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Secret Place #14 (Shamrock Canyon*)
*
Alias, not found on any map.
| Summary: |
A technical canyoneering trip with a short section
of narrows, rappels to 115 feet and use of natural anchors. Gear required:
helmet, webbing, harness, descender
and 2x120' ropes (or a 120' rope and a pull cord). You will also need two
cars to do a shuttle. |
| Road
Conditions: |
High Clearance Vehicle |
| Navigation: |
Moderate |
| Length: |
5-7 hours |
| Date
Hiked: |
October 2004 |
| Weather
Conditions: |
Cool and sunny |
|
Required Skills: |
 |
| Hike
Description: |
From the car park, route find a way down into the
drainage and begin hiking down stream. If you enter the wash near the head
of the drainage, you'll encounter a few sections of short narrows. The
author bypassed these sections by climbing around on one side or the other
since they were all full of water and the air temperature was cool (not to
mention that the water temperature was downright chilly!). Just before you
reach the start of the technical part of the canyon, you'll hit a drop off
that can be bypassed by climbing around on a slope on the left. The canyon
begins with a 10 foot down climb and pot hole. The pot hole can be bypassed
by those with some dexterity by lunging around it using a tiny ledge on the
left. Next is a 15 foot slide into a pool (chest deep or a swimmer), after
which, the canyon jogs left then right to a small down climb into a scenic
sculpted hallway. Just beyond is the first rappel, a 40 footer from a rock
pile on the left, down a chute, into a pool. Climb up onto a ledge on the
left of the pool and crawl through a short tunnel to rappel #2, a 115 footer
from the big tree. Warning: There is a
narrow, but deep, keeper pot hole 3/4 of the way down this rappel. If it is
full you can just rappel into it and do a beached whale maneuver to get out.
If it is low, your options are:
1) Bring a heavy throw bag and ascending equipment down with you on the
rappel. Tie the throw bag to the end of the rope and toss it across the pot
hole on the way down. Rappel into the keeper and use the weight of the throw
bag as a counter balance to your body weight and ascend the rope out.
2) Angle your rappel towards the right (right side facing down canyon) and
attempt to walk around the keeper. This is a bit tricky, and if you descend
below the lip of the pot hole you won't be able to climb out without
ascending gear.
My recommendation is to go in prepared for #1, but give #2 a shot.
Once down, the canyon widens. Bypass the next drop by climbing around it on
the scree slope on canyon left. The final rappel is ~60 feet using a sturdy
tree or chockstone. A bit of boulder hopping and scrambling will bring you
to the confluence with a major drainage. Walk down this canyon approximately
2 hours to a trail that will take you up and out to the car you spotted
earlier. |
| Rating
(1-5 stars): |
The author scouted this canyon solo fixing ropes from the top and ascending
back out again. The keeper pot hole was about 7 feet down on this trip, but
I was able to skirt around it while on rope. At a later date, the author and
his wife completed this canyon with a group of 3 others in 6.5 hours. It had
rained recently and the canyon was actually flowing nicely. Needless to say
the keeper pot hole was just a short swim. |
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