is not a technical canyon though it is well worth the effort. There are plenty of challenges throughout the canyon at a moderate level. There is nothing of exceptional technical ability though you will have your fair share of endurance as the canyon took close to 7 hours to get to our shuttle car.

Our groups given name of Crawdad Canyon is because of the thousands of crawdads and tadpoles that you find in the water. The whole canyon was streaming with wildlife from fish, snakes, butterflies, and even a havalina that we scarred up. I missed the wild pig as it was behind me which sucked.

If you want to find out where this canyon is you will have to email me using the contact form on the right hand nav and if you are lucky I will tell you. What I will say is that this canyon was a lot of fun and a great canyon to do on a hot day.

Canyoneering Bear Canyon - Keeper Pot Holes & Rappelling into Ice Cold Pools

Bear Canyon is right next to Sundance Canyon. You actually park in the same spot and find your way back to the truck using the same route for each canyon. After getting done with Sundance Canyon by just after noon we decided to take advantage and head down Bear Canyon.

The trick to getting into Bear Canyon is that there is a short gully in the way. Many people think they are in Bear Canyon only for it to end with no where to go. You have make your way through gully and over the next ridge to get into Bear Canyon.

Bear Canyon starts with a canyon hike through fallen trees and boulders. After just rappelling 180 feet out of Sundance Canyon we started to wonder if Bear Canyon had anything to offer. Then you hit Bear Canyon's narrows.

Bear Canyon has a cool section of narrows which require multiple rappels and swims through even colder pools than Sundance Canyon. An excellent section of pot holes leads you into the depths withoug obvious places to set anchors. After a keeper pot hole there is a bolt placed in the wall for the largest rappell of 40 feet.

The pools in Bear Canyon are colder than Sundance Canyon just next door. The slot canyon walls are higher and lack even more sunlight. This is also obvious with the presence of snow and ice we found deep in the canyon. I highly recommend wetsuits as you make your way through the narrows.

The narrows of Bear Canyon make it a fun canyon well worth the trip.

Canyoneering Sundance Canyon - Rappelling Swimming - Cold Pools - 180ft Rappel

Start 25 min. Canyon Swim - First Water Canyon

Swimming Freezing Pool - Fish Creek Canyon

Canyoneering Backpacking Buckskin Gulch Paria River Longest Slot Canyon

Buckskin Gulch - Paria River Canyoneering Backpacking

I just spent the last weekend swishing and splashing my way through Buckskin Gulch. Buckskin Gulch is the longest slot canyon in the United States outside Page, Arizona. Buckskin Gulch is part of the Paria Canyon/Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area which is gives new meeting to middle of no where. I have two thoughts before I describe our trip; Buckskin Gulch is absolutely amazing and a must see, and at the same time is a true test of true endurance.

Our trip is to take Wire Pass trail to Buckskin Gulch, and then exit through the Paria River the following day. The total trip is 21 miles.

Our trip started Friday in a wind storm. The wind had gusts up to 50 miles an hour from Phoenix all the way to where we were heading outside Page. It is something driving for 6 hrs on your way for a weekend trip with horizontal rain and snow blowing and pushing your truck off the road. The wind was blowing so hard it broke our windshield wiper, which was fun to fix in the pleasant weather. We made the guy wearing his shell jacket in the truck go outside. He was the only guy wearing a jacket.

We did make it just in time for the all you could eat the Paria Outpost, which was a good thing since I didn't see a single thing open in Page when we drove by. Paria Outpost is quarter of a mile from the White House campground where we camped and we used them as a shuttle.

Saturday morning we take our shuttle to the Wire Pass trail head which is shorter route to getting into Buckskin then starting at the Buckskin trail head. I always go into canyons in nice weather as getting wet when you are cold is no fun, so this was some start at 40 degrees and wind blowing as we leave for the trail.

Wire Pass is a short hike to reach the entrace to Buckskin Gulch. Wire Pass in itself has some cool narrow slots of its own which make for a good start to the day. Where Wire Pass and Buckskin Gulch meet gives me visions of entering a Indiana Jones movie. A couple hundred foot sheer walls welcome you into their depths.

Bucksin Gulch consists of mile after mile of narrow slots and lots of getting your feet wet in muddy and cold pools. The best piece of gear you can own is a pair of neoprene socks. They help out a ton. Most canyons have short sections of narrows. Buckskin has miles of them.

You do get a break every once and awhile and get pieces of sun with huge openings with walls towering over your head. You will spend most of your day and what can best be described as a dungeon deep in the canyon and with limited light. It may be noon though Buckskin doesn't care how much light you think should be there.

There is no way to describe the experience of being deep in a canyon with mile after mile of narrow slots that get just a couple feet wide. It is something you have to experience for yourself.

What I will say is that fitness does help. It tooks 9.5 hrs to get from the start to our campsite. You may think you can do it fast though a backpacking group did it 1 hour faster and they didn't stop to take the video you did. So if you are a consistent backpacker than plan on 8.5 hrs if you don't stop much. Either way you have to be prepared to spend a long time hiking, scrambling, wading, and more. One thing to keep in mind also it is easier to make good time on a groomed trail then it is in sand, mud, more mud, water, rocks, and boulders. They take a little longer and little more toll on your body. Just ask one of the people in our group who lets say gained new understanding on his personal ability to keep going. One more note on time because this is an overnight your pack is full of extra gear like tent, sleeping bag, food, and so on.

You camp in sand benches that nature has provided. It is 14 miles the first day. There is no way to miss them and they come shortly after a rock jam that you have to climb down and a huge boudler stuck in the slot over your head. Our backdrop for our campsite was a small stream heading for the Paria River and 200ft or more canyon walls that made your neck hurt just to look that straight up.

The next day starts with a short hike to the Paria River which leads to the Colorado River at Lee's Fairy. We headed north instead of South to the Colorado for our exit. The Paria River is very slity and doesn't make good water to filter. Though the Paria River's canyon walls are farther apart the river takes up a lot of it as your wind your way. Be prepared for more in and out of water and just to make you feel better the Paria River water is colder than the water in Buckskin. The Paria River gives a whole new experience of sheer canyon walls hundreds of feet above your head as your follow a river as it has carved its way millions of years ago.

The best part of the Paria River exit is the sun came out and we spent extra time relaxing in the sand watching the river and burning my nose. You forget after a day in the dark that you need suncreen on the way out.

We exited the Paria River at White House campground where we left our truck with totaly exhausted and elated minds and bodies.

Buckskin Gulch is one of the coolest canyoneering experiences that gave dramtic sceanry, experiences, and complete effort to complete.

Agua Fria River Canyon - Canyoneering Photos

Canyoning Aguq Fria River Canyon Video

Agua Fria River Canyon - Canyoneering North of Phoenix

So we went down the Agua Fria River Canyon today. Overall a fun canyon for a February where the goal was to do no swimming. A little wading would be find and just wanted to get outside and enjoy a nice Arizona canyon.

One thing to keep in mind is that I thought this canyon would take 4.5-5.5 hrs to complete. Nine hours later we got back to the truck. A slight miss understanding to the time it takes to get through the canyon. This is the most off by time to complete I have been in a canyon. I will tell you later what took so long.

The canyoning trip starts with an easy hike down the Badger Spring Wash which leads to the Agua Fria River. The river had good water flow though the canyon was wide and made for scrambling and bouldering to stay out of the water. Though the temperature eventually hit 75 degrees outside the water was still freezing and swimming or constant wading through the water would have been hypothermia.

The Agua Fria River Canyon is full of boulder mazes which you can find your way through. There are plenty of small water falls which keeps the scenery going. The canyon changes quite a few times from different types of rock. I enjoyed scrambling over some cool blue boulders for a good stretch of the canyon.

There were a few instances where we did get wet up to our waist though most of the canyon was scrambling and just some ankle deep wading. Though with any good canyon trip we did find a way to make one short freezing swim. This could have been avoided though the path we took through a water fall left us no other choice. The hot sun made it easy to warm back up.

So what took so long? The Agua Fria River Canyon itself took a little longer than I anticipated though nothing much. Most of the extra was spent find routes to stay out of the freezing water which would be faster in the summer when we would have gone right down the middle of the canyon. The extra time was spent in a side canyon we were taking out. The canyon takes you close to interstate 17 at mile marker 252 which we were going to take a cow trail back to the truck. The side canyon was a mile and I didn't think it would take very long. Over 3 hours later I was mistaken.

The side canyon was overgrown with vegetation which made travel almost impossible at times. The scrambling around these areas was full of cacti which wasn't much of a better idea. After two hours of going no where I decided we could climb out and just find the trail we wanted. As we got higher we saw there was a primitive trail on the other side of the canyon. After finding the climb more of a problem then we thought we had to find our way back down and to the trail.

Standing in our way of the trail was 10ft high stalk plants of some kind that we as thick as naturally possible. We had to fight our way which was one of the most ere experiences stuck in the middle of these plants and using all my might just to move an inch.

We did make it through and found the trail which made for a tired though fairly easy walk out of the canyon where we found our trail and back to the truck. It never sises to amaze me how exiting a canyon can be more of any adventure than the canyon itself.

Canyoneering Peters Canyon Near Tortilla Flat, Arizona

With the winter I hadn't been scrambling around any canyons lately. Last night around 9 o'clock I just decided I am going down a canyon the following morning. I wanted to find a fun bouldering and scrambling canyon where I wasn't going to have to swim since the water is still freezing.

I picked Peters Canyon which is off highway 88 or Apache Trail Rd in the Superstition Mountains of Arizona. Peters Canyon is easy to get to as you park at Tortilla Flat a little restaurant and ice cream parlor next to Canyon Lake.

Right at Tortilla Flat is Tortilla Flat Creek which was flooding the road when I got there. Always an interesting way to start a canyon trip when the creek you are entering is flooded. The lack of narrows makes the canyon a low risk for flash floods. You scramble along the back for about a quarter mile and you reach the conflux with Peters Canyon.

Peters Canyon consists of a boulder maze of scrambling, bouldering, wading through no more than shin deep water, and hiking through some sand. The canyon was full of water and had a good stream going which created a fun challenge of figuring out how to get past. Many spots had the stream split into three or four separate streams with their own small waterfall. The neat thing about this canyon as is does provide a fun experience without having to get completely wet when you want to go out on an Arizona winter canyoning adventure.

Two and half hours into Peters Canyon is a 10ft waterfall which takes a little climbing to the left on some boulders to get on top of. This is pretty much the end of anything fun in the canyon. The canyon widens and flatens out past the waterfall. On top of the waterfall is a great place to take a break and have a snack. This canyon is an out and back.

The thing I really liked about this canyon as there were so many different options on how to get through the canyon that the way back was a completely new experience of the canyon for me. I found myself plenty of times in different parts of the stream where I spent more time wading on the way back. This made coming back down the same canyon more fun than I have had on any out and back canyon.

I highley recommend this canyon to anyone who wants to get out during nice winter days in Arizona. Once the heat comes though I would find a canyon where you get more wet and can cool off.

Canyoning Sycamore Canyon Video by Nogales, Arizona

Canyoneering to the Mexican Border

One of the intriguing ideas of the Sycamore Canyon route was that at the end was the international line separating Mexico from the United States. With the continual fight and debates over illegal immigration from Mexico, I couldn't pass up the idea of myself hiking to the border to see what is there.

A note about Sycamore Canyon: it may be the least technical canyon I have down yet; it is the most abusing on the body of any outdoor activity I have done. I have climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and hiked plenty of more strenuous miles before in a day though I wasn't prepared for what 10 plus miles of constant hiking in sand, rocks, boulders, and water would do to my feet and my hips on down. I was never physically exhausted just physically worn down.

Sycamore Canyon runs straight into Mexico so if you follow it long enough you will reach the Mexican border. I had read that there is fence protecting the international border and this is something I wanted to see. I wanted to see what is blocking people from crossing into the United States.

It was almost laughable once we arrived. My first view of the fence was that there was a ditch underneath it that allows anybody to easy slide underneath the fence. It is possible that the ditch underneath was man made.

It gets better when I look to my left I see this fence of international protection just lying on the ground. This is the photo shown in the post. Yes, you don't even have to go over or under the fence to get in you just have to step over the fence.

I find it literally fascinating the big official borders with all the officers asking you questions when just a few miles away you can just walk in and not even have to figure a way around a fence. Not that the fence would really stop anybody who wanted to get in just the personal idea that you can bypass the lines at the gate to just walk across yourself.

Sycamore Canyon Canoneering in Southern Arizona

I just finished Sycamore Canyon which is just a few miles west of Nogales. Yes, Nogales which means we were practically at the Mexican border. You have to read my up coming post if you want to find out what happened when we got to the Mexican border which we did.

I chose Sycamore Canyon for one important reason; I didn't want to freeze my butt off. The last canyon much farther north at Christopher Creek was the coldest I had ever been. I take that back summitting Mt. Kilimanjaro was the coldest I have ever been. Yes we could have brought wetsuits to Christopher Creek though it was 80 degrees outsite and Christopher Creek is open to the sun.

Sycamore Canyon has constant running water though the canyon is wide enough with a little scambling and climbing most of it can be avoided if you don't want to get wet. This was precisely my goal since it is now November in Arizona and not June any more.

Because you are not getting wet it makes canyoneering Sycamore Canyon mostly a hike. There is one stretch of narrows where we did swim two pools which were freezing to say the least. I did my best Bear Grylls jumping jacks in the sun to warm up. These pools can be avoided with some decent climbing skills though I had a new guy with me that I was going to make sure got wet at least once.

We covered over 10 miles of sand, rock, water, and boulders which is a lot of miles for going through a canyon in one day. I guarentee you will feel your hips after this canyon.

Sycamore Canyon is an out and back so you can turn around when ever you want. The scenry doesn't change much past the narrows though I would spend a little more time beyond. For those who want to put in the miles you can keep going all the way to the Mexican border where a fence tells you that you have reached the international line.

I recommend this canyon if you are looking for a winter canyon trip that you don't have to worry about getting cold. By the way we climbed around the two pools we swam on the way out.

Canyoneering Christopher Creek Canyon Video

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... C: wait... SD: wait...

Christopher Creek Canyon Canyoning Photos

PR: wait... I: wait... L: wait... LD: wait... I: wait... wait... C: wait... SD: wait...

Christopher Creek Canyon Canyoneering

The latest canyon we went canyoneering is Christopher Creek Canyon outside Payson, AZ. This is a great canyon full of waterfalls and you are definitely in and out of the water.

The canyon is easy to get to with parking on the side of the road and an easy to follow trail that leads to an entrance to the canyon. Because of the ease of access you might find the beginning populated with people. Trust me though only the canyoneers are going farther into the canyon so you will lose people quickly.

The main concern about this canyon is the water is cold year around. For us it might have been 80 degrees outside the water temp was in the fifties. It was cold to say the least. I highly recommend a wetsuit to do this canyon or at least a wetsuit top. We didn't have either so it swim as hard as you can and then jump and run in place to warm back up once out. The good thing is you are in and out of the water so you do have the ability to warm up.

The canyon is full of tiny waterfalls to go down and around. A few a slid down which is always fun. Be prepared to go through tons of pools which are typically over your head. I rarely just waded through the water, mostly it was swimming.

There are 3-5 rappels you need to complete depending on your climbing skill level. There are obvious natural anchors and some have fairly new webbing already in place though I won't automatically count on that.

Three of the rappels are direct in waterfalls that are extremely slippery. Every person slipped at least once so make sure you go slow and keep your hand locked on the rope during the rappel.

Over all extremely fun canyon with tons of waterfalls and pools to swim.

Bear Grylls is Back in the Canyons of Baja Peninsula

New episode of Man vs Wild aired tonight with Bear Gryllys showing off killing a diamondback and drinking his own pee. Watching Bear drink his own pee even made me a little squeamish just watching it. I guest that is why I always take my water filter with me on every outdoor trip, even the day hikes when more emergency end up happening.

Bear Grylls found the dry river canyons of Northern Mexico, though I think I will keep my adventure to water filled canyons of Arizona. I much enjoy cooling off in a nice canyon pool.

The trick he showed for finding water by digging at the base of rock formations was a good thing to keep in mind if ever in an emergency situation. There looked to be enough water at the base of the one he found where you could hangout and stay hydrated while you waited to be resuced.

My next adventure is heading up to Christopher Creek Canyon outside Payson, AZ. I am hoping to stay away from killing skunks, drinking my own pee, or coming face to face with a diamond back. I have already almost stepped on a diamondback this year so if I don't see another one I will be fine.

How to Rapell - Used for Canyoneering Canyons

I would always recommend taking classes or getting professional training before you start trusting your life to a rappel. Also, always make sure that go into canyons with a partner and that both parties check over the set up before you clip off and go down.

Things You’ll Need:

* Athletic Tapes
* Climbing Gear
* Climbing Harnesses
* Climbing Helmets
* Climbing Ropes
* Climbing Shoes

Step1
Set the rappel anchor. The rappel anchors should be tested before you trust them with your life. You should be securely attached to these anchors with a sling or daisy chain while you proceed through the following steps.

Step2
Prepare the rope for a single rope rappel. Fix one end of the rope to the rappel anchors by tieing a double figure 8 knot into the carabiners at the end of the equalized anchors. Make sure the rope doesn't go over any sharp edges and that the other end of the rope makes it to the ground.

Step3
Attach the rappel device to the rope. Be careful not to drop your device as you are attaching it to the rope. Check the manufacturer's instructions for how to use your particular rappel device.

Step4
Attach your rappel device to your harness. Clip into the rappel device with a locking carabiner. Do not unclip from the anchors (Step 1) until you are sure you are correctly attached to the rappel device, and the rappel device is correctly attached to the rope. After you've tested both the rope and the device, you can unclip your daisy chain from the anchors and proceed with the rappel.

Step5
Get in position. These instructions assume you are right-handed or are comfortable using your right hand in this. Place your left hand around the rope about 6 inches above the rappel device. Your left hand will be between your rappel device and the anchors holding the rope. Consider wearing gloves to protect your hands.

Step6
Grab the rope that hangs down out of the rappel device with your right hand and slide your hand on the rope back to your right hip and wrap the rope slightly around your right hip. Your right hand in this configuration is called your brake hand.

Step7
Rappel downward. Let some of the rope in your right hand slide up through the rappel device. As you do this you will slide down the rope.

Step8
Move past obstructions and overhangs. Make sure not to knock loose any rocks or other debris.

Step9
When you are safely on the ground, release the rope from your rappel device and call "Off rappel" for others who may be waiting.

Canyoneering First Aid

Not-such-big-deals.

* Contaminated water: Iodine, Water filter.

* Sprained ankle: ACE bandage, tape, trekking pole as cane.

* Abrasion: Band-aid, butterfly dressing, tape, Neosporin, Betadine.

* Blisters: mole-skin, scissors, gauze, clean socks.

* Sliver: tweezers

* Diarrhea: Pepto-Bismol, Imodium, soap to wash hands before preparing food for you non-diarrheal buddies.

* Pain: Tylenol, Ibuprofen, Naproxen, narcotics. (Avoid Aspirin in kids as it may cause Reye's syndrome).

* Insomnia: Benadryl

Big-deals:

-The first rule of a significant rescue is not to make the problem worse than it is. Folks sent out ahead to call Search and Rescue can end up as fatalities when they become lost or exposed, while the injured hunker down and are eventually rescued. Exposing yourself to additional risk in a rescue effort must be weighed against increased hazard to the entire team if further injury occurs.

-All big deals require urgent transport to medical facility. You should know where the closest hospital is and how to get there. If members of the party are sent ahead to call Search and Rescue, pencil and paper are useful to record location of injured people and injuries. Cell phones expedite evacuation, but often have poor reception in canyons/desert. Reflective mirrors are also useful, but few people know how to use one.

* Laceration: Quick Clot(tm) Field dressing, gauze pads, gloves, trauma shears, steri-strips, super-glue/Durabond (use with care-Durabond less irritating to skin than industrial superglue), triangular bandage. Think pressure, lots and lots of pressure.

* Fracture: SAM splint, ACE bandage, Popsicle-stick (finger fracture), tape. Trekking pole for cane. Injuries compromising blood flow or sensation (neurovascular injury) require emergent evacuation and orthopedic evaluation.

* Snake bite: Betadine, soap, gauze, maybe venom extractor (no cowboy cut and suck technique please).

* Hypothermia: dry fleece jacket and hat, emergency blanket/bag for all party members, lightweight stove and bullion/ramen, hard candy, extra energy bar, magnesium strip, and lighter. Fire starting skills. Willingness to accept a forced bivy and warm up rather than push on. Watch for the 'umbles: mumbles, grumbles, tumbles, stumbles, fumbles.

* Flail chest: Lots of tape, rolled up sweater to brace chest.

* Pneumothorax: If you don't know what it is, don't carry the 16 gauge needle to treat it, petroleum gauze and tape to make one-way valve. Monitor vitals, if breathing or pulse gets worse, patient may have tension pneumothorax. This will require emergent evacuation and treatment. Effective diagnosis and treatment in the wilderness is difficult under the best of circumstances.

* Burn: petroleum gauze, more gauze, hydration, pain management.

* Falls: Danger of spinal injury. DO NOT move the patient or the patient's head unless you want to paralyze them for life. If person moved already, they may still have a spinal injury. A first-responder should immobilize the patient's head to prevent unintentional movement.

In any trauma, spinal injury, internal bleeding, respiratory distress, and hypovolemic shock (even if you can't see any wounds) are a real danger. Seek help immediately.

-There are other big-deals dealing with the ABC's (airway, breathing, circulation). You could carry some airway protection device, a guard for mouth-to-mouth, knowledge of CPR/basic life support/advanced life support. However, it is difficult to imagine situations when someone healthy enough to descend a canyon could develop a condition requiring aggressive intervention in the wilderness and benefit from it. You simply aren't equipped in the wilderness to deal with respiratory failure due to tracheal injury, drowning/aspiration, status asthmaticus, or cardiovascular collapse due to arrhythmia, massive myocardial infarction or shock. There are portable cardioversion devices available, but none light enough to justify carrying it in the back-country. A trial of CPR followed by urgent evacuation is really the only solution. Always consider the safety of the rest of the group when starting a rescue effort.

Wilderness Pharmacopeia:

* Pain:

Tylenol, Naproxen, Ibuprofen. Avoid aspirin in kids.

* Wounds:

Triple antibiotic with lidocaine. Betadine.

* GI issues:

Iodine, Water filter, Pepto-Bismol, Imodium, Ex-lax for your buddy's brownies.

* Asthma:

Albuterol inhaler for anyone who has ever had one.