Conditions:Josephine Creek-20250223141526

Latest:	22 Feb 2025 (27 days ago)

Reported by:	Willie92708 (991 reports)
Quality:	Great
Waterflow:	Very Low
Wetsuit:	Rain jacket
Water temperature:	10C deg C
Difficulty:	Special challenges
Time:	4 hours

Team: 1 people

Trip report URL:

Comments: My poison oak "hack-a-thon" and other brush pruning took at least a couple extra hours (Special challenges). I tried to cut back all the vines that could be in the way, and especially the ones LDC at the final rappel which "block" access to the better anchor trees LDC. Given all the work to Josephine recently (not just what I did), and given the nice waterflow (see pic), I was impressed enough to give it a "great" conditions rating. Overall this is a sweet little gem of a canyon!

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
5 Mar 2025	Great	Very Low	Rain jacket	Easy	1 hour	1 people	Willie92708 (991 reports)
Comment: Thanks to all the work clearing brush and trimming the PO, Josephine is super quick to run! Water flow was "very low" see pic on this day with overcast skied, chilly air temp and light on/off drizzle. My sub 1 hour time was just to run Josephine through the culvert to the bottom of the last rappel and pack up my ropes. I hiked Big T upstream to Corona / Sunnyside Gulch, instead of the normal exit.
22 Feb 2025	Great	Very Low	Rain jacket	Special challenges	4 hours	1 people	Willie92708 (991 reports)
Comment: My poison oak "hack-a-thon" and other brush pruning took at least a couple extra hours (Special challenges). I tried to cut back all the vines that could be in the way, and especially the ones LDC at the final rappel which "block" access to the better anchor trees LDC. Given all the work to Josephine recently (not just what I did), and given the nice waterflow (see pic), I was impressed enough to give it a "great" conditions rating. Overall this is a sweet little gem of a canyon!
14 Nov 2024	Ok	Very Low	Rain jacket	Normal	5 hours	6 people	Mikeatran (69 reports)
Comment: Night run with some new folks. Cleared out a lot of poison oak on the back end leading up to the final rappel using a stick to cut it down. Replaced second anchor due to rot and link rust. Very bushwhacky after the culvert leading up to the end of the technical section. Additionally the 3rd anchor sticks you right into the poison oak to set up high. Final rappel though was noted by the group to be worth it (for the ones who it had been their first time through the canyon).
23 Apr 2023	Great	Very Low	None	Normal	4 hours	4 people Beginner to Expert	Dangel (157 reports),Calvarez (11 reports)
Comment: Some poison oak to avoid. But still avoidable, the exit was in decent shape. The wildflowers are going nuts. But the lilies haven't come out yet. A lovely little romp with a side of bushwhack. Ants bring death from above at the final anchor.
14 May 2022	Ok	Very Low	None	Easy	3 hours	3 people Beginner to Intermediate	Hillbelfi (31 reports)
Comment: the rappel through the culvert and the final rappel make this creek worth it, but the middle is overgrown and full of ants for sure. we did it after running LSA in the morning and it was a cool experience. exit hike was pretty well marked and easy to follow.
23 Apr 2022	Ok	Very Low	None	Normal	3 hours	2 people Brand new to Expert	AmandaC (40 reports)
Comment: All anchors are in good condition. Poison oak is starting to become overgrown and unavoidable, and the hiking trail out at the beginning is getting overgrown and poison oak as well. Forgot my shears or I would have trimmed. Also there’s a ton of overly aggressive ants hanging out on the anchor trees that will swarm you and your stuff and bite you, so watch out for that. But I was proposed to at the bottom of the big waterfall, so that kinda made it all worth it :P.
17 Jul 2021	Good	Very Low	None	Normal	4 hours	1 people Expert	AmandaC (40 reports)
Comment: Took some time to do a bit of pruning on the overgrown trail, which took more time than I thought it would need. Should have a fairly nice clear path through the canyon. Especially cleaned up the branches from the fallen tree that overhangs the 80’ rappel so future parties should find this to be a great rap and less of a nuisance rappelling through branches. All anchors are in decent enough condition that I didn’t replace any. Most of the poison oak is avoidable and not a big deal, except at the very end right before the last rappel. There are low unavoidable patches everywhere, just do your best. Don’t roll around in it and you’ll probably be fine.
7 Nov 2020	Good	Very Low	Rain jacket	Easy	4 hours	5 people Beginner to Intermediate	Mikeatran (69 reports)
Comment: Late 10am start; even with the trickle of rain and spot of hail during the day the canyon had very low flow. Culvert descent was a nice feature and definitely worth it. Brushy with some decent PO around but avoidable if you’re paying attention (up to face level during some scrambles). Exit hike was well cleared out and easy walking.
24 May 2020							Grebothy (2 reports)
25 Apr 2020	Great	Very Low	Rain jacket	Normal	2 hours	1 people Advanced	Reeves (37 reports)
Comment: Fun night canyon.
12 Dec 2019	Good	Very Low	Rain jacket	Easy	1 hour	1 people	Morgan (103 reports)
Comment: Anchors were all in good shape. Did a bit of light pruning in the upper portion of the canyon. More will likely be needed in springtime when the poison oak leafs out. Was happy in a rain shell and neoprene socks.
6 Oct 2019	Good	Very Low	None	Easy	4 hours	3 people Brand new to Intermediate	Kenglaze (8 reports)
Comment: First trip for 1 person in our party of 3 new to rappelling. Good conditions, no complications just slow moving for safety. Water down to a trickle but still enough to be pretty on the long rappel. All webbing and anchors in good condition, nothing sketchy to report.
22 May 2019	Ok	Very Low	Rain jacket	Easy	3 hours	6 people Beginner to Expert	Eljefe62 (55 reports),Dangel (157 reports),Savvas (1 reports),Ian (6 reports),Jessie Leila (17 reports),Nico (1 reports)
Comment: Webbing on the down-climbeable rappel was in the water course, we just downclimbed. It is poison oak superbloom season here.
17 Mar 2019 Trip report	Amazing	Moderate Low	None			1 people	Rlebfrom (27 reports)
Comment: It was an incredible day descending Josephine creek solo. The water flow was spectacular. The beauty of the canyon really showed. The hanging ferns and waterfalls were incredible. 2019 has been a historic year for rainfall. The canyon was definitely alive. https://vimeo.com/325000995
13 Mar 2019	Great	Very Low	Rain jacket	Easy	2 hours	6 people Beginner to Expert	Dangel (157 reports),Eljefe62 (55 reports)
Comment: Josephine is flowing nicely right now. The amount of visible poison oak branches and twigs is minimal. You may want to do it soon. If you catch Josephine at the right time in the next month or so you'll be rewarded with wildflowers and a relaxing flow with a decent amount of spray on the last rappel. As usual, if you go, consider bringing trimmers for the poison oak to keep this great canyon accessible.

...additional reports