Conditions:Indian Creek-20251215142804

Latest:	13 Dec 2025 (27 days ago)

Reported by:	Jivers (1 reports)
Quality:	Great
Waterflow:	Very Low
Wetsuit:	Rain jacket
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	6 hours

Team: 3 people with experience level Brand new to Beginner

Trip report URL:

Comments: We came in from Hammerschmidt Falls trailhead. Hammerschmidt Falls was a nice trickle, but not too much the require us getting wet. The next two raps had only enough water to soak the rope and dampen our shoes. Eye of the Needle was bone dry, as usual. The anchor we found here was a bit frayed, so we rebuilt it and pulled the old gear. All other anchors were solid to this point. We chose to bypass the last rappel to stay dry in the cold temps, and instead hike up through the cathedral. To this point was about 3 hours. We then hiked out of the creek and up the primitive route on the ridge until it hit a dead-end at private property. We bushwhacked from there along the edge of the property and staying high. There are some pretty spectacular bluffs hidden in there to find and the under rush is clear enough that 2+ miles off-trail wasn't terrible. The hardest part was simply anticipating depth of the leaf cover each step. Round trip, we were back to the top of the trailhead at our car in 6 total hours and roughly 7.5 miles, though with GPS noise around the steep canyon walls, that number is probably ±1 mile.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
13 Dec 2025	Great	Very Low	Rain jacket	Normal	6 hours	3 people Brand new to Beginner	Jivers (1 reports)
Comment: We came in from Hammerschmidt Falls trailhead. Hammerschmidt Falls was a nice trickle, but not too much the require us getting wet. The next two raps had only enough water to soak the rope and dampen our shoes. Eye of the Needle was bone dry, as usual. The anchor we found here was a bit frayed, so we rebuilt it and pulled the old gear. All other anchors were solid to this point. We chose to bypass the last rappel to stay dry in the cold temps, and instead hike up through the cathedral. To this point was about 3 hours. We then hiked out of the creek and up the primitive route on the ridge until it hit a dead-end at private property. We bushwhacked from there along the edge of the property and staying high. There are some pretty spectacular bluffs hidden in there to find and the under rush is clear enough that 2+ miles off-trail wasn't terrible. The hardest part was simply anticipating depth of the leaf cover each step. Round trip, we were back to the top of the trailhead at our car in 6 total hours and roughly 7.5 miles, though with GPS noise around the steep canyon walls, that number is probably ±1 mile.
19 Mar 2025	Great	Moderate Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	9 hours	4 people Brand new to Intermediate	Stickfigureheidi (15 reports)
Comment: the description makes its sound like the gully entrance that doesn't put you through eye of the needle isn't very good, but honestly we all thought it was a blast and I recommend it. notably, this was a particularly dry week (buffalo river levels are reportedly low for the season & fire danger is up). the traverse from the bottom of R1 (R1, not including the bypassable rappel immediately upon entering the gully) to the anchor for R2 was bone dry and no one (even newer people) needed a belay or handline; it is exposed though, and I can see it being intimidating in wet conditions. old tat on the R1 anchor was torn completely through and missing hardware so we replaced it. only had 150 ft rope so I had to ghost R2 in two raps after the others went down; probably you could downclimb the last 20 ft, but why. it's worth noting that when you do the the route this way, BOTH rappels in Indian Creek proper are technically optional, given the hiking trails around them, but the rappels to get into the canyon via the gully are quite committing. super fun!
30 Mar 2023	Good	Very Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	4 hours		Blueshade (55 reports)
Comment: Late in posting, but my 2 cents...The description makes it sound longer than it is. If coming in through the side gully (~3 raps) you will only have ONE rap in the canyon (if bypassing the next drop, to avoid a rope stick). Get up on a ledge left immediately after this R1 and then go down fixed handlines. Cool cave feature with water coming out. Then an east, but mostly uninteresting, hike back down to the trail. If you have a shuttle, don't miss rapping Eye of the Needle. Also note- the trail up from the bottom is not maintained at all. It is difficult to follow in the middle, then there is sporadic flagging, then it is completely off trail.
25 Mar 2022	Great	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Special challenges	9 hours	6 people Beginner to Advanced	Hillbelfi (33 reports)
Comment: Indian creek gets better and better! We scouted the new Drop In to get above Eye of the Needle with good success - after the Primitive Route ends, we were able to follow a more primitive track until the last creek crossing before the drop in gully. Still involved some traversing, scrambling and bushwhacking to get to the start. The creek before the Drop In creek might be a better option and would still drop you above Eye of the Needle. Awesome rappels and the water park slides and couple jumps after all the rappels are one of the highlights of the canyon. Our group almost stuck a rope at the second rappel on Indian creek where the water splits around a boulder, it’s better to climb around even though it’s a tempting rappel. The large rappel after Eye of the Needle has a better hike around created since October 2021 with cool traversing and scrambling down handlines. It could be a beautiful rappel if you can find an anchor in the pool before the giant boulder, but if you rappel all the way past the boulder, not sure your rope would pull.
11 Oct 2021	Great	Very Low	None	Special challenges	6 hours	3 people Intermediate to Advanced	Hillbelfi (33 reports)
Comment: Updated Beta Page and adding additional photos here.