Conditions:Hidden Falls Canyon-20250517230719
Latest: |
17 May 2025 (19 days ago) |
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| Reported by: | Jgifford22 (4 reports) | |
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| Quality: | Great |
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| Waterflow: | ||
| Wetsuit: | ||
| Water temperature: | ||
| Difficulty: | ||
| Time: |  6 hours
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Team: 4 people
Trip report URL:
Comments: Fun in Hidden Falls. Did the shuttle route to shorten the approach. Lots of fun bouldering and downclimbing throughout. We did 9 raps (I think) and had an audience on the last one.
All condition reports
| Date | Quality | Waterflow | Wetsuit | Difficulty | Time | Team | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great | | | | 6 hours
| 4 people | Jgifford22 (4 reports) | |
Comment: Fun in Hidden Falls. Did the shuttle route to shorten the approach. Lots of fun bouldering and downclimbing throughout. We did 9 raps (I think) and had an audience on the last one.
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| Great | Deep pools 
| Rain jacket
| Special challenges | 7 hours
| 3 people | Mikeatran (84 reports) | |
Comment: Extremely rare conditions made for a difficult but rewarding trip through hidden falls. Started the canyon from the parking lot around 8; after the turnoff the snow and ice coupled with high winds made it extremely cold. Near the peak we were postholing in 10-12” of snow. Running through the canyon, we faced some difficulty due to areas of ice on the rock, making access and down climbing extremely difficult and slippery. Anchors were in good shape although a few of them were missing quick links; however those ones can be rigged releasable or downclimbed. Nice peanut gallery at the end and sublime exit. A great end to a fantastic weekend!
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| Great | Dry 
| None
| Special challenges | 6 hours
| 1 people Intermediate | Julescross (1 reports) | |
Comment: Did a solo run of this canyon. Great over all, pretty special to be down there and not see another soul. The second rappel (to 120 feet) can be shortened using a very long anchor RDC (red webbing), but I used the tree LDC. I am a confident down climber and I would say there were 7 mandatory rappels even when dry. Most of those had anchors in good shape, I only needed to add one. Three small pools were still present, these were avoided.
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| Good | Deep pools
| Rain jacket
| Special challenges |  12 hours
| 6 people Beginner to Intermediate | Naamtune (1 reports) | |
Comment: We arrived at parking lot at 9am, hiked the first 1.5mi of 4mi approach, and then hitchhiked to the trailhead by 10:30am. We got to the top of the mountain around 12PM and began descending the canyon around 1PM.
The Rocky Gap Rd approach is dry to the trailhead. Road condition is good and passable for 4WD HC vehicles should you want to shuttle. I couldn't determine if the road was passable for 2WD HC since I was squeezed in the trunk of the jeep with my backpack shoved into my face. The North Peak Trailhead, marked by a small cairn with a cross on the east side of the road, follows the ridge to the top of the mountain. Where the trail meanders into the north-facing side of the ridge there will be snow, sometimes in patches, and sometimes the path covered in 2" of snow. The southernly facing ridge is completely dry due to direct sun exposure. Snow exists at the top of the mountain, but in patches and should all melt away in the next few days. Otherwise, the terrain is completely safe and passable in approach shoes. From the marked drop-in on the GPX, the technical section of the canyon is covered in 2" of snow and thick ice (at least 2.5" in ponds I've seen) throughout the upper section, finally easing up past R4. Additionally, be careful scrambling between R2 and R3 as the blanket of snow has covered holes and debris piles. Check the boulders for thin ice before committing to the hop. Take your time, maintain situational awareness, and watch your footing. There's a 120' rap between R1 and R2 on LDC off of a small bush our group had to use to safely descend the icy cascading falls. This undocumented "R1.5" is past the sloping snow slide. If you are rapping down from here on a single strand, make sure that you do a test pull to ensure a clean rope retrieval. Our releasable block got caught on the rock and we had to ascend the rope to un-stuck the block. Additionally, be aware that there are several protruding rock horns LDC at the first lip of the fall where the rope can get caught. See the attached photo for reference. Be prepared to ascend the icy fall if your rope get stuck. At "wHiddenFlsRP-4" on BluuGnome beta, snow and ice began to rapidly recede, although patches of snow and some weak spots of ice persisted to the bottom of R11. The cairns are along RDC ledges marking the path to the downclimb to the wash below. At R8, if using a block for handline or rappel, exercise caution with rope retrieval. Your rope can get stuck. Our rope got stuck and we were able to pop it out after several tugs and whips. This R8 could use some TLC to reduce potential rope stuck. At R10, there is a weak sheet of ice on the surface of the pool that's not fully formed. It's possible to rap directly below and onto a tiny ledge at the base of the pool in between the narrow chimney and traverse LDC to avoid the pool. There is a solid undercling and crimp for handholds, and you'll need to trust your feet-smearing ability. Hopefully, you're wearing approach shoes with grippy rubber. Be prepared to slip and slide through the thin ice sheet into the waist-deep pool below if you fail the traverse like we did. Our group ran out of daylight by R5, so the remaining technical section was done in the dark. We tried to replace many tiny 1/4" quicklinks with our 5/16" quicklinks on the way down. Our party ended up doing all the rappels due to the presence of snow, ice, and darkness. We inspected and determined all webbings are in good shape throughout the canyon. I'd suggest that R1 get its webbing rebuilt and R8 webbings to be tidied up. All natural anchors that we rappelled off of are also solid. This is a beautiful canyon to descend even when covered in snow and ice, and poise unique and fun challenges when tackled at nighttime. However, what I wish I had known was that between R2 and R3 is a stretch of boulder hopping, bushwhacking, and downclimbing, which felt like an eternity and was the least favorite part of the canyon run. Aside from that, our group enjoyed scooting around the ice sheet, sliding down the snow-covered slopes, and playing snowball fights throughout the canyon. | |||||||
| | None
| | 8 hours
| 3 people Intermediate to Advanced | Cheveran (92 reports) | ||
Comment: Kind of brushy in places. There is a pretty trickle of water that added charm. We were able to keep our feet dry. Time is c2c, parking at lower trailhead and walking up Rocky Gap road.
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| Great | Very Low
| None
| Normal  | 8 hours
| 5 people Beginner to Advanced | Celes (28 reports) | |
Comment: This canyon may not have amazing epic rappels, but is sure is scenic with all the cool rock formations. It offers more so a chill and relaxed type of canyon experience.
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| Good | Very Low
| None
| Easy | 7 hours
| 8 people Beginner to Advanced | Xenonrocket (102 reports),Rbowru (54 reports),Ameister (43 reports) | |
Comment: Got to the park before 8a to avoid needing a timed entry. Shuttled up the road in a mid-clearance vehicle with part of our group.
We did about 8 of the rappels and downclimbed the rest. Ice at the top, pools of water at the bottom, all avoidable. Kind of a meh canyon overall - nice day, but nothing spectacular in either rappels or downclimbs.
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| Good | Very Low
| None
| Normal | 5 hours
| 2 people Beginner to Advanced | Bricepollock (39 reports) | |
Comment: Downclimbed past 3-4 rappels and did about 6. Top 1/4 had a bunch of ice that didn't pose extra challenges. Last 2/3 rappels had potential for dropping you into the water if you did them directly. Most webbing looked pretty new, didn't replace any. Saw a party of six behind us but otherwise alone. Most of the canyon is downclimbing boulders in the watercourse.
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| Amazing | Dry
| None
| Easy | 8 hours
| 3 people Intermediate to Advanced | Spacepyroman (10 reports) | |
| Good | Very Low
| None
| Normal | 6 hours
| 6 people Expert to Beginner | Erek (206 reports) | |
Comment: Stayed dry, but couple pools in lower section that are avoidable traversing to side of them. Time is doing loop from exit parking lot (i.e. not shuttle). Lots of fun downclimbing. Did it in 5 rappels. Nice canyon.
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| Great | Very Low
| Rain jacket
| Special challenges | 6 hours
| 2 people Advanced | TJoelle (4 reports) | |
Comment: Moderate 4x4 skillz + clearance to get up to the trail and shave off 2 miles of hiking. Lots of slippery ice required caution. All brand new webbing. Deep pool near the end unavoidable unless a ninja climber goes down left canyon. Potholes had no ice except up top.
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| Good | Very Low
| None
| Normal | 5 hours
| 3 people Beginner to Advanced | Doctors out (26 reports) | |
Comment: We parked at the cairned trailhead on rocky gap road and ran this canyon as a warm up for the maze, the following day. We were able to keep our feet dry. Hidden Falls was something to do with an extra day in the area, but likely a one-and-done for us.
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| Good | Dry
| None
| Normal | 6 hours
| 2 people Intermediate | Coalemus (160 reports) | |
Comment: This is a beautiful canyon. A nice trickle ran through most of it. I added beta because I found the bluugnome stuff to be garbage. Webbing was fresh, no pull issues. Found 11 set anchors which was a lot more than we needed but could be useful for some. Could probably get away with 110' on the big rap cause you can get off rap on a boulder and climb down from there.
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| Ok | Very Low
| None
| Normal | 7 hours
| 2 people Intermediate to Expert | Xenonrocket (102 reports) | |
Comment: Seemingly new black webbing on all rappels. There's some disagreement better Brennan and Blue Gnome, but nothing that's difficult to figure out. Also frogs!
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| | | | | JaniceBarrow@Facebook (1 reports) | |||
Comment: extracts from Facebook posts, click link for full details (privacy restrictions may apply)
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