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South Fork Snoqualmie River (Franklin Falls)

If you’re a resident or visitor to the Seattle area, chances are high that you’ve been to Franklin Falls, one of the most popular hikes in the region. Located in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest near Snoqualmie Pass, this easy, short and highly scenic stroll is hard to beat. You start by walking along an easy trail next to the gorgeous South Fork of the Snoqualmie River, marveling at the huge trees lining the riverbanks. The lush old growth riparian forest here takes you back in time. This is also an opportunity to examine a number of old cabins on both sides of the river. Some are boarded up, while others look inhabited. The trail continues gently uphill, following the curve of the river, and soon the river canyon deepens and becomes inaccessible from the trail, although you can see the waterfalls below. About a mile further along the [...]

By |2024-12-06T04:56:37+00:00August 28, 2024|canyoneer, washington|0 Comments
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Davis Creek, Gifford Pinchot NF, Washington

Davis Creek is probably the most popular technical creek in Washington state. This half-day creek is accessible from both Seattle and Portland, has a minimal approach and a trivial exit with a short and easy car shuttle. What’s not to like? But there’s more! As one of the most highly rated creeks in Washington, Davis is spectacularly beautiful with deep fern-covered basalt walls, gorgeous waterfalls, fun rappels and jumps and an iconic log that spans the canyon. I think I’ve used all my superlatives already and I’m only on the first paragraph 😊 Our first trip to Davis this summer was at the beginning of August with a group of Utah friends who were visiting as well as my nephew Aron, also visiting us at the time. We had been working up to Davis for most of the week with smaller and easier canyons and finally we felt like [...]

By |2024-09-19T23:57:04+00:00August 10, 2024|canyoneer, washington|0 Comments
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Olallie Creek, Rainier NP, Washington

Olallie is so nice we did it twice! Olallie Creek is one of the most beautiful canyons in Mt. Rainier National Park and is one of the classic creeks in Washington. This summer we had the pleasure of running Olallie with two groups of out-of-town friends, and it was also my first time in this amazing place. The only drawback to this route is that you need a timed permit during the summer months to enter the park and set a short shuttle from the Grove of the Patriarchs to the Cowlitz Divide Trail. This permit is fairly simple to get the evening before if you have a solid internet connection. You can also enter the park early (before 7am) or use a small pullout right outside the gate and walk to the trail, which adds an additional few minutes. Beta for Olallie Creek is located here: Olallie Creek [...]

By |2024-10-31T18:43:26+00:00August 9, 2024|canyoneer, washington|0 Comments
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Mineral Creek, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, WA

At the end of July we had the pleasure of hosting our nephew for his first trip to Washington. Aron is an athletic 14 yo who runs competitively at his school in NJ. We were a bit worried we wouldn’t be able to keep up with him! This was also his first trip alone and away from his immediate family, so it was a big week for everyone. Aron was very excited to learn to canyoneer and we had a whole plan to get him started on the rappelling wall at The Mountaineers followed by a trip to Pilot Creek, our favorite training creek. Alas, the weather was not cooperating. We had one nice day right after he flew in, and then it was going to rain for two days after that, so we switched up our plans. The next morning after his delayed flight which got us home [...]

By |2024-09-04T23:49:54+00:00July 30, 2024|canyoneer, washington|0 Comments
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Dark Creek, Gifford Pinchot NF, Washington

After a few weeks back in Washington taking care of the house and other emergencies, it was time to head out for a couple weeks of adventure. Our first stop was the PNW Rondy, in a remote part of the state near Randle, Washington. This is a great springboard for canyoning in Washington, with many of the classic creeks located within striking distance. We dropped by on Saturday, July 27th to run Dark Creek with our friends Sri and Vyonne, as well as some new friends who were in Sri's group. No permits are required for this creek, and beta is available here: Dark Creek - ropewiki. Dark is a pretty creek with a more open character in the upper area and narrows in the lower part. Access is very easy, via a well-maintained trail that goes steeply uphill in some sections, gaining about 800 feet of elevation. There [...]

By |2024-08-16T22:54:04+00:00July 27, 2024|canyoneer, washington|0 Comments
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Good Day Jim Canyon, Ticaboo, Utah

It was a beautiful sunny morning at the end of May when I found myself standing on the shoulders of two strapping men in a 15-foot-deep pothole, trying somewhat unsuccessfully to get out. It was day two of our Ticaboo adventures and we were planning to descend the wonderfully named “Good Day Jim” canyon, with this pothole being the first obstacle. Our get-together had grown large enough that we decided to split into two groups. The first group consisted of several younger folks, which we decided to call “Team Testosterone”. Our group consisted of some of our more mature folks, aptly named “Team Old Lady” 😉. Team Testosterone went first, wriggling their way out of the pothole in no time. Sadly, in the team shuffles one of the members who we thought was going with us took one of our potshots, leaving us with only one functioning potshot and [...]

By |2024-12-12T05:50:34+00:00May 26, 2024|canyoneer, remote canyon, Utah|0 Comments
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Montezuma Canyon, Ticaboo, Utah

Ticaboo is a very remote area in Southeastern Utah, about an hour south of Hanksville. The name comes from a Pauite word meaning “friendly”. This area on the northern reaches of Lake Powell was popular in the 70s due to nearby uranium mines and aquatic tourism to Lake Powell via Bullfrog. These days, Ticaboo offers basic tourist amenities and gas, useful in a place otherwise far from civilization. One thing the area does have in abundance is canyons. In late May, we were invited to join some friends for a get together to explore some of these canyons. The Ticaboo canyons are very technical and not for the beginning canyoneer. There are very tight slots, lots of high stemming, potholes with escapes, sketchy downclimbs, creative anchoring methods and long exit slogs uphill. The concentration of canyons is so high that you can park in one spot and have access [...]

By |2024-11-01T23:19:33+00:00May 25, 2024|canyoneer, Utah|0 Comments
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Illusions Canyon, Coconino NF, Arizona

Illusions Canyon is one of the most beautiful canyons in Arizona and has been on our list for quite a while. In Mid-May we found ourselves in the area after doing Bear Canyon with my niece, so we seized the opportunity to organize an Illusions expedition the next day. We had read recently that conditions in Illusions were good and the pothole right at the end was full, allowing easy escape, so it was an offer we could not refuse. We were also fortunate that both Eric Hardwick and local canyon ninja Nick Clegg were free and able to join us. Illusions is an intense canyon in all respects. Located in the Coconino National Forest, the drive to the trailhead is down a very long dirt road that gets a little exciting towards the end. There we met Nick, who had hiked up the AB Young trail to get [...]

By |2024-10-30T04:10:49+00:00May 19, 2024|arizona, canyoneer, remote canyon|0 Comments
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Bear Canyon, West Clear Creek Wilderness, Arizona

In mid-May our niece, Mira Zola, spent several weeks in Scottsdale, AZ taking care of her ailing grandmother. We seized the chance to see her and get her out into the canyons for a day, so we planned a lightning weekend trip to Arizona with our new RV trailer. Eric Hardwick had just been telling us he wanted to get into some Arizona canyons so we invited him along for the weekend as well. On Friday evening after work, we set off on a five-hour drive to the West Clear Creek Wilderness in Arizona. We agreed to meet out in the middle of absolute nowhere on a Forest Service road where we were fairly certain we could park the RV for the night. Everyone was traveling by themselves. What could possibly go wrong? It was just past dusk when we arrived at the meeting point. We drove down the [...]

By |2024-09-18T02:09:58+00:00May 18, 2024|arizona, canyoneer, hikeaneer|0 Comments
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Minaret Canyon to Mineral Gulch

Continuing our hikeaneering spree in May, we explored a new route in the remote East Fork of the Virgin River near Zion NP. The goal was to walk down to Mineral Gulch, which is normally accessed via Meadow Creek and is a 16-mile round-trip hike. However, being able to descend Minaret Canyon easily turns this trek into an exciting day trip, well worth the price of admission, which involves a 4WD vehicle with good clearance. We met very early in the morning at the Elephant Cove trailhead, ready for a long day. Our adventure began with a 10-mile drive down a deep-sand and very sketchy OHV road. With each branching, the trail got more narrow and more sandy if possible. After what felt like a very bumpy eternity, but was probably about 30-40 minutes, we descended a large and very sandy hill and found the small parking pullout. Who [...]

By |2024-09-03T23:42:04+00:00May 12, 2024|canyoneer, hikeaneer, Utah|0 Comments
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