Alder Canyon
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| | Raps:4, max ↨100ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:4WD - High Clearance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 4 Mar 2017
"Heavy, very cold water flow for this canyon. You take a real pounding on the first rappel, the second is easy to stay out of, the third is heavy, but |
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| Best season: | winter, spring, fall
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34.1357, -111.4739
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Introduction[edit]
A long day trip with a short technical section through a rugged and scenic canyon, Alder Creek is a bit more "pay" than "play", but in the right conditions is full of beautiful waterfalls and colorful metamorphic rocks, making for a memorable canyoneering adventure.
The roads used to access the hiking trails (Rock Creek Trailhead) to reach Alder Creek may be impassable after heavy rains due to the clay in the roadbed and the three creek crossings along the way.
From AZ87 in the town of Rye turn west onto H Bar Ranch Road between mile markers 240 and 241. The road immediately turns north to parallel the highway and becomes dirt in short order. Turn right following a homemade sign for FR414 after .6 mile; turn left at the 2.7 mile mark to stay on FR414 (also NF537). At 4.1 miles bear left to stay on FR 414, at 5 miles turn left again to turn onto FR442 shortly after a crossing of Rye Creek. Continue driving east on FR442 crossing Alder and Rock Creeks along the way to turn left at a total of 8 miles from SR87 onto a short spur road that leads to a nice campsite and the Rock Creek Trailhead.
Approach[edit]
From the parking/camping area hike up the spur road to its end to locate the beginning of the Rock Creek trail which is marked by an old trail sign and a large cairn on the other side of the creek. The trail can be a bit overgrown and difficult to follow in the beginning, but becomes more distinct the farther you go. After hiking 3.2 miles and gaining 2350 feet of elevation you will reach Rock Creek and get an idea of what to expect for flow conditions in Alder Creek - the trail continues slightly up the creek on the other side. The trail continues climbing above Rock Creek to eventually top out at a saddle after about 4.6 miles from the trailhead. Leave the trail at the saddle to begin to make your way towards Alder Creek by cross country hiking north along the ridge (topping out with a gain of another 1150 feet from Rock Creek), then down the slope on your left to enter the upper drainage of Alder Creek.
Descent[edit]
The canyon is a bit brushy at first, but opens soon enough as the falls become taller. There are many scenic waterfalls in the upper canyon that can be scrambled around (mostly on the left). After a little under a mile of hiking and scrambling around waterfalls you will reach the first rappel at a drop of roughly 70 feet which can be done directly in the watercourse from a pinch point anchor a short distance back from the drop (use a 100 foot rope to be safe) or away from the water from a tree on the left. The pool at the bottom of the rappel in the watercourse is only knee deep so rope length is not critical for getting safely off rope. Continue down canyon through many small falls and one taller waterfall downclimb of about 15 feet to reach the second drop of about 60 feet that we rappelled from a tree on the left mostly out of the flow of the falls. Eventually you will reach a scenic drop of about 70 feet anchored from a tree at the top that takes you through the falls into a short, but nice hallway. At the end of the hallway is another drop of about 15 feet where it is probably possible to construct an anchor from the large boulders at the top of the drop. Our party used a body belay for all but the last person who jumped into the waist deep pool below (not really recommended). It may also be possible with long enough ropes to get down this drop by extending the rope from the anchor for the previous drop, but the rope pull may be problematic from here.
After this last drop the technical section is over and the long and tedious exit begins.
Exit[edit]
After the technical section is over there are still plenty of smaller falls and boulder obstacles to negotiate and the obstacles only get worse the farther you go as many dead trees, boulders, briars and vines line the floor of the canyon making progress very slow and tiresome. After roughly a mile from the end of the technical section the canyon turns right at the confluence with the northern fork of Alder Creek. As the canyon continues to open it will eventually become easier to hike on the left slope after about .25 mile down from the confluence - you may find and lose a light game trail on the slope as you go. After hiking and bushwacking about .8 mile down from the confluence (about 8.9 miles overall) you will want to work your way back down to the creek to cross and climb the slope on the other side to locate a dirt road (the road can't be seen from the slope so its helpful to have it marked on a GPS). Follow the road the remaining 1.5 miles back to the parking area.
Red tape[edit]
Beta sites[edit]
Super Amazing Map : Alder Canyon
