http://www.everytrail.com/view_trip.php?trip_id=432558
http://picasaweb.google.com/mattmaxon20 ... dayCanyon#
video to come later
ACA Rating: 3AIV
Our hiking time: 9hrs 38min
Our Hiking distance: 7.2 miles est (TOPO!)
Elevation loss: 3800 ft est (TOPO!)
Elevation gain: 550 ft est (TOPO!)
Our rope: 223ft x 8mm, 220ft x 9.2mm, 190(ish)ft x 9mm, 150ft x 8.3mm
Other gear: 200ft webbing, 6-9 quicklinks
Rappels: 6 drops to 200ft, 1-3 optional
Hazards: Trailhead auto burglaries (minor, but ever present), possible marijuana growers
USGS TOPO map(s) Wheeler Springs, CA, Reyes Peak, CA
General description:
This canyon is another in a series of impressive canyons on the south face of Pine Mountain in the Reyes Peak area. It is a west trending finger of the named Potrero John Creek below Reyes Peak.
This remote area in the massive Sespe Wilderness (219,700 acres) with sandstone cliffs pushed up by unimaginable geologic forces. The points where the plates have fractured are our big drops!
(Note: all coordinates are WGS84 datum)
Trailhead:
Please note Pine Mtn road is closed in winter after some as yet determined amount of rain or snow, if in doubt call the forest service to determine the status of the road.
It is possible to hike to the top on the Chorro Grande Trail (5 miles, 3100ft) and Pine Mtn rd (1 mile, 60ft, -230ft), I have not done this. Don't know anyone who has. Don't know the condition of the trail.
The trip requires a shuttle from Potrero John Creek @ SR-33 (lower) to Reyes Peak Trailhead on Pine Mtn (upper)
The lower trailhead has very limited parking for 2 possibly 3 vehicles. There is additional parking about 4/10 mile south on SR-33 at Derrydale Creek
Lower trailhead: Potrero John trailhead (LPNF 23W06), SR-33 mile 33.10 (N34.58486° W119.26861° 3690ft)
Upper trailhead: End of Pine Mtn Rd (LPNF 6N06), 7 miles from SR-33 (N34.63494° W119.29272° 6950ft)
The Trip:
We got going off the trailhead at 7:02am on this brisk November morning. Since I am the founder of SGMDF1 NHPS2 group we studiously avoided summiting Reyes Peak and stuck to searching for the appropriate drop-in point.
We arrived at the ridge separating Black Friday Canyon and Munson Creek and found a likely spot to descend. (N34.63038° W119.27919°, 7340ft) The slope here is very steep and loose but is preferable to bushwhacking almost universal to San Gabriel Mtns canyons.
As is our usual practice we donned helmets. At one point we decided to rappel , though it is not essential. But as there is a high likelyhood of slipping. R1 (N34.63006° W119.27823°, 7078ft) the drop is about 60ft and give the group time to take in the spectacular views.
1hr 25min down canyon we rappelled R2 another optional drop. This drop has a slot like appearance, we used a bomber knot chock backed up with meat. It appears a very large hunk of the mountain slid down from above creating this “slot” (N34.62810° W119.27443° 6382ft)
3hrs 22min (N34.62691° W119.27340° 6173ft) has canyons coming in left and right, canyon right is another possible drop-in we avoided because of brush.
The canyon flattens out and blue sky is ahead here setting the hair on my neck tingling. N34.62601° W119.27301° 6030ft 3hrs 52min brought us the the first mandatory rappel R3 As is typical with the big rappels here so far the top is wide and barren for some distance, we built a large “death valley” deadman anchor positioned for an optimal rope pull. I made this drop nearly 200ft mostly free hanging.
Future canyoneers with ropes shorter than ours would be advised to lengthen the webbing considerably or build another deadman on a ledge below our anchor, at any rate radios would be helpful.
The next drop R4 is just down canyon, we slung some webbing around a large slab of sandstone. This drop is about 60ft with about 30ft of over hang.
At 4hrs 48min from our start R5 came at N34.62343° W119.27091° 5775ft. We anchored canyon right on a stout bush the drop is about 60ft and becomes overhanging 30ft down
As has been the pattern in this canyon the descent was gradual to the next drop and brought us to an awe inspiring drop. After some searching we decided to downclimb into a slot and make our way to the edge. from 5632ft (N34.62341° W119.26910°) to the edge @ 5556ft
Our main concern was would our rope reach? But we anchored around a large boulder making the anchor bomber. We set the knot on the other side of the quicklink and set the additional rope as a contingency should the rope not be long enough. Kirk took the other 220ft rope with him and sufficient anchor material for another should it be necessary.
Once he made it to the ledge below (about 120-150ft) he said my 223ft would reach. I used my Ropeman and approached the edge on safety and sure enough it was on the bottom..Whew! There are lots of sharp edges and we changed the friction point for all.
I went last after tossing the pull rope. It was well short of the bottom I stopped midway down and tied some webbing to it to extend it for the pull. The pull went well until the remaining rope careened down into a heap on the ledge where it became a rats nest making the pull very problematic. It is recommended future canyoneers setup another anchor on the wide ledge making the pull more certain and eliminating the need for long long ropes.
This is where Black Friday Canyon meets Potrero John Canyon. Below here there is water and much scrambling / downclimbing all but 1 drop requiring a rope the R6 80ft drop to the use trail to Potrero John Trail
There are 2-3 places one could rappel and would be enjoyable on a warmer day, and might well be mandatory in wetter conditions, the hike out to the road was uneventful arriving at our shuttle vehicle @ 4:40pm 9hrs 27min from our start
All in all a great day much better than I expected! Wow! Great Canyon! Great friends! Great Fun!
My thanks to Kirk, Johanna, & Alisse for making this wonderful adventure possible.
Black Friday Canyon 2009/11/27
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cougarmagic
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EManBevHills
- Posts: 387
- Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2007 12:40 am
Looks really awesome. Love the fact that y'all are looking at the small as well as the grand! Great Pix!
you had the last trip of the year - the day after you were there it snowed. and now today, the weds following, pine mtn road is closed for the season - due to the previous snow and more expected snow this weekend.
look for norma r's TR to haddock mountain soon - on mon we were near where you went down.
great pix!
look for norma r's TR to haddock mountain soon - on mon we were near where you went down.
great pix!
Matt, Cougar & all... nice job! Looked like loads of fun!
It's not Zion, but the Sespe Wilderness sure is beautiful in it's own way. I was just up there Monday to hike Haddock Mtn. With the Pine Mtn Road closure of yesterday, you had the last canyoneering trip of 2009 off those cliffs for sure.
The sandstone rock formations and cliffs between Reyes and Haddock are quite spectacular. I found a number of rocks i want to go back to and boulder. I will post a TR later tonight.
Rapp on!
It's not Zion, but the Sespe Wilderness sure is beautiful in it's own way. I was just up there Monday to hike Haddock Mtn. With the Pine Mtn Road closure of yesterday, you had the last canyoneering trip of 2009 off those cliffs for sure.
The sandstone rock formations and cliffs between Reyes and Haddock are quite spectacular. I found a number of rocks i want to go back to and boulder. I will post a TR later tonight.
Rapp on!