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A trip to Fall Creek in 2006 - late trip report

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 5:34 pm
by AW~
Fall Creek canyon is one of the 'classics' located in the Big Tujunga region and visited by canyoneers and hikers alike, although very few trip reports. Between late Jan-April is a good time to stop by. Our group of 3 went at the end of November knowing that we would be visiting too early, but we had other plans for canyoneering season in the SGs. Most of the 'classics' are bolted and this one sort of falls in the middle; the ending of 4 waterfalls is bolted and that part receives 99.999% of the traffic.

The first part of our trip was a long hike to a drop-in. Just before the drop-in we stopped for a few minutes at the GFF viewpoint. Since its hard to photograph not fuzzy, I'll add in a couple photos from 2005....

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Closeup of the main waterfall next...

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It is a challenging navigation into the drop-in drainage, identified by 2 transmission stanchions on both sides of the road,but we did very well. It was dry this time around and its rock basin cluttered with minor wood debris/brush. 3 optional raps in the drop-in, I had set upon downclimbing the first drop since it was dry but got spooked and returned to the top and went around. The second drop spooked me as well(exposure in this one), so 2 of us rapped it....pic of second obstacle...

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basically we skipped even dealing with the third one hehehe...during a wet season, this drainage has water flowing through it and is quite a drainage in its own right. Then we set out upstream in Fall Creek to the trip destination, a photogenic place waterfall...

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If looks like I got soaked? 8) Nah....then we started downstream. A picture of the canyon at that area...

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A short drop proves to be an interesting yet ready to injure waterslide...

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A long walk through a still pretty canyon and we reached the technical section. Here we used a heck of a lot of rope to get down 5-7 ft....

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Next up was the main drop, a chute that funnels water interestingly. The anchor I had used the previous times was not looking so strong. The other choice was using a ton of webbing around a bush which we didnt want to waste. I went first using the existing webbing and all was well....

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Amusingly, I had previously used a large stone for the next drop, however it was demonstrated to me with a simple leg push that the stone rolls...thereby we setup a new anchor in the watercourse and also received an interesting anchor lesson about dealing with situations like this drop.

Then we set upon the ending of the creek of 4 drops. No pictures from this camera .I may post pictures later of the creek during 2005. Then we hiked back up the fireroad to return to the car shuttle. Even though we went earlier than Feb, we didnt encounter any brush that was unavoidable, really just a bunch of leaves and some vegetation.

Re: A trip to Fall Creek in 2006 - late trip report

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 9:55 pm
by Hikin_Jim
Cool to read your TR -- especially since I can't get out there right now with the closure.

Re: A trip to Fall Creek in 2006 - late trip report

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2007 10:55 pm
by Taco
Very nice, excellent photos! What peak is that directly behind it?

Re: A trip to Fall Creek in 2006 - late trip report

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 5:05 pm
by AW~
Peak in the first picture is of Fox Mountain....and that waterfall is Fox Creek. Our route was one canyon east of Fox Creek...in other words if someone turns around in the first photo they will be looking towards Fall Creek, which is where we went that day.

Fall Creek is the less scenic & easier of the two, but is much less of a headache....

I post this TR to put more insight into our local mountains, but also would note that these kind of routes are challenging and can put someone in misery really quick if they are unaccoustomed to the terrain.

There are pictures of an earlier trip here, when the canyon was in prime time.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/549589309KNlIPX

Re: A trip to Fall Creek in 2006 - late trip report

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 8:36 pm
by MikeSash
Awsome pic of GFF. Looks a lot more intimidating with a high water flow.

Re: A trip to Fall Creek in 2006 - late trip report

Posted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 10:33 pm
by Taco
Thanks, AW!