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Secret Place #4 (Carcass Canyon*)
*
Alias, not found on any map.
| Summary: |
A scenic technical loop hike with
4-5 rappels and wading/swimming. To complete this hike you will need: 200'
of rope (or a 100' rope and a 100' pull cord), harness, descender, webbing, helmet, dry bag and carabineers. A wet
suit would be a good idea in all but the hottest weather. |
| Road
Conditions: |
High Clearance Vehicle |
| Navigation: |
Moderate |
| Length: |
6 hours |
| Date
Hiked: |
October 2002 |
| Weather
Conditions: |
Cool |
|
Required Skills: |
 |
| Hike
Description: |
From the trailhead car park, head east
through the woods with a map & gps in hand. Locate the prominent drainage
and find a way down the steep hill into it. The canyon is quite shallow and
uninteresting at first. You will likely have to do a little climbing around
on one side of the stream or the other to avoid some small drop offs and pot
holes. Further down, the walls of the canyon begin to rise and you may be
faced with some wading and down climbing. When you reach a large choke stone
and 20' drop, the real fun begins. At this drop off, look for a gap between
the rock and the wall on the right where there is a tree you can walk down
(slippery). Just below this is a drop off and pool. Those with good climbing
skills can avoid the pool by climbing around on a small ledge on the right.
Otherwise your best climber may want to act as an anchor for the rest of
your party to rappel the 15' into the pool. Another short walk brings you to
the deep, technical narrows. The first rappel is 90' from a tree. To avoid
the small pot hole 3/4 of the way down this rap, you will need to kick off
the wall to get on the other side of a small fin of rock. Once down you will
immediately be faced with a 55' rappel using a sling around a pinch point on
canyon left formed by a large chock stone. Just around the corner is a
tricky 15' down climb, followed by an even trickier balancing act on a
floating log (depending on water levels) to a key hole shaped ledge.
Complete the 50' rappel off the single glue in bolt on the left wall. Wade
the deep pool at the bottom, turn the corner and complete a down climb in a
steep narrow chute (a hand line or rappel using the dead tree wedged at the
top may be desirable). At the bottom of the chute is a long water filled
hall way. It was swimming most of the way when the author was here and the
water was ice cold. On the other side of the hall use the single glue in
bolt on the right to rappel 60' to a ledge above another swim at the
confluence with the main canyon. It took the author 4 hours to reach this
point. Pack up your gear and begin walking downstream. There is some wading
(thigh deep) through this section, but no swimming. Use trails exist some of
the time on one side of the stream or the other. After ~1 hours you'll reach
the steep exit trail which will take you up and out of the canyon to your
car. |
| Rating
(1-5 stars): |
 
This canyon is a bit of work, but the narrows are quite nice. The author has
been to this area on three occasions. The first time he went with his wife and
fixed ropes down to just past the third rappel. A dead elk a little upstream
of the technical section made the entire canyon below stink to high heaven.
He turned back at the pool at the base, concerned he could not climb back
up. The second attempt we were joined by two friends. Recent rains had
fortunately flushed the canyon of the worst of the dead elk stew. While
prepared for the technical aspects of the canyon, we were not prepared for
the cold. Three of us began shivering around rappel #1. All pools were ice
cold and all of us were freezing by the time we made it into the main
canyon. The loop was completed in about 6 hours. At a later date I completed
the canyon with a group of 5 others. We were better prepared & the trip went
smoothly. |
| Photos: |
Click picture for larger
view, click your browser's 'Back' button to return to this page. |
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| Rappel #1 |
Rappel #2 |
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Looking up at
rappel #3 |
Looking down from
rappel #3 |
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