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VINEGAROON CANYON 3AII. DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

December 04, 2017

Heather, Andy, and Shane at the last rap in Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 Day two in Death valley and we had some great overnight weather with mild conditions and some fantastic caver cheer the night before. 
 Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 A bit dehydrated from the previous nights festivities, we headed out to the car drop for Vinegaroon canyon and than drove up to the trail head for the canyons head wall.
Shane and Heather on the approach to Heather and Shane in Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California.
 Vinegaroon is a very dry 3AII canyon that is located in the Badlands of Death Valley near Zabriske point and the painted desert.
Heather and Shane in Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California.
 We hiked up to the ridge and the views were fantastic! The pastel colors and the layered strata made the desert looked like a Neapolitan ice cream and a painters palette of color splashed onto the terrain.

Vinegraoon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
There were some interesting minerals on the ground including some selenite crystals and some fossils towards the top of the canyon. All kinds of igneous and metamorphic rocks were scattered abound in the wash.  We continued up to a ridge and followed the ridge to the drop point into Vinegaroon Canyon.
Andy rappelling the first drop in Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 After a few small down climbs we made it to the first rap. We past by some conglomerate stone and breccia along the way and at our first rap, the conglomerate stone greeted us with some light teal colors and pastels on the bottom.
Andy in Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 The first drop was around 85ft. in length and mostly free hanging. This was quite a unique drop with the mud and silt stone layers.
Shane rappelling into Heather and Shane in Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 We continued down through a small and short narrow slot than followed a wash down for about a mile until we got to the second rap of around 20ft.

Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 We worked our way through the badlands canyon which is a unique canyon in itself since this is all silt stone and mud stone layers, this is something that is not really found in many places.
Heather, Andy, and Shane in Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 We continued around some more obstacles and came up on three more raps in consecutive order.
Vinegraoon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 They all appeared to be less than 40ft. in length and were straightforward drops. Please check with other beta sites like www.ropewiki.com with exact drop lengths to prepare for this canyon.
Shane in Vinegraoon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 Once we passed these raps we came up to a couple more down climbs and finally into a narrow dark corridor and the final rappel.
Heather, Andy, and Shane in Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 This final rappel is around 20-30ft and has an interesting view through the narrow slot into the basin below.
Heather and Shane in Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 All of the drops were straightforward and the down climbs were easy for us.  I can see how the first down climb might be a challenge but there are a lot of foot holds and other options to rig to assist people down.
Andy in Heather and Shane in Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 I also recommend bringing some webbing as you might want to change out the webbing soon.  It is starting to look a bit crispy.
 Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 What a great half day in Death Valley and a perfect Sunday to give us time to get back home.
Heather, Andy, and Shane in Heather and Shane in Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California
 There are a few more canyons in this badlands area and I am looking forward to checking them out in the future.
Shane in Vinegaroon Canyon. Death valley National Park. California


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