Conditions:Jose Creek-20240819011940

Latest:	18 Aug 2024 (9 mos ago)

Reported by:	Hillbelfi (31 reports), Kirbside (96 reports), Epeairs (70 reports)
Quality:	Amazing
Waterflow:	Moderate Low
Wetsuit:	Thin wetsuit
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	4 hours

Team: 7 people with experience level Brand new to Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: Wetsuits ranged from none to 4 mm. The flow was enough and the weather warm enough that it was easy to self regulate.

We rescued 60' of rope on the buttcrack rappel (rigged off the dry rap likely off the rock chock).

We stuck a rope at the wet buttcrack in the log jam (it had been rigged as a perhaps ill-advised CEM and stuck the bight in horns of the log). We were able to ground anchor the pull strand and ascend to retrieve the rope.

Flow was enough to be fun but not present any major challenges. A perfect level for a beginner group.

I'm not sure why Pitman gets more love than Jose. If you love climbing down slickrock and rappelling next to water rather than in it then maybe do Pitman. Jose has interesting water features, rappels in the flow, and a very low pay-to-play ratio for the Sierra.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
18 Aug 2024	Amazing	Moderate Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	4 hours	7 people Brand new to Advanced	Hillbelfi (31 reports),Kirbside (96 reports),Epeairs (70 reports)
Comment: Wetsuits ranged from none to 4 mm. The flow was enough and the weather warm enough that it was easy to self regulate. We rescued 60' of rope on the buttcrack rappel (rigged off the dry rap likely off the rock chock). We stuck a rope at the wet buttcrack in the log jam (it had been rigged as a perhaps ill-advised CEM and stuck the bight in horns of the log). We were able to ground anchor the pull strand and ascend to retrieve the rope. Flow was enough to be fun but not present any major challenges. A perfect level for a beginner group. I'm not sure why Pitman gets more love than Jose. If you love climbing down slickrock and rappelling next to water rather than in it then maybe do Pitman. Jose has interesting water features, rappels in the flow, and a very low pay-to-play ratio for the Sierra.
14 Jul 2024	Good	Moderate	Rain jacket	Normal	5 hours	5 people Brand new to Advanced	Boof (31 reports),Sanazestan (11 reports)
Comment: Had a nice time in Jose Creek. We all wore wetsuits but could have gone without in the summer heat. We couldn't find several of the anchors (not sure if washed away or we just didn't see them) but made our own natural ones with no trouble. Water was fairly sporty but can be mostly avoided if you want to stay out of the flowier parts.
16 Jun 2024	Great	Moderate High	Thin wetsuit	Normal		5 people Beginner to Advanced	Kirbside (96 reports)
27 Aug 2023	Good	Moderate High	Rain jacket	Normal	5 hours	4 people	Xenonrocket (102 reports),Sqshemet (75 reports),Feroz (34 reports),Epeairs (70 reports)
Comment: This was run in 2023 (“The Deluge”), and shortly after an aseasonal hurricane, so flows were much higher than should be expected for late August in future years. We all went without wetsuits, which was just a little chilly. On R1 we couldn't find the DCC anchor, and accessing the bolts DCR required a semi-sketchy downclimb around the giant boulder. The R3 bolts are in comically bad shape and need to be replaced, we bypassed DCR.
20 May 2022	Good	Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	11 people Brand new to Advanced	Johnbcaves (158 reports)
Comment: Almost every pool is filled with sediment post-Creek Fire. Very different! Big group on a slow pace with varying experience. Good trip overall. A bit chilly in wind and shade.
29 May 2021	Great	Moderate Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	6 people Brand new to Advanced	Johnbcaves (158 reports)
Comment: Did all the wet raps possible. Still flowing enough but the algae is definitely taking hold. Played with some new-to-me jumps and a slide or two...
5 Jul 2020	Great	Moderate Low	Thin wetsuit	Special challenges	5 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	KelMo (12 reports)
Comment: This is a follow up on Mads' trip report below. We returned 2 days later to (successfully) retrieve the stuck rope. Longer time car to car because we did 2 raps we walked around on the previous trip, were probably tired from a long day in Big Creek the day before, and general slow-Sunday laziness. "Special challenges" indicated for a couple reasons: 1. We almost stuck another rope because of algae. The canyon is full of it and it collected as the rope pulled through the rapide, catching the end of the rope on the pull. (Neither of us are particularly large, finally got it loose by putting our full weight on the rope and jumping off of a small rock). 2. When retrieving the previously-stuck rope on rap 5, nothing was amiss (no twists). It seems this is just a really bad pull location as it bends the rope around a tight, constricted corner. We considered the rap of the knot-chock, but it was either (a) rigged in a way we'd never seen before, or (b) the rapide-end got stuck in another crack due to natural conditions. Because we couldn't see, feel, or inspect one end of the webbing, we didn't feel it was safe to use. Instead we extended the rappel off the bolts with webbing past the constriction. It's now a much easier pull (and not really any more difficult to get onto), but obviously long pieces of webbing are less-than ideal in class-C canyons. Also sorry for the red webbing. It's what we had! Finally, be cautious of poison oak! There's a lot of it on the edges of the canyon (especially if you're doing walk-arounds).
3 Jul 2020	Great	Moderate Low	Thin wetsuit	Normal	3 hours	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	Mads (61 reports)
Comment: Jose Creek is in mellow conditions now. Would be a fun one to run in higher water. Water was warm and canyon is sunny; a shorty or no wetsuit would be totally fine. 3:30pm start 6:50pm at exit car. We stuck a rope on the bolts at the buttcrack rappel (#5 in the beta). When we went back to get it, we noted no twists or other obstacles, it's just a difficult pull angle and a lot of friction from the bolts.
14 Jun 2020	Great	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal	5 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	Johnbcaves (158 reports)
Comment: Still decent flow, but algae definitely off to a start. Some enormous (golf ball-sized bodies) tadpoles in pool above R1.
13 Jun 2020	Great	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal	4 hours	2 people Advanced	Rodtel314 (36 reports),Sqshemet (75 reports)
Comment: Planned to hike the car shuttle, but hitched a ride halfway in the bed of a friendly truck. Great early season warmup canyon. We couldn't find the narrow slot rappel (R1), but will be looking for it next time.
23 May 2020	Great	Moderate High	Full wetsuit	Special challenges	3 hours	4 people Advanced to Expert	DMonroy (188 reports)
Comment: At this high level it was a great canyon. We had a blast. We rappelled in flow most of the time, except for one section, and created a knot chock anchor at. the last waterfall to rappel just to the left side of the flow. The little jump at the end was a nice way to finish. There were HUGE crowds and traffic jams on the road, so we had to park a full 1/2 mile away from the gate for the shuttle vehicle.
17 May 2020	Great	Moderate High	Thin wetsuit	Special challenges	4 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	Johnbcaves (158 reports),JohnMetz (14 reports)
Comment: Mostly cloudy, so a bit chilly in the water. Decently high flow on the wet raps.
3 Jun 2018	Great	Moderate	Thin wetsuit	Normal	5 hours	4 people Advanced to Intermediate	Johnbcaves (158 reports),Toinette (7 reports),AMeyer17 (1 reports)
Comment: Great way to spend a 100°F day. Some time added by rigging alternate raps out of main flow for some of our team. Still flowing and still free of stringy algae.
5 Aug 2017	Great	Moderate High	Thin wetsuit	Special challenges	8 hours	4 people Beginner to Advanced	Elenius (7 reports)
Comment: My flow rating is based on going down directly in the flow, including the narrow slot rappel option for raps 1-2, which was a very cool feature. In most parts of the canyon, the flow was moderate. The canyon offers great bang for the buck. Easy shuttle, very little non-technical hiking, and great scenery. Some algae and leech-like tiny black worms, but not too bad.
16 Jul 2017	Good	Moderate	Rain jacket	Normal	5 hours	7 people Beginner to Advanced	Johnbcaves (158 reports)
Comment: Water levels decreasing. Still slick rock, algae is building :-( and poison oak is healthy. No major challenges.

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