Cane Spring Canyon
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| Difficulty:3A II (v3a1 II) Raps:4, max ↨110ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle: Vehicle:Passenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Condition Reports: | 12 Mar 2023
"After bailing out on Barnhardt due to too much flow we still wanted to do something and checked out Cane Springs on the way home. It turned into good |
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Best season: | Oct-May
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Introduction
So what do you do when your vehicle breaks down on the way to a canyon near Payson? Explore a canyon off the side of the highway. Make sure to bring rope and rappelling equipment. We discovered this by accident and it turned out to be a bit better than we thought it would be. We hiked up from the bottom.
Approach
As you descend the long hill after the Mount Ord turnoff, there is an exit for NF-26. If you have been in Arizona for a while, its the one that used to have the awesome Bigfoot painting on the overpass (sadly, it has been painted over). Go under the highway and park. Hike up the faint dirt road going north from the turnout. You'll run into a more prominent road that'll take you to Cane Spring. Thrash your way through the brush or follow social trails along the right slope until it opens up to a more rocky canyon.
After some boulder hopping you'll reach the first obstacle (final rappel) which can be climbed on the right. This is the first of a few Class IV climbs. It is possible that with some serious effort (i.e. thrashing through brush and scrambling up steep, loose terrain) that these obstacles could be avoided entirely.
Continue to hike, scramble, and climb up canyon until you reach a wall that appears impassable. Scramble up a steep, loose gully on the left side. Continue climbing until you are above the narrows.
Descent
Once above the narrows, turn right and drop back down into the canyon.
R1: 70' off boulder pile RDC.
Easy downclimb around a shallow pool.
R2: 110' off small tree LDC.
Shortly after R2 you'll encounter a short but steep drop that can be avoided by hiking around far LDC. Then continue to boulder hop and downclimb your way to R3.
R3: 30' off boulder pile or advanced downclimb LDC.
Continue until the canyon cuts to the east and you enter the short narrows section that you probably climbed up/around earlier. Carefully climb down underneath the large chockstone to access the last anchor.
R4: 30' off rock pinch RDC. It may also be possible to chimney your way down, or downclimb LDC.
Exit
Continue down the canyon back to your vehicle.