Conditions:Enigma Canyon-20210408001728

Latest:	4 Apr 2021 (4 yrs, 3 mos ago)

Reported by:	Tcarlisle (77 reports)
Quality:	Good
Waterflow:	Dry
Wetsuit:	None
Water temperature:	n/a deg C
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	5 hours

Team: 2 people with experience level Intermediate to Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: A friend and I wanted to explore this remote area of the Swell and we saw on RopeWiki that there was a seldom-visited canyon named Enigma near by. The word Enigma has some personal importance to my friend so mostly out of novelty we decided to check out the canyon. The little beta we found indicated that the canyon was not very technical and the last known descent was 2007. While it's likely there have been descents since, we found no signs remaining that anyone had ever ventured into this canyon. To add to the adventure we decided to try and find a route from the West Rim of the Muddy River rather than access this canyon from the standard trailhead on the East Rim.

Ironically though, while driving to the Lone Tree Wedge area on the West Rim, we hit a sharp sandy "S" turn in the road that went steeply down and back up a dry wash. In my 4x4 Tacoma it was likely not a problem to traverse this obstacle; however, if we did happen to get stuck the penalty points would be high as we had the lone vehicle and no winch or recovery matts. Deciding it was better to backtrack and take an optional, but slightly longer road to the trailhead we turned the truck around and made our way back the way we came.

It took a bit of work to locate where our optional route diverted from the main road. The route was marked on the map/gps, but the double tracks leading off the main road were very faint. We did find them and after following them for a mile or so the track suddenly became well-worn and obvious and eventually joined up with our former road--bypassing the troublesome "S" gully.

Now at the rim of the Muddy we scouted out three potential routes down to the river below but none of them panned out. Finally a fourth option allowed safe access to the river gorge. While there wasn't a trail, we did observer two decent sized carins marking the way down. I suppose they were put there by ranches to mark a way down so as to reach cattle grazing in the river gorge.

While crossing the Muddy we encountered a recently deceased cow laying in the river. Once across we followed a ramp in Pancho Canyon that led us from the canyon floor to the top of the East Rim. The ramp is full of loose, crumbly rock and boulders and we did have some close calls with rocks breaking loose on us. After reaching the top we were able to hike to the start of Enigma Canyon.

The canyon itself looked as if it had never been descended before. The first few drops are down-climbable, but you wouldn't be able to easily determine that--or see your footing--from the top. Keep in mind the foot holds could also crumble. For these reasons we rapped each drop. Most raps were short and we used a fiddlestick to minimized gear placement. However, for three of the drops we rigged slings and rapides as we were concerned that long set backs and unfavorable angles would create high friction when pulling and we didn't want to stick a rope while fiddling. The last drop is the largest. We had a 200 foot rope which was sufficient. We didn't measure the drop but it was less than 100 ft.

Once through the canyon we ascended the West Rim via the route we came down. In retrospect, it was a fun short canyon that I cannot really recommend but if you do--save yourself some hiking and access it from the East Rim.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
4 Apr 2021	Good	Dry	None	Normal	5 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	Tcarlisle (77 reports)
Comment: A friend and I wanted to explore this remote area of the Swell and we saw on RopeWiki that there was a seldom-visited canyon named Enigma near by. The word Enigma has some personal importance to my friend so mostly out of novelty we decided to check out the canyon. The little beta we found indicated that the canyon was not very technical and the last known descent was 2007. While it's likely there have been descents since, we found no signs remaining that anyone had ever ventured into this canyon. To add to the adventure we decided to try and find a route from the West Rim of the Muddy River rather than access this canyon from the standard trailhead on the East Rim. Ironically though, while driving to the Lone Tree Wedge area on the West Rim, we hit a sharp sandy "S" turn in the road that went steeply down and back up a dry wash. In my 4x4 Tacoma it was likely not a problem to traverse this obstacle; however, if we did happen to get stuck the penalty points would be high as we had the lone vehicle and no winch or recovery matts. Deciding it was better to backtrack and take an optional, but slightly longer road to the trailhead we turned the truck around and made our way back the way we came. It took a bit of work to locate where our optional route diverted from the main road. The route was marked on the map/gps, but the double tracks leading off the main road were very faint. We did find them and after following them for a mile or so the track suddenly became well-worn and obvious and eventually joined up with our former road--bypassing the troublesome "S" gully. Now at the rim of the Muddy we scouted out three potential routes down to the river below but none of them panned out. Finally a fourth option allowed safe access to the river gorge. While there wasn't a trail, we did observer two decent sized carins marking the way down. I suppose they were put there by ranches to mark a way down so as to reach cattle grazing in the river gorge. While crossing the Muddy we encountered a recently deceased cow laying in the river. Once across we followed a ramp in Pancho Canyon that led us from the canyon floor to the top of the East Rim. The ramp is full of loose, crumbly rock and boulders and we did have some close calls with rocks breaking loose on us. After reaching the top we were able to hike to the start of Enigma Canyon. The canyon itself looked as if it had never been descended before. The first few drops are down-climbable, but you wouldn't be able to easily determine that--or see your footing--from the top. Keep in mind the foot holds could also crumble. For these reasons we rapped each drop. Most raps were short and we used a fiddlestick to minimized gear placement. However, for three of the drops we rigged slings and rapides as we were concerned that long set backs and unfavorable angles would create high friction when pulling and we didn't want to stick a rope while fiddling. The last drop is the largest. We had a 200 foot rope which was sufficient. We didn't measure the drop but it was less than 100 ft. Once through the canyon we ascended the West Rim via the route we came down. In retrospect, it was a fun short canyon that I cannot really recommend but if you do--save yourself some hiking and access it from the East Rim.