ADAM HAYDOCK

 

Mud stone and silt stone canyons are few and far in between in the world of canyons.

This particular canyon gives a flavor of silt stone rock with great views and excellent drops including a free hanging 180 ft rap. 

Aracnaphobia canyon is also a great half day canyon for people to visit to round off the weekend. 

The raps are in some areas in rapid fire succession but other areas there is a bit of walking involved. 

We changed out a few anchors and developed a great pace for the team to get out in good time. 

There are sections of narrow canyon corridors but other sections where it is indeed open. 

We had everyone carry ropes and we were able to leap frog quickly. 

I can only imagine this canyon getting very hot in the summer time and making this place unbearable. 

Once we got down from the canyon that drainage pours into desolation canyon where we were presented by a heard of tourists. 

I do recommend this canyon and it was better than I thought. 

If you are looking for canyon beta visit ropewiki.com this website is just for journal and personal use only. 

Waipio Valley is located on the northern Hamakua coast on the Big Island of Hawaii. The valley is named after the river that runs through the valley (wai-piʻo means curved water in Hawaiian). 

Waipio was once a densely populated place and home to some of the former Kings that have lived on the island but but it has become a magnificent valley with a beautiful rain forest and rich in history. 

There are a few people that live in the Valley itself but the main attractions are the waterfalls that people can hike into, the black sand beach on the coast that people can drive right up to ( if you have a 4x4), and access to the Muliwai trail which leads to the Waimanu Valley.

Hiking down the Waipio starts off with a steep road leading directly into the valley floor.  This road is one of the steepest roads inside the United States and only 4x4s can endeavor to take on the road. 

Once down at the bottom, there is a dirt road that takes you to the black sand beach and the river crossing that needs to occur in order to access the Muliwai trail. 

continuing on the beach you will have excellent views of the waterfalls from a distance and beautiful views of the valleys actual depth.  it is quite impressive to be down in there.

We continued on to the Muliwai trail and started our ascent up the dirt and switch backed trail which took us to some amazing views of the Waipio Valley and the top of the plateau.

We continued on to the Waimanu valley which was one of the best hikes that we have ever encountered and I highly recommend everyone venture out there to see this place!

After Dark Shadow canyon we head up Fall Canyon and march to the Sneak route that takes us back up to the ridge and over to Crater of Doom canyon.

The crew was a little tired from the hike up and coming down Dark Shadow but everyone stuck it out and wanted to grab Crater of Doom before nightfall.

This turned out to be a really good decision to grab Crater of Doom second due to the hike and the sun casting light in the golden hour.

The sneak route is basically a 1000ft hill full of loose rock, some scree, and broken slab like limestone, which made for some interesting footing and a few small slides here and there.

Overall the hike was straightforward and not all that bad as the alternative appeared to have more exposure and more sharp spires and buttes to meander around.

This rock shredded into shoes, skin, and clothing as we gained the summit an hour after we started.

Once we gained the summit, the sun was started to set over the range across the basin so our time was limited to building anchors and leap frogging in this canyon.

Yannick and I made our way down into the canyon and continued to work through the raps rebuilding anchors and snapping photos along the way.

Once we got to the last sequence the canyon walls climbed as the raps dropped deep into the rock creating some gothic towering corridors.

This got really interesting and it was a big room feel similar to some canyons in the Grand Canyon and Zion.

As the crew was coming down the canyon, Nick, Yannick, and I were admiring the banded walls and the colorful hue that the sun was bouncing off the canyon walls.

This section made the day worthwhile and this section of canyon was some of the best canyon I have seen in Death Valley!

Nick tossing the rope over one of the raps in Crater of doom canyon

The drops continued to descend down into Fall Canyon and the last rap poured into fall canyon just above the dry fall that stops most people from continuing up Fall Canyon.

The drops were in rapid fire succession and were less than 200ft in length.  They appeared to be 145ft or less but check with www.ropewiki.com for more information.

We can tell that this canyon takes in a lot of water which gave these massive walls, their presence and demand to attention.

Once we got down to the bottom the sun was just setting and darkness was upon us.

Yannick on the last rap in Crater of doom canyon

We also turned around at a point where the walls of the upper canyon towered to the peaks and we could see some fascinating new first descents that might contain some breathtaking views and scenery.  If its anything like Crater of doom, there could be something very interesting up there.

We headed out in the darkness and made it to the car 11 hours and 30 minutes after we started. Fall Canyon is going to be come a destination region to run some interesting canyons that have not seen any attention since they were found. Crater of Doom was another second descent but we hope that people dont wait another 4-5 years to re-visit this place.

Garden Creek Canyon is a C class technical canyoneering route that is located within the depths of the south Bright Angel trail in the Heart of the Grand Canyon.

This short but beautiful canyon has flowing water all year and makes for a incredible and unique experience within the within the tall list of Gran Canyoneering routes. Garden Creek becomes quite the waterpark when the gage is lifted and water is allowed to flow through the canyon with some increased flow and good times.

We started out in the Coconino National forest and headed out around 5:30AM to the trailhead so we could get a good parking spot and be on our way down the South Bright Angel Trail.

The weather was perfect, a nice cool breeze in the morning and sunny throughout the day with no chance of rain. I highly recommend checking the weather conditions to see if there is a chance of rain as it could become troublesome in this canyon.

When we entered the head of the canyon, Pat Winstanly, Danielle Monroy, Zach Hopp, Tiffanie Lin, and the rest of the crew came down.  Jennifer Harvey, John Hudlen, and another crew came by shortly after we started our route down.

We donned our wetsuits and worked our way down into some of the downclimbs which took us to the first rappel which was around 60ft using a pinch point DCL.

Before heading into this canyon, please check the exact route data so you can be prepared.  Beta and anchor points might change from when this was written.

The remaining drops are bolted but bring extra webbing and rings just in case.  We brought 2 ropes that were 200ft in length as well as a 200ft pull cord and another 80ft of rope.

We came up to a drop that was around 150ft in length with a series of swirling waterfall chutes that reminded me of a water park waterslide.  It was absolutely fantastic!

Danielle and Zach in Garden Creek Canyon. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

The next drop was the 400ft waterfall drop which was broken up into (2) 200ft drops.  It is very helpful and highly recommended to have (2) 200ft ropes for this sequence as the rap station can only hold around 2 people.

Danielle in Garden Creek Canyon. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Pat in Garden Creek Canyon. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Garden Creek Canyon. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Tiffanie Lin coming down the 400ft waterfall in Garden Creek Canyon. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

Tiffanie Lin in Garden Creek Canyon. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

The last drop was around 80ft to the the last pool where you can go up and around a ledge to climb down where the canyon ended.

What an incredible canyon and a impressive day trip in the grand canyon.  There are not many of them but for the few that exist, they are awesome!

The tax is a 4900ft ascent back up to the rim with your wet gear. My pack must have weighed at least 40 lbs with all of the gear and wet material in my bag but we clocked in at around 12 hours and 30 minutes, car to car.