EISPIRATEN

Acme Mapper link:
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=34.24698,-11 ... River%20CA

A: Heaton Flats parking lot
B: Start of trail up Iron Mountain
C: Bonita Saddle
D: Approximate drop-in point
E: In the canyon, in Yucca Alley
F: Just another point in the canyon
G: Canyon ends at East Fork

The hike up was pretty easy, but hot. It's always hot up there. We got to the drop in point around 1:30PM or so, I think. Torrey knows when. We dropped in and the bushwhacking was OK, but it quickly turned into low-crawling under bushes while pushing or pulling packs.


The drop in


The canyon




Easy hike down


Bushwhacking


Torrey pushes my pack to me.


At the bottom of the drop in gully

Eventually, we met the canyon bottom, which was choked with Yucca. Lots of bushwhacking in the canyon. There were some truly MASSIVE Yucca in there. Very little water on the way down.


Torrey pulls debris out of her socks and shoes

Some time goes by, and we get to our first rappel.




First rappel

A bunch more rappels followed. I lost track of how many we did. 8-10 or so? None were anything special or technical, just pretty simple ones. Most were 20-40ft, with the 2nd to last being 150ft maybe, and the last (visible by hiking up to the bottom) is something like 60ft? I couldn't really tell, as it was dark.

Some pics of the rapps (in no particular order, damn file names are mixed up):















That last photo was the only time my retrievable rappel anchor did not come back to me. I was able to scramble up some loose crap on the side to pull it loose. It performed great on all other rapps! Very happy with the simple and sturdy setup.

We spent about 9 hours or so in the canyon, as the going was incredibly slow. This canyon is only 1.5 miles long from drop in all the way to East Fork, but damn... those are the slowest 1.5 miles of my life. 9 hours... no bullshit. We had to low-crawl under tree branches and sharp berry vines and Poison Oak on wet sand covered in those stinky ants at one point. There were some really big Orb Weavers, about the size of a half dollar, which were really cool. There was also one spider of the same size that ran up my leg like a barber pole and almost into my pants until I did the OH SHIT SPIDER DANCE and got him off.

Some pics of the night rapps:















We got off the last rapp at around midnight. I was dehydrated by this point, to the point of a headache and nausea. Torrey and I were both pretty peeved or whatever, basically done with this canyon.


Hooray for water in the car!


Summary: This probable first-descent will likely go unrepeated for a long, long time, and for good reason: it was awful. There were a bunch of rappels, and the last couple were really cool and worth doing again, if one could make a way into them from the East Fork. The retrievable anchor I made, tested, and then used worked nearly flawlessly. I have certain anchor points water-knotted. If those same points were sewn, the chance of getting the anchor stuck would be reduced. The total length of the anchor is about 12ft. I felt so proud using Pi to calculate the right length of the anchor for canyons with Alder trees and local Ponderosa Pines (Ponderosa = fat!). On bush/small tree anchors located higher up the canyon walls (say, 12ft up), I could scramble up, wrap the tree/bush, and the extra length allowed for attachment nice and low, close to the canyon bottom and the least awkward rappel start point.

I used my 70m dynamic rope as a pull strand, as I do not yet have a 6mm static pull cord. That will be a huge improvement, in terms of weight, space saved, and also how the pull will be cleaner and more aggressive (dynamics can kinda 'seat' the anchor and get it stuck, know what I mean?).

Anywho, I didn't really enjoy it, but it was one of those important experiences that allowed me to learn. I don't learn much doing the same canyon over and over, or a canyon that has been done or has beta on it. The unknown is important, etc etc blah blah blah. Torrey and I got to learn more about each other, which was a good thing. I'm immune to Poison Oak, so I got out OK despite crawling through it and clearing as much as possible for her. She is doing OK with it so far, but she's got a fair amount of it. She can help elaborate on the use of Antihistamine to cut down on the spread of PO.

If you wanna do this canyon, call in an airstrike to flatten all the brush, then burn the remnants, then get a helo to drop you off at the top and cut your way down with chainsaws and machetes and flamethrowers. Bring a couple gallons of water, long pants and shirt sleeves, and some silly hats.

Special gear:
*1x 200ft 9.2mm Imlay Canyonero rope
*1x 70m 9.8mm Mammut dynamic rope (backup/pull cord)
*1x 12ft double-thickness retrievable webbing anchor (gives lots of extension, came in REALLY handy, very happy with it. )
*50ft or so webbing for anchors (only left one)

PS: This canyon needs a name.

Taco wrote: ↑This canyon needs a name.

Spiderdance.

Sorry it sucked so bad.

HJ

Taco wrote: ↑*1x 12ft double-thickness retrievable webbing anchor (gives lots of extension, came in REALLY handy, very happy with it. )

Got a pic? Or is it "patent pending"?

Taco wrote: ↑ I'm immune to Poison Oak, so I got out OK despite crawling through it and clearing as much as possible for her. She is doing OK with it so far, but she's got a fair amount of it. She can help elaborate on the use of Antihistamine to cut down on the spread of PO.

I've never had a reaction to PO either, and always assumed I was immune. But after taking my kids through a big crop of it whilst climbing Cerro Cabrillo last week, I did a little reading on it in case they had problems. Apparently your tolerance to Urisol (the bad stuff in PO) decreases with each exposure cuz it kinda builds up in you. So maybe I'm not really immune and someday I'll get a monster reaction? I dunno.

Hikin_Jim wrote: ↑Spiderdance.

Love it.

I had a boss who used to say "Well, it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick." Meaning, of course, it "could be worse".

The thing about canyoneering is that is often is exactly like being poked in the eye with sharp sticks.

For whats it worth, heres a picture of lowest Spiderdance Falls I dont know how tall it is either, but remember something like 30ft. I think there was a tr on the internet this year about this canyon....someone going upcanyon for a short bit.

AW, if you come across that TR, let me know. They probably got to do the fun part and avoid the awful part (90% of it).

LOL to everyone else.

Actually, if Spiderdance Gulch or the like doesn't grab you, just plain ol' "Awful Canyon" does the job pretty nicely.

HJ

I am open to suggestions. Something that fits the canyon.

Nice work. Hitting it hard there it seems.

And what were the temps in the evening? Thinking of doing an overniter on Baldy and wondering whether a GI jungle bivy and a quilted solar bivy would be enough or just suck it up and bring the sleeping bag.

It was probably in the 60's at night, but we were only at about 2,000ft ASL at that point, so I don't know how much of a help I can be. It was in the 80's or more during the day.

Peeved?? lol, thats an understatement, for me anyways, I was scared at a few points, but managed to keep it under control n just keep moving forward, mostly on my own, a couple times with help and patience by Ryan, at least we both never freaked out at the same time! lol.
Yeah, it was crazy, especially once it was dark, thankfully we had our lil headlamps, if we didnt we'd have to of spent the night there, as it was we couldnt tell how far the big rappel was. Ryan hadta tie both ropes together at one point. It was nervewracking, but like taco said, once it was over it seemed a good learning experience, at least everything else will seem easy after that! and yeah, we learned where eachothers freakout limits were, Hey Ryan-you forgot to mention the "false floor" that hundereds of spiders came pouring out of when you stepped through it. and as for timing, we left the car about 130pm, got to drop in (where we left trail) at bout 330/345pm. Still, thats over 8 hrs in the canyon, we got to the car at 1am.
-CM-i think at one point ryan WAS poked in the eye by a sharp stick on this trip!
and yeah, antihistamine helps a ton if youre sensitive to poison oak, id assumed everyone knew that but Taco said hed never heard of it, so in case you guys dont know, --take it asap after you know youve been in it. itll stop the blisters and most of the itchyness. like i have it everywhere, but its just pink like a mild rash cause i got Claratin D for it.
heres some info...DONT use topical antihistamines though!!!! only pills

http://www.ehow.com/how_2164028_treat-p ... mines.html

Dave G wrote: ↑ Apparently your tolerance to Urisol (the bad stuff in PO) decreases with each exposure cuz it kinda builds up in you. So maybe I'm not really immune and someday I'll get a monster reaction? I dunno.

That's exactly what happened to my wife last year! She's been exposed tons of times since we've known each other (20+ years) and never had a reaction of any kind. Last year we were hiking up Little Santa Anita above First Water, following the creek up to the falls. She rolled her pants up and got it real bad behind the knees, and still has the scars from it!

I've heard from a couple of gypsy/hermit types that if you eat the first green shoots in the spring, you will have immunity for the season, though I've never been brave enough to try it. I will say that WD-40 is an effective treatment, post exposure, though I make no claims to it's safety, but it has worked for me.

WD-40? Hunh?

HJ

WD-40: cleans off old wax on surfboards. Leaves a nice.....umm...tangy smell.

Pestilential Canyon sounds good. Many thanks to my sister for the help in choosing an appropriate name. 8)

Taco wrote: ↑Pestilential Canyon sounds good. Many thanks to my sister for the help in choosing an appropriate name. 8)

I can see the calls coming into the Hilton now:

"yes, I'd like to reserve the pestilential suite..."

HJ

Great trip report Taco!

This canyon definitely looks like another San Gabriels "forgotten classic" -- as in best not repeated and soon forgotten.

Having pioneered a few such descents back in the day, I really enjoyed this trip report from my chair, knowing I wasn't there with you guys. What many don't know is that for every two or three canyons shown on Brennen's page, there is probably another that is NOT shown (Disappointment, Cloudburst, etc.)

A few specifics comments, questions, and suggestions below...

Taco wrote: ↑
First rappel

Hard to see from the picture how high, steep, and featured this drop is, but you could consider sequencing here. A lowers B from a seated belay, then B assists A as he downclimbs. Saves time and leaves fewer unsightly anchors in the canyon.

Taco wrote: ↑ That last photo was the only time my retrievable rappel anchor did not come back to me. I was able to scramble up some loose crap on the side to pull it loose. It performed great on all other rapps! Very happy with the simple and sturdy setup.

What type of retrievable were you using? Retrievable anchors are of course the topic of much heated debate in the canyoneering community. (See the ACA, Yahoo, or Bogley forums.) There are some really clever and some really sketchy systems out there!

Taco wrote: ↑ I used my 70m dynamic rope as a pull strand, as I do not yet have a 6mm static pull cord. That will be a huge improvement, in terms of weight, space saved, and also how the pull will be cleaner and more aggressive (dynamics can kinda 'seat' the anchor and get it stuck, know what I mean?).

Yes, static pull cords are a huge improvement. You will find, however, that even a "static" 6mm will stretch significantly on a difficult long pull. If you anticipate a difficult pull, a second, full diameter static rope is the best bet.

Taco wrote: ↑ Torrey and I got to learn more about each other, which was a good thing.

Glad to hear that you made it out together! I've seen first hand how a canyon sufferfest can... err... strengthen a relationship!

Pestilence Canyon! Love it. Poison Oak is horrible stuff.

Taco you're turning Torrey into quite the canyoneer 8)

Pestilence Canyon appears to have a certain "appropriateness" to it!
Tecnu is a ticket to avoid PO. If you apply it quickly and properly -- and the gods are with you.

Yeah, i dunno if tecnu woulda worked since we were out there 9 HOURS , 11 from time of exposure to hotel shower, and it had rubbed into previous cuts from the yucca n stuff...anyways, like i already posted, Its no problem really as long as I take antihistamine the next day.

Too bad "Shortcut Canyon" is already taken.

Thanks Guys

Mark, the anchor is really simple and not sketchy, just a doubled length of webbing with some bits and bobs. I'm sure you'll see it someday, and have seen many like it.

Where we going next time!?
I know you sent me a link of a bunch of canyons on FB chat, but I didnt
bookmark it

I don't remember which cyn, but here's the link: http://www.dankat.com/advents/content.htm

the ones I like require a 4x4 to get to the trail, or more gear than I think you n I have....So, when i get there, we'll need to steal a truck and then rob rei 8)

everyday wrote: ↑So, when i get there, we'll need to steal a truck and then rob rei 8)

I have a mask and I'm willing to help

Let's do this.

Taco wrote: ↑Pestilential Canyon sounds good. Many thanks to my sister for the help in choosing an appropriate name. 8)

whatever you call it, it's fun to hear a word i don't use very often. gotta keep that in my retrievable vocab.

bushwhacking sucks, especially when you have to do it on the ground, pushing and pulling packs. YUCK! getting to know each other better on this suckventure and not on a walk on the beach during sunset is quite... unromantic, but hey, you can't count on romance to save your arse when you're out rapping wild canyons!

the antihistimine theory is interesting Torrey, cuz i have only had the tiniest reactions to P.O. and bcuz of allergies i take an antihistimine before a hike if i am expecting a lot of dust/dirt to fly. so most often when i have been exposed i have had a 12-hr antihistimine in my system. hmmm?...

i also additionally used to use Tecnu after big exposure but always hated the cold water part. when Ron Hudson, a sage of the mountains, told me he uses Tide detergent scrubbed with hot water for the last 20 years i willingly switched to his prescription since i liked the idea of hot water and saving money. plus, using the dry version of Tide exfoliates your skin, so it's an oil cutting/brutally aesthetic treatment in one!

norma r wrote: ↑Tide detergent scrubbed with hot water

Interesting. I'll have to remember that one.

Anyone ever try any of the blockers? Supposedly, haven't tried it, there are creams that one can apply before one goes out.

HJ