Starting from Windy Gap at 7:45am (I slept an hour longer than originally intended and then was slow out the door) there is a surprisingly good use trail that goes east to point 5171. From there I found what appeared to be human footprints descending south and then east, so I followed that, hoping somebody else had found a good path down that I could piggyback on. Of course they disappeared quickly and I figured I'd just keep going down the minor drainage and see if it was doable. It worked out, but it wasn't much fun! It was a mix of brushy, steep, and loose, with occasional open and easy sections. Only one or two spots where it was steep enough to be a little sketchy, but I did slip and land on my ass twice due to loose ground. There were a couple very small pools of water along the way, but it was otherwise dry. A few 10-15ft steep but sloped rocky sections had just enough holds to descend carefully, but would be unsafe if there was any water. At one point I was passing through a brushy and grassy section and saw movement down a little ledge two strides ahead of me where I was about to step. It turned out to be a rattlesnake raising it's head up to check me out. It never rattled or seemed too agitated, and as I made my way around it it turned around and went the other way. There were two spots I had to bypass towards the bottom, one a ~20ft drop with a short route to the left of loose soil and rock, and a much larger drop just below reaching the bottom of Devil's Canyon that was easily avoided simply by traversing the slope to the left a bit.
Down in Devil's Canyon I enjoyed the flat ground for a moment, then continued across to the drainage going east towards 5014. As I entered this area there were what appeared to be faint tracks from previous people, though they didn't look too recent. After my previous experience finding the remnants of an illegal grow op and reading about other people encountering similar stuff in this area I tried to be a little extra cautious, though I wasn't going to let it keep me from my adventure. The area was quite brushy, and I quickly came to a 30+ foot wall. I was able to scramble up a very loose and steep slope to the left, but from what I could see up there it looked like a major hassle to get past. My progress up to this point had been slow and I realized this side would be a lot more difficult than my previous approach from West Fork Bear Creek due to the terrain, vegetation, and sun exposure. It was only 10:30am, but I decided to bail on my original plan. It may be possible with enough time and stubbornness, but it wasn't the weather for something like that. Looking at the map to come up with a new plan, I decided to drop back into Devil's Canyon and take it up to the next canyon to the west (which I have since learned is unofficially named Skull Canyon), making a short loop back to my starting point.
Back in Devil's Canyon I started heading north, mostly sticking to the main stream bed and occasionally following some intermittent tracks on the western edge of the canyon. The area is brushy but pretty easily passable, with occasional pools of water and a minor flow in a few places. As with most places like this, there is a fair bit of rock hopping and climbing over deadfall or flood debris in places. In a number of the pools there were even fish, which was new to me! Most were 2-3in, but a few were up to 5in. The canyon gets increasingly narrow as you go up, which was kind of nice because between that and trees it was very well shaded from the sun. As I got close to the branch for Skull Canyon I hit the first real obstacle, which was a pool with a short fall. The area all around is extremely steep rock, so the only way to progress was to wade though the water (just below knee height) and climb up the short fall. It's worn fairly smooth from the water, but has enough of a slope and enough holds that I was able to make it up without much trouble. Luckily there was only a trickle of water and damp moss/algae on the rocks, if the rest of it was wet I'm not sure how passable it would be. Just above the fall is a cool open space in the canyon, immediately followed by a second and smaller (mid calf) pool and fall, which was also waded and scrambled up.
Not long after the pools and falls you reach the junction of Devil's Canyon and Skull Canyon, which was marked with a couple rock piles, one appropriately with a small partial animal skull. Here the real work of the loop begins! Skull Canyon is much steeper than the previous section of Devil's Canyon, and I was starting to feel the heat of the day. The vegetation isn't too dense, but still slows you down, and there are frequent sections that require use of hands. Some were quite fun, some were just a hassle. At one point in another area with lots of vegetation I took a step and realized I was about a foot from my second rattlesnake of the day. I jumped back with a loud "shit!" and got out of striking range. It certainly got my heart pumping, but the snake seemed content to just chill on it's rock with no rattle or movement besides a little tongue flicking. I guess the snake was feeling worn out from the heat too. Continuing up, there were a few minor falls that couldn't be climbed, but I was able to find short bypasses to one side or the other, with occasional footprints to follow. Towards the top of the canyon there were even ropes tied to trees in a few places, as well as some flagging tape. I stubbornly avoided using the ropes until the very end as some were actually pretty helpful and I was feeling pretty wiped out by this point. Rapidly increasing trash density signaled that I was almost back up to the parking area and I was relieved to get over the edge back to my car at 3pm. Though the loop was only five miles, it was a full body workout that kicked my ass pretty good, partially due to heat and partially due to terrain. I was careful about temperature management and drank 6+ liters of water as well as having an electrolyte pill every couple hours, but I'm very glad I decided to change my plans early instead of the original route that would have kept me out longer with more sun, and would have required turning back well before the peak anyway. I was also lucky to not get bitten by two separate rattlesnakes!
Stats: 5mi, 7h30min, 2500ft gain/loss
Trash found and packed out: 1 food wrapper, 2 beverage containers, 2 old but full butane canisters (maybe grow op supplies?), 15 balloons. Towards the upper end of Skull Canyon I gave up on trash collection as it's basically a dumping ground, including several tires and tons of beer cans/bottles.
While writing up this report I found Sean's report on a similar route, with more pictures and description. Turns out he was the one that placed that skull!
skull-canyon-to-lower-devils-canyon-t6534.html
