Vasquez Creek 11/29/2014
Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2014 8:53 am
I don't have any gps data nor did I take photos.
We parked in a safe place so our windows wouldn't get smashed. Got going around 8am.
The Grizzly Flat trail now starts off Silver Creek wash just follow the flagging tape.
Getting to the end of the Grizzly Flat road the once open pine forest is replaced with Buckthorn etc... We hiked up to the junction with the east road. There where about 6-8 trees down across the road.
Got a nice cut on my leg from a broken branch "I SPRUNG A LEAK!"
The brush became much more dense as we approached the traditional drop-in. We decided to take the drainage that the road follows.
There where 2 small drops that might be down climbed we opted to rappel .
Down trees and brambles along with the ever present "Canyon Kelp" greeted us. I estimate we came in about 10-20 yards above the traditional drop-in.
We down climbed many of the old rappels scrambling over under around a massive game of pick-up-sticks
The first point we rappelled, two dead trees where hanging off the canyon wall blocking the drop. They didn't look all that stable either. Sawed off some branches and pushed through.
The next drop was a deadman which we rebuilt
Further down the drop that had the webbing on a root high canyon right had a tree stump upside down blocking the drop.
Replaced the webbing and rapped under the stump. From the bottom it looks like you could climb up on the stump cyn left and scramble down the logs.
The canyon opens a bit here but gets choked with down trees at various points, Young alder trees sprouting every where festooned with brambles
We rappelled the third to last rappel where Ertug Ergun perished, then pushing through the thicket to the last two drops....
The tree canyon left on the last drop is dead dead dead. We took all out rope (135ft+90ft) and 50ft of remaining webbing and used a thick alder tree low. We all got down by about 12:30pm to the base of junction falls.
The hike out was more of the same climbing over dead and down trees rock / landslides etc.
We made it back to our vehicle about 2:10pm so about 6 hours
There will have to be a flood of biblical proportions to flush all the debris out making it anything like to was before
These are photos from June 2010 the contrast from then and now are 180°
https://plus.google.com/photos/10027804 ... _Yv4maKyDQ
We parked in a safe place so our windows wouldn't get smashed. Got going around 8am.
The Grizzly Flat trail now starts off Silver Creek wash just follow the flagging tape.
Getting to the end of the Grizzly Flat road the once open pine forest is replaced with Buckthorn etc... We hiked up to the junction with the east road. There where about 6-8 trees down across the road.
Got a nice cut on my leg from a broken branch "I SPRUNG A LEAK!"
The brush became much more dense as we approached the traditional drop-in. We decided to take the drainage that the road follows.
There where 2 small drops that might be down climbed we opted to rappel .
Down trees and brambles along with the ever present "Canyon Kelp" greeted us. I estimate we came in about 10-20 yards above the traditional drop-in.
We down climbed many of the old rappels scrambling over under around a massive game of pick-up-sticks
The first point we rappelled, two dead trees where hanging off the canyon wall blocking the drop. They didn't look all that stable either. Sawed off some branches and pushed through.
The next drop was a deadman which we rebuilt
Further down the drop that had the webbing on a root high canyon right had a tree stump upside down blocking the drop.
Replaced the webbing and rapped under the stump. From the bottom it looks like you could climb up on the stump cyn left and scramble down the logs.
The canyon opens a bit here but gets choked with down trees at various points, Young alder trees sprouting every where festooned with brambles
We rappelled the third to last rappel where Ertug Ergun perished, then pushing through the thicket to the last two drops....
The tree canyon left on the last drop is dead dead dead. We took all out rope (135ft+90ft) and 50ft of remaining webbing and used a thick alder tree low. We all got down by about 12:30pm to the base of junction falls.
The hike out was more of the same climbing over dead and down trees rock / landslides etc.
We made it back to our vehicle about 2:10pm so about 6 hours
There will have to be a flood of biblical proportions to flush all the debris out making it anything like to was before
These are photos from June 2010 the contrast from then and now are 180°
https://plus.google.com/photos/10027804 ... _Yv4maKyDQ