Conditions:Eaton Canyon-20230516021727

Latest:	13 May 2023 (25 days ago)

Reported by:	Willie92708 (770 reports)
Quality:	Great
Waterflow:	High
Wetsuit:	Thin wetsuit
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Easy
Time:	1 hour

Team: 1 people

Trip report URL:

Comments: I hiked up to the final rappel after GFotF and looking for something to do in the late afternoon. Flow is still "high", barely (see pics).

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
29 May 2023	Great	High	Thin wetsuit	Special challenges	8 hours	7 people	Willie92708 (770 reports)
Comment: Water is still amazingly "high" (see pics), on the low side of high. Water temp about 55F. Hydraulics are mild but still present and directly in the the water flow is still a pounding. Some frogs were out and about. Watch out for poison oak on the approach trail as it needs to be trimmed back. We had a big group and some people green to class C, thus special challenges.
19 May 2023	Great	High	Thin wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	2 people	Willie92708 (770 reports)
Comment: Great conditions with "high" flow (see pics).
13 May 2023	Great	High	Thin wetsuit	Easy	1 hour	1 people	Willie92708 (770 reports)
Comment: I hiked up to the final rappel after GFotF and looking for something to do in the late afternoon. Flow is still "high", barely (see pics).
4 May 2023	Amazing	Very High	Thin wetsuit	Special challenges	8 hours	7 people	Willie92708 (770 reports)
Comment: The water flow got stoked up a bit from the heavy rain the night before (see pics), back up to borderline "extreme". Water temp was chilly (I guess 55F), so full body wetsuits were needed. We had some green class C canyoneers, thus "special challenges", but the hydraulics were milder than my previous trip. And because of cold air temp and clouds all the frogs were hiding and there was no peanut gallery that day!
23 Apr 2023	Amazing	High	Thin wetsuit	Special challenges	9 hours	3 people	Willie92708 (770 reports)
Comment: Water flow was solid "high", maybe even "high plus" (see pics). Water temp was 55F. The air was warm and the frogs and salamanders were out all over the canyon. We were just in front of the other larger SoCal roundup groups for the day, after we bailed on Great Falls of the Fox, because of only 3 people willing to run a long canyon on Sunday after big runs on Saturday.
22 Apr 2023	Amazing	High	Thick wetsuit	Advanced	7 hours	8 people Advanced to Expert	Freddy (49 reports)
Comment: Big water with strong currents in some places. The penultimate rap was deep with strong current. A couple of people did the slide with no problems. The last rappel was strong and needed to rap around the flake rather than the watercourse.
8 Apr 2023	Amazing	Very High	Thin wetsuit	Advanced	10 hours	7 people	Willie92708 (770 reports)
Comment: Water flow was "extreme" (minus) per the dam gauge just upstream of the Wilson Toll Road bridge, but certainly much less flow than my previous trip on Mar 19th. The flow was similar to the trip before on March 8th. There were serious hydraulics in many of the slide pools, often requiring assistance to escape. We used the RDC redirect for R1, the single bolt RDC to avoid the water trough (immediately after the Grotto rappel), bypassed the Penultimate, and all but 2 members bypassed the final rappel. The rabbit hole was the "crux", since jumping from the big boulder has problematic footing (slime and slope). In fact much of the granite boulders and bedrock throughout the canyon have new algae slime that is insanely slippery! Water temp was 50F (approximately) which meant that those without full neoprene (socks, gloves, hood) were a bit cold through the Grotto. I took a second full hooded top and was plenty warm, but had to take it off soon into the hiking section. Because of a diverse group skill set wise, we made sure everyone was through each technical obstacle before continuing onward. This stretched the trip to over 10 hours! In much of the canyon the frogs are out in force now; it's Springtime.
19 Mar 2023	Amazing	Extreme	Full wetsuit	Advanced	7 hours	3 people Intermediate to Expert	Aquamoo (82 reports),Willie92708 (770 reports)
Comment: Huge amount of flow in the canyon. We skipped the penultimate and the last rappel, did everything else. There were several serious hydraulics and just walking in the creek took a large amount of effort. Lots of the pools are becoming deep again, we were able to do lots of jumps. Willie: we used a redirect on R1, normal tree anchor for R2 and rappelled from the bolt high DCR for the trough (just after R2 Grotto). Jumping out far on slides was key to prevent being sucked back into the recirculating hydraulics. The rabbit hole was the crux, and we should have used a hand line to get to the boulder. Once at the boulder the only good option is to jump and jump DCL to avoid getting sucked into the boil recirculation. Much of the creek can be floated because of the high flow volume. I'd guess at least 50 CFS. Pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/CEsqJwssW83Brjb96
8 Mar 2023	Amazing	Very High	Full wetsuit	Advanced	5 hours	2 people	Willie92708 (770 reports)
Comment: Water flow was borderline extreme (see pics), making for serious hydraulics in the slide pools. Some pools required tricks to escape; other slammed us to the bottom and spit us out the other side. We stayed out of the waterfalls on R1 and Grotto, and we bypassed the Penultimate and the final rappel by climbing around. For the final we used the 150 foot rappel off the Razorback. All the anchors have held up well to the flash flood; no issue there. Water temp of 51F was surprising warm considering that snow melt is feeding Eaton now; still a well-fitting full wetsuit neoprene gloves and socks were needed to stay warm.
26 Feb 2023	Amazing	Extreme	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	2 hours	1 people	Willie92708 (770 reports)
Comment: This was only a hike up to and around the final waterfall on the razorback. The Sheriff Dept had the Pinecrest Gate closed to entry, so I hike from the Roosevelt trailhead. The flow was too high even to safety rappel the last waterfall using the DCR bolts and redirect (see pics). I used the 150 foot rappel off the razorback instead of climbing back down it. Judging by the dam (see 1st pic) the flow is still extreme plus, but much lower than yesterday.
12 Feb 2023	Amazing	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	2 people	Rapbear (39 reports)
Comment: Eaton canyon is a lot of fun. Water is not as high as before but many of the pools are still jumpable. Water temperature is cold so come prepared. We had so much fun at the penultimate fall that we hiked back up and did it again. The penultimate pool is getting more shallow. I was able to stand up in the middle of it and walk out vs swimming out a week ago. Please check pool depths before jumping.
9 Feb 2023	Amazing	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Special challenges	6 hours	2 people	Willie92708 (770 reports)
Comment: I ran Telephone on the way, and still had to wait for my friend to get finished with a business conference call at Telephone Flat (special challenges). Water has dropped to a solid moderate; temp is still quite cold. Pool depths have not changed much; check before jumping!
2 Feb 2023	Amazing	Moderate High	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	5 hours	5 people	Willie92708 (770 reports)
Comment: We were spread out hiking into Eaton and formed 2 groups through much of the canyon (special challenges) with one member blasting through for a 4 hour pace. Water flow is down slightly from my last trip (see dam pic). Temp is now sub 50F! Pools vary in depth. Anchors are fine. And we got the rock out of the 1st rabbit hole.
29 Jan 2023	Amazing	Moderate High	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	5 hours	3 people	Willie92708 (770 reports)
Comment: Water flow has definitely gone down (see pic). It's borderline "high" given some of the hydraulics. The 1st rabbit hole has a round rock that makes it hard to use. An overcast day, and some breeze made for a chilly run.
28 Jan 2023	Amazing	High	Thin wetsuit	Special challenges	6 hours	4 people	Austin3623 (11 reports)
Comment: Eaton is excellent right now. Flow subsided last week from just under extreme (Monday) to high (Saturday 1/28, when we ran it). Everyone had either a 3/2 or a 4/3 and felt fine, although you’ll definitely be more comfortable with thicker neo. Pools were noticeably deeper than in early January, but very few true swims. Had heard that the very first slide had a rocky bottom. We rapped it just to be safe, but seemed fine when I checked the depth (have someone ready to assist with the hydraulic if you slide that one). The second to last rappel had a full swim-away and seriously seemed almost deep enough to slide, if it weren’t for a beastly undercurrent (set the rope length on that one). Final rap, every member of the group descended straight through the brunt of the falls. Definitely takes you for a ride but had everyone on fireman’s belay, made it down safely and fully stoked. That pool really isn’t too deep, especially if you stay slightly DCR of the falls when coming off rappel.

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