Latest:	29 Jun 2024 (2 yrs ago)

Reported by:	RFontaine (391 reports)
Location:	Jacob's Ladder
Quality:	Great
Waterflow:
Wetsuit:
Water temperature:
Difficulty:
Time:	7 hours

Team: 3 people with experience level Beginner to Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: The absolute best way to get down to WCC to check out hanging gardens and white box. The route is quick and fun, all rappels are enjoyable and there are many fun downclimbs mixed in between. Took us about 2hr to get to WCC. We hiked to hanging gardens and spent some time there then hiked and swam out through white box taking social trail back to vehicles. White box is a total gem featuring multiple long swims through high canyon walls. Water cold but bearable without wetsuits. Although, a 3/2 would be nice to wear with all the water exposure.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
11 Jul 2026	Great	Dry	None	Normal		6 people	Narupe (2 reports)
Comment: Jacob's ladder to white box exit. The canyoneering portion of this route is fun but not as stand out as other WCC routes, but the real destination is Hanging Garden and the White Box which are phenomenal. All anchors in good condition, straightforward rappels although a couple sharp edges and grippy rope pulls to watch. A family of owls watched us do the final rappel. 1x200ft rope easily reached the bottom of all rappels on double strand. There is a large tree down across the road down by Meadow Canyon before you get to the power line road, a vehicle larger than a Tacoma may have trouble with the very tight bypass around out.
20 Jun 2026	Good	Dry	None	Normal	6 hours	4 people Advanced	Slotshot (4 reports)
Comment: We got a late start after pivoting to West Clear Creek area (Sedona/Oak Creek was closed due to Pocket fire). We didn't make it very far in a rental car compact SUV on extremely rough road (high clearance is very much needed). We left the car, added a few miles on foot, and it made for a 2 hour approach which had us at R1 at 11am. The business was delightful. Excellent rocks, straightforward yet fun rappelling. The downclimb section was fantastic and scenic. We got so used to awesome downclimbing we passed the anchor for the first tier of R4 and had to upclimb back to the anchor to descend on rope the 2nd tier of R4. Fun little canyon, totally dry. All anchors inspected, all looked good. Webbing looked like it had been replaced recently. There is some potential for sticking a rope so last person took extra care in laying down the rope during descent. On this Saturday there was one other group in front of us moving quickly. Very little shade in canyon this time of day/year. We had 2 ropes and moved efficiently. Total time in the business: 2 hrs. The exit was a significant schwack pain cave. The description here says to follow trails or game trails. There are none. The gpx is just a whack random wandering of previous canyoneers gone mad. Upon leaving the watercourse give up immediately and surrender to your new apprenticeship in vertical buschwhacking. Might try the White Box exit if I ever go again. Despite getting wet in the creek (which you should definitely do), the heat (90F in nearby Payson that day) combined with 1200ft elevation gain was a significant challenge. At this time of year (and day due to late start) do not underestimate the amount of water needed on a day like this. Bring a cooling towel and soak clothing in the creek before exit. The exit took 2.5 or 3 hrs (not counting the extra time added by walking a few extra miles back to where we parked. Time reported does not include extra time on foot due to abandoning car before reaching parking pin)
13 Sep 2025	Great	Dry	None	Normal		9 people Brand new to Advanced	Grapefruit (39 reports)
Comment: I didn't think a wetsuit was needed in WCC, the water felt warm even though the air-temp low was 53F. No deadman anchor in sight. Anchors are easy and just fine; good one for beginners.
5 Oct 2024	Good	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	2 people	Nclegg (483 reports)
Comment: Anchors were in fine condition. Canyon was completely dry. Visited the gardens before exiting via White Box. Not sure what the person is made of who did this route only 7 days prior, but WCC is getting quite frigid in this section. We left the wetsuits behind and by the final swim my partner and I were both shivering excessively (3/2mm would have been ideal). The two hiking parties we encountered along the way also did not have wetsuits and were struggling with the cold.
28 Sep 2024	Good	Dry	None	Easy	6 hours	1 people Advanced	Triggerfish (106 reports)
Comment: Technical part of the canyon: three stars Non-technical part: Hanging Gardens and White Box: five stars Those dirt roads: one star Overall, worth it, and I’d go again to take others! The technical section has a run of fun downclimbs and decent, if not exciting rappels. Great place to practice toggle use extended out in some cases from the quicklinks to keep it away from rock faces - the basalt throughout that section is extremely grabby on the rope. All anchors in great shape. New black slings everywhere. A little corrosion on a couple of quick links, But nothing substantial. Glad I left the wetsuit at home. Water was in the mid 70s, and air in the upper 80s. This made the swim section mildly cool, but comfortable. When I got to WCC, I filled my 2.5 L platypus bag with air, and put everything into two 20L drybags. This was more than enough flotation to keep my head up high as I backpaddled through White Box. Exit trail is clear all the way. I went in on the 142, and came back out on the powerline road, which does not even appear on Gaia maps, to say nothing of Google maps. The powerline Road is definitely the better of the two. Still rough, especially a short hill section that definitely requires high clearance and four-wheel-drive. The rest was consistently rough to a lesser degree, but a huge step up from the hate crime that is the 142 route that Google will try to send you to. These roads, like so many in the area, might be a little more fun on something like a dirtbike or quad.
29 Aug 2024 Trip report	Great	Dry	None	Normal		2 people Beginner to Intermediate	Staceygirl (6 reports)
Comment: The canyon isn't super spectacular for its own sake, but it's a great way to get to Hanging Gardens and White Box. I would definitely do it that way again. The last two raps are really pretty. I did have to climb back up rappel 2 because we had a tough time pulling the rope for some reason. Make sure the rope is not twisted, and put it on the smoothest, most direct line down. You could extend the rappel to alleviate the problem. The downclimbs looked pretty sketchy at first glance, but as you started down, they weren't too bad. Someone had left an anchor at the last one, so we just used it, but it definitely looked doable. Would suggest turning around and getting some good hand holds and then stepping down carefully. We took the white box exit, so bringing a floatie was nice for the long swims.
29 Jun 2024	Great				7 hours	3 people Beginner to Advanced	RFontaine (391 reports)
Comment: The absolute best way to get down to WCC to check out hanging gardens and white box. The route is quick and fun, all rappels are enjoyable and there are many fun downclimbs mixed in between. Took us about 2hr to get to WCC. We hiked to hanging gardens and spent some time there then hiked and swam out through white box taking social trail back to vehicles. White box is a total gem featuring multiple long swims through high canyon walls. Water cold but bearable without wetsuits. Although, a 3/2 would be nice to wear with all the water exposure.
4 Nov 2023	Good	Deep pools	Full wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	2 people	Nclegg (483 reports)
Comment: Rebuilt a few anchors and removed old webbing. Toggle was useful to have. Exited via White Box which was frigid but manageable in a 4/3.
3 Jun 2023	Great		None			3 people Beginner to Advanced	RFontaine (391 reports)
Comment: This route is the absolute best way to get down to Hanging Gardens in my opinion! Multiple raps that are fun and beautiful narrow rock walls at the bottom. We parked at the very end of the 4x4 trail where the hiking trail begins. My lifted Xterra Pro4x had no problems on the trail but I wouldn't recommend attempting without 4x4 and AT/MT tires, it is pretty rugged… We did not find the boulder for R1 so we rigged a tree just above the watercourse and added it to the beta. The downclimbs are easy enough for a beginner. The technical is dry, no water or flow. I believe it took us around 2 hours to get down to WCC. We then hiked down to Hanging Gardens which is beautiful as always and hung out there. Afterwards, we hiked back up stream through White Box which is fantastic! It’s super fun to swim through! Lots of swimming, I didn't wear a wetsuit and was cold but it was bearable. Would probably bring a 3/2 next time to enjoy the water more. This section adds alot of bang for your buck to this trip and is totally worth spending the extra time. The social trail beyond White Box that hikers use to get to Hanging Gardens is obviously cairned and easy to find. This route is super chill and has a ton of bang for your buck, a must do, get after it!!
18 Sep 2022	Good	Very Low	None	Normal	7 hours	2 people Intermediate	Damian (14 reports)
Comment: GPS took us through Toms Creek road and it was a nightmare. Even with high clearance and 4wd we were scrapping the bottom and going so slow we could walk faster. This road absolutely sucks, go further and take 149 instead and still be prepared for ugly bumpy. Half way through we gave up and walked the rest of the way. Canyon is very pretty towards the end, we changed the webbing on last rap. Hanging Gardens are so sweet, overall great day.
14 Apr 2022	Great	Dry	None	Normal	6 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	Johnbcaves (168 reports)
Comment: Knot chock on R2 blew when rappeller slipped and shock-loaded it. Luckily we had a meat backup. Decided to use fiddlestick from rocks DCR instead. Great weather and the Hanging Gardens were beautiful.
20 Aug 2021	Good	Moderate	None	Special challenges	6 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	Jawx0420 (44 reports)
Comment: Recent heavy rains have taken a toll on this route. We ran into a few unexpected problems with anchors that were missing from the flash floods. The canyon had running water and several deep potholes that were easily avoided. WCC was completely full of water. We had to wade through chest deep water on several occasions to get down stream to the gardens and the exit hike. Debris is everywhere so watch your step! I tripped a few times on slippery rocks and logs. The hike out is more direct than the XML tracks but it is very tough. Cairns mark the entire path which is very helpful. We ran into a rattle snake on approach to the first rap. With the vegetation so lush from the monsoon season this year, watch every step! Rap 1 - This was harder to find than expected. The first drop that you come to is not where the rap is. You must downclimb this LDC and then you will get to the second drop where the anchor is located. It was still in good shape. Rap 2 - The cairn anchor was washed downstream leaving little options for a new anchor. I was able to create a pinch anchor using some webbing that I brought with me. It is located close to the edge LDC. I wedged it in nicely using several knots, then redirected it around a second boulder to put the anchor in a good fall line for the rap. We retrieved the old anchor webbing that had been washed down stream. Rap 3 - The pinch anchor is still in place and is in good shape. Small over hang on rap is fun. If you need to get back up to the top because you left something, you can scramble up RDC. Don't ask me how I know... Downclimbing - Very fun but sketchy when wet. There were a few spots that we considered setting up anchors to rap down but opted to take it slow. Rap 4 - Two stage - DO NOT DOWNCLIMB FIRST STAGE. The tree anchor that was wedged has been washed away. There are no suitable anchors. You must use the Tree anchor located RDC at the top of this rap. We extended the webbing around the rock wall to prevent rope rub and potential of a stuck rope. Double strand rap all the way down. The rope pulled nicely. Rap 5 - Deadman anchor is still in place and in good shape. Fun last rap. We used our fiddle stick on every rap except for Rap 4 due to the two stages. I recommend you bring a 200 foot rope because of the anchor situation on Rap 4. Enjoy!
7 Aug 2021	Ok	Dry	None	Easy	3 hours	2 people Expert	Dwentzel (18 reports)
Comment: It's an okay canyon, better than I thought it was going to be. Quite similar to X-Pine. Definitely a better way into Hanging Gardens. We had an angry Diamondback encounter partway down the last rappel, which was of course the narrowest section. I had to wait until he moved as far as he could LDC so I could rappel past him RDC. A newer more direct approach back to the vehicle has been made versus the GPX route.
23 May 2021	Great	Dry	None	Easy	6 hours	3 people Intermediate to Advanced	Johnbcaves (168 reports)
Comment: Updated the only anchor without new webbing. Had a great time- canyon becomes a beautiful slot near the bottom and the Hanging Gardens were amazing! Great group and beautiful scenery. Weather was a little warm for the exit hike. We added ~2mi each way hiking due to concern over road condition.
2 May 2021	Good	Dry		Normal	6 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	EMoorcroft (453 reports)
Comment: r1. watch for crack at top. r2. cairn anchor was solid. r3. anchor off pinch. watch crack at top of using a block. r1-r3 have ok rock quality, and bushes on the walls. they are all 3 fairly short, but nerve racking, and just on the cusp of being downclimbs. I consider them .Keegan a right of passage for the good section of downclimbing ahead. From r3 pack up rope and downclimb through the next section of moderate downclimbs to the section that slots up. On both trips I have spotted the r4 anchor up in a tree and back ldc. We have opted to downclimb the next 25+ ft to the opening of the chute. In the shoot we have lodged an old tree in the opening which makes for a 50' rapp. This rapp appeared to be a possible advanced downclimb or handline. r5. dead man anchor could use new webbing, or there is a newer anchor rdc and back off a tree. Both times I've done this route I've brought a 100' rope, fiddle stick, pull cord, and extra anchor materials. If you enjoy downclimbing you'll love the middle section. approach is easy, and the exit is moderate to difficult. The exit gets easier everytime but there are multiple game trails and the social trail seems to disappear at times. Hike up and behind the hanging gardens constantly working your way up and right across a few different drainage. often times you feel as if you are hiking back into west clear creek as you make your way to the ridge that stands above hanging gardens. Once on the main ridge things ease up as you work your way to the rim. This route is definitely worth doing at least once as the hanging gardens are well worth the effort.