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20140719 Monkeyface Falls Canyoneering

Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 3:33 pm
by Taco
Aysel had been looking at Monkeyface Falls/Canyon for a while, and we didn't know anyone who had descended it, nor could we find any information online about it. We had both talked about climbing those small walls up on San Bernardino Peak overlooking Forest Falls. They require a crummy approach, and I didn't think the rock would be all that great.

ImageSB Peak Walls by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

Aysel put together this trip to go scout out the rocks and then head home via the canyon. Aysel, Ania, Carole and myself headed out real early in the morning with inadequate rest and not enough coffee to go figure out all the question marks on the map. The approach involved hiking up a small draw and onto a ridge, with some decent bushwhacking. The fingers started to bleed early on whilst chopping a trail through the dense brush with my trusty machete of yore.

We eventually hit a nice climber's trail to the crags which sped up progress tenfold. So nice following other's trails! :) Up we went to the scree and talus fields below the crags with rain occasionally falling. We checked out the leftmost crag and hiked up around it to reach the ridge the crags end on. The rock was pretty good, similar to some stuff in the Crystal Lake area. Not much loose rock on the steep climby bits by my standards (sport climbers would vomit endlessly at the though of such loose rock as well as no Starbucks within sight etc etc). Doubt I'll come back as I'm not too enthused about hiking for that long up that hill to go climb a few pitches of moderate ground. Woulda been stoked 10 years ago but I'm spoiled now.

ImageLeftmost Crag by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageDSC01861 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageDSC01862 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageForest Falls by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

We hiked up the ridge a bit through some thick foliage, taking a break on some rocks and talus overlooking the canyon where we plotted our next move. We decided to descend down the draw/feeder canyon into Monkeyface Canyon. The descent went fairly easily with only a few machete chops needed here and there. Some real easy and fun runs down pine needles, plant litter, and scree. We eventually found ourselves in the canyon, and took a nice break in the dry riverbed.

ImageDescent by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageLadies by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

The canyon was very quiet and pretty and didn't require any bushwhacking. Where there is enough flow annually, there often isn't much brush. Old growth also keeps much sunlight from reaching the ground, keeping less-desirable foliage from growing and stabbing you or causing itching. Thankfully, I was able to find plenty of Stinging Nettle to rub on my arms and legs. What would a trip be without fun, right?

ImageDSC01865 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageDSC01866 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageDSC01867 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

Water appeared above the ground after a short bit, and we found our first rappel. There was a small bush with webbing and a steel ring for the first rappel, answering our questions regarding previous passage. Tested the anchor and headed down.

ImageCarole on R1 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageR1 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

The next rappel was off a large log stuck in the canyon. I set a very simple retrievable anchor I built the day before. I also was able to use my new Amsteel Blue 7/64ths (tiny) dyneema pullcord, which performed well despite being of such small diameter that it's hard to pull on long rapps as well as being too small to grab with any ascenders. I clove hitched it to the nose of a locker for hard pulls.

ImageHasty Retrievable Anchor by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageDSC01873 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr
Ania descending

The further down we went, the more anchors there were. Often times there was simply too much webbing on the anchor points, so we cleaned it up.

ImageAysel on R3 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageAdios! by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageR3 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageDSC01882 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr
Here Aysel is descending an awkward 2 stage rappel.

ImageDSC01884 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr
Mr. Coolguy setup right there.

The next few rappels were really beautiful and made all the work worthwhile. Long rappels over chockstones down steep waterfalls with moss and ferns and really slick rock.

ImageAnia Dancing by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageDSC01889 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageDSC01890 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageGarbage! by TacoDelRio, on Flickr
The 180ft rappel had a ton of old webbing and rope for anchors. I'm not perfect by any means but as canyoneers/adventure types, we need to make sure we keep it clean and don't leave tons of trash behind. Anything more than the required anchor is overkill and becomes trash. I've seen so much on anchors everywhere and when folks are new to all this, they're not sure what's good. From an evolutionary standpoint, it weakens us. That single piece of webbing and that link are strong enough for this rappel whether it's 10ft down or 200ft.

I've been on climbs in Yosemite for example where there's just this huge rat's nest of webbing. Where do you clip in? Maybe someone's injured or you're running from a storm and your mind is flooded. Do you really need all that clutter? Keep anchors clean, simple, and safe. Replace bad stuff and leave a good anchor behind, something that's painfully simple to understand. I'm not suggesting everyone ghost canyons and leave nothing behind (though that is the future), but we need to be sensible. I normally don't care for bolts but if there was a bolted station here, there would be far less trash. That said, there are so many good natural anchors that bolting would just help mold the next generation of roped adventurers into less thoughtful ones. *steps off soapbox*

Now for more pretty waterfall pics!

ImageStage 1 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageLooking down stage 2 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageAysel by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageDSC01897 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageDSC01898 by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageShort rapp to the end of the canyon. by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

That last photo shows our last rappel to the trail home. Carole picked up a ton of garbage left by those who don't understand. Hopefully everyone who is a parent right now is educating their kids that one must respect nature. Education is the key to making the human race smarter and safer. It beats the current trend of just making everything illegal, which IMHO retards growth.

ImageGoing home by TacoDelRio, on Flickr

ImageTrash! by TacoDelRio, on Flickr
Here is all the extra anchor crap left by others. The black assault line/static was left fixed on the second stage of the 180ft rappel. The Homie Depot red white and blue rope was fixed on the last rappel. The green and yellow one was in between the two. Some of the green webbing was reusable. The rest is garbage.

For anyone who wishes to descend this canyon, a probable easier approach could be along the ridge immediately east/right of the canyon mouth. I would suggest a 200ft rope, 200ft pullcord, and enough webbing and links for 8-10 rappels. One can use a retrievable on most drops.

Thank you guys for the fun trip! Thanks for organizing this, Aysel. I appreciate it. :)

Re: 20140719 Monkeyface Falls Canyoneering

Posted: Sun Jul 20, 2014 9:12 pm
by Hikin_Jim
Looks like cool stuff. Lots more canyons over in the Berdoos, bro. Falls Creek from below the confluence of the E and W forks.

It's been done, but from the little bit of non-technical recon I did would be a lot of fun. It ends in a three tiered falls, the top tier of which is about 100'. You could start up higher in the the E fork and descend Allison Falls which is about a 75 footer.

N. Fork W'water River. Not sure it's *ever* been done as a canyoneering route although there are ways to do it as an XC hike that involve bypassing the tougher parts of the canyon. The approach has seriously negative brush. Might take 2 days to drop in.

Hell For Sure Canyon would be fun in a wet year. Drop in is relatively straightforward. The middle section of the canyon is unknown but doesn't look bad on a topo. The final falls are uber cool.

High Creek is a really really steep drop into Mill Creek Canyon. One known falls of maybe 60' just below High Creek Camp, but there *have* to be others.

HJ

Re: 20140719 Monkeyface Falls Canyoneering

Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 6:54 am
by Elwood
Awesome photographs and report Mr. Del Rio!

Re: 20140719 Monkeyface Falls Canyoneering

Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 8:36 am
by tekewin
Impressive bit of canyoneering. The big falls looks death defying, but probably not a biggie for your crew.

I can't believe how much excess rope and webbing you pulled out of there. OTOH, I don't get how to secure a rope for rappelling, then magically retrieve it using secret knots. It's all David Blaine to me.

Re: 20140719 Monkeyface Falls Canyoneering

Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 9:44 am
by AW~
excellent canyon and pictures, dude. Water! hehehehe.

Re: 20140719 Monkeyface Falls Canyoneering

Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 2:49 pm
by Augie
Nice report; good preaching about anchor clutter.

Re: 20140719 Monkeyface Falls Canyoneering

Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 6:58 pm
by outwhere
Great photos that really give ya a feeling of being there... what a beautiful area... this goes for all trip reports across the board = a big thank you for posting them!! The canyoneering thing is sorta like skydiving - it's something I probably would not do but I love seeing other people's reports and photos 8) :)

Re: 20140719 Monkeyface Falls Canyoneering

Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 7:13 pm
by Hikin_Jim
outwhere wrote: The canyoneering thing is sorta like skydiving - it's something I probably would not do but I love seeing other people's reports and photos 8) :)
Yep, pretty much. Me big chicken.

HJ

Re: 20140719 Monkeyface Falls Canyoneering

Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2014 7:56 pm
by outwhere
Hikin_Jim wrote:
outwhere wrote: The canyoneering thing is sorta like skydiving - it's something I probably would not do but I love seeing other people's reports and photos 8) :)
Yep, pretty much. Me big chicken.

HJ
:D :lol: --- so here we go - when I think of you Hikin_Jim - I think of stoves - and now that you mentioned 'big chicken' and this thread was started by Taco - my mind and stomach have just sorted out what's for dinner :wink:

Image

Re: 20140719 Monkeyface Falls Canyoneering

Posted: Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:34 am
by tekewin
Grande habanero chicken tacos del rio with guacamole, and a side of rope.

To go.

Re: 20140719 Monkeyface Falls Canyoneering

Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:10 am
by Taco
Maybe I'll go to Taco Del Rio for dinner!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/taco-del-rio-la-puente