Latest:	17 Aug 2024 (9 mos ago)

Reported by:	Kirbside (96 reports), Epeairs (70 reports)
Quality:	Amazing
Waterflow:	Moderate
Wetsuit:	Full wetsuit
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	7 hours

Team: 6 people with experience level Brand new to Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: Wetsuits in the 4-3 and 5-4 range were adequate. One person with minimal natural insulation got slightly chilly in a 4-3.

We lapped the last rappel and were moving fairly efficiently for having 3-4 beginners (we started with 8 but 2 bailed over the dome due to one person having slippery shoes and feeling uncomfortable on the stem + slickrock + slippery rocks on the section after R1).

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
17 Aug 2024	Amazing	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	6 people Brand new to Advanced	Kirbside (96 reports),Epeairs (70 reports)
Comment: Wetsuits in the 4-3 and 5-4 range were adequate. One person with minimal natural insulation got slightly chilly in a 4-3. We lapped the last rappel and were moving fairly efficiently for having 3-4 beginners (we started with 8 but 2 bailed over the dome due to one person having slippery shoes and feeling uncomfortable on the stem + slickrock + slippery rocks on the section after R1).
14 Aug 2024							BWylie (22 reports)
Comment: "Per our Big Creek Hydro Staff: Due to downstream water demands, Huntington Lake will not remain full through the month of September. We will begin lowering the lake fairly quickly beginning the night of Sept. 8 and we will likely see the elevation drop 1 to 1.5 feet per day. By Sept 20th we expect the lake to be about 15 feet down." -received via email, 08/24
10 Aug 2024	Amazing	Moderate High	Thin wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	BWylie (22 reports)
Comment: Beautiful day out, lovely weather. Got a late start at 11am at the shuttle. Flow was higher than reference pics for moderate and R7 upper pool was turbulent, but R1 and R12 hydraulics did not present an issue. R7 has a rock inside the curtain to stand for the pull. Replaced webbing on R2 & R4, took the dry R11. Lapped a slide, had some nice breaks. Some people chilly in 3/2s and would recommend thicker. Great canyon.
27 Jul 2024	Great	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	7 people Advanced to Intermediate	PMartzen (2 reports),Johnbcaves (158 reports)
Comment: Started off as 3 but 4 visiting canyoneers caught up just as we were suiting up. Late start of 11:30 on trail and various delays had us in shade between the R5 slide and R9. Windy day as well and cooler than past week made for a chilly day. Everything was flowing great: we jumped the R1 pothole, lapped the big slide, slid the ski jump, enjoyed sun-warmed ripe blackberries between R8 and "R9", and exited at the weir for a 7pm exit. Spent time making new friends at a slow pace- great day out.
7 Oct 2023	Great	Moderate High	Full wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	8 people Brand new to Advanced	Ameister (43 reports),Boof (31 reports),Jennj (11 reports),Ethersnet (1 reports)
Comment: We had meant to run Jump, but due to conditions we ended up commuting over here and dropping Big Creek at noon with a group of eight including some beginners on the very slow end. From starting so late along with the sun setting at 6:30pm, at 5pm we made the decision to exit before R5 out of the dome approach. This ended up working pretty well and was just a looot of downhill on the other side (but not bad bushwacking or anything). Would recommend this as a good escape option if the conditions are not what you were expecting or you're running way longer than expected (and don't think you'll make the R11 express exit before dark). As a canyon was really great though! Will definitely be back to have the full experience starting much earlier.
29 Sep 2023	Great	Moderate High	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	6 hours	6 people Brand new to Advanced	Reiternick (33 reports)
Comment: Great day. Anchor for the rap 5 slide is a dead cracked tree unless we missed something else. R11 or so is a pretty sketchy pool that leader has to exit at downstream end to then traverse right to 2 bolts: A no fall zone on a slippy 3 foot wide section. In restrospect I wouldve done this while on belay from the tree DCL and setup a handline for my buddies. Instead we all jumped into this pool and did the sketchy traverse right with a little handline I setup from the DCR anchor.
9 Sep 2023	Great	Moderate	Thick wetsuit	Special challenges	5 hours	15 people Intermediate to Expert	Freddy (51 reports),Johnbcaves (158 reports),Kirbside (96 reports)
Comment: All hangers are intact. Heavy rain on the way in, cleared up at the start of the canyon.
1 Sep 2023	Amazing	Moderate	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	7 hours	1 people	Willie92708 (997 reports)
Comment: I ran the non-shuttle route and spent a bunch of extra time checking out other rappel options coming off Kerchoff Dome. Mainly because it was chilly (60F, slightly cloudy and a stiff breeze) that day, I was waiting for the Sun to hit the creek bed itself by R5. Once I got down to the creek and suited up, I spent a bunch of extra time going down the drops, since all the webbing was shot from Sun beaching and or abrasion. I replace all the webbing on the normal rappels from R5 to R11 (normal exit point). Also, I was in no hurry to rush through the canyon. Thus the 7+ hours (special challenges). The water temp was cold at 52F, and the flow "Moderate", but no other logjams or other significant changes after the harsh winter.
24 Jul 2022	Amazing	Moderate High	Full wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	9 people Brand new to Expert	Johnbcaves (158 reports)
Comment: Great day in the sun! Jumped R1 pothole (OK just 2 of us), slid all the slides, got some new kids canyoning. Looked for a previously lost pack which slowed us down a bit. 5 of the team did the rap below the weir- this was fairly dangerous in this flow. The rest of the canyon was in good balanced flow for slides but also pourover exits.
17 Jul 2022	Great	Moderate Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	7 people Beginner to Advanced	Ameister (43 reports),Epeairs (70 reports)
Comment: Two weeks later, the lower flows meant that R1 wasn't as pushy, but R7 was more fun to swim out of. R12 was just as much trouble, so the beginners opted to take the express exit instead.
4 Jul 2022	Amazing	Moderate High	Thin wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	2 people Advanced	Rodtel314 (36 reports),Epeairs (70 reports)
Comment: Moderate-high Big Creek is great! The flow was running high enough that escaping the pothole in R12 was challenging. All other obstacles were fine to get through, and most of the webbing is in good shape, though it hasn't been replaced recently.
4 Jul 2022	Amazing	Moderate High	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	8 hours	6 people	Willie92708 (997 reports)
Comment: We split the group, 4 did the shuttle route, 2 did the non-shuttle of the dome, and we meet at R6 within minutes of each other. The flow was no issue in the canyon until we rigged R11 with an alternate anchor to go into the brunt of the flow. That made R11 quite a sporty rappel (special challenges)! We had the pull side rigged through the normal bolted anchor that is far DCL out of the watercourse so when the rope falls, it would not get caught on the big boulder on the shelf near the bottom of R11. We decided to exit before R12 so we could get into town for dinner, since it was already 6:30 PM by the time we were back at our cars at the bottom.
30 Jul 2021	Great	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	2 people Intermediate to Expert	Willie92708 (997 reports),Aquamoo (91 reports)
Comment: Fun day in big creek! We did the sneak approach and rapped off the dome. Some of the webbing was in really rough shape which we replaced. I did the big slide which was awesome. The last rap (R12 through the hanging pothole) was amazing, by far the best rap of the canyon. Ascending back up was a pita though. Water temp was 62F
11 Jul 2021	Amazing	Moderate Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	6 people Brand new to Expert	Johnbcaves (158 reports),JohnMetz (14 reports)
Comment: With 3 newbies, exited at weir for a reasonable Sunday. Overcast on approach, sprinkled a little, then got sunny and lightly breezy. Enough flow to enjoy all the slides, but not too much flow to worry about pourovers or hydraulics. As usual, did ~6 of the 11 raps.
30 May 2021 Trip report	Great	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	3 people Brand new to Advanced	Johnbcaves (158 reports)
Comment: Parts of the approach are thru the Creek Fire burn area- the hike down the hill is now free of manzanita and whitethorn. Some logs have moved around in the canyon. We jumped the R1 pothole and did several slides. I replaced all the necessary anchor webbing. Late start made for a shady canyon trip and near-sunset exit.