Conditions:Meadow Canyon-20240602143044

Latest:	1 Jun 2024 (11 mos ago)

Reported by:	Grapefruit (33 reports)
Quality:	Ok
Waterflow:	Dry
Wetsuit:	None
Water temperature:	71 F
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	8 hours

Team: 4 people with experience level Brand new to Intermediate

Trip report URL:

Comments: We dropped gear and people off at the start of the start of Meadow which did help a little. Meadow Canyon is just boulder hopping, for hours. Right at the end, the three raps were clean although the anchors use a lot of webbing. I'm so tired of the boulder hopping. The standard trail would have been prettier because white box was gorgeous. The creek from Meadow was full of slippery algae. I regretted not bringing my approach shoes. Drove both roads (approach: FR142A, exit: FR9241N/power lines/FR142J). Agree with others that the exit was a better road. The road though is very rough. I was grateful to be in something lifted with tough tires and we still touched in spots. Pictures don't do justice to how bad the road is. You could do it easily in any 4 or 2 wheeled OHV. Without skid plates and a lift, it's doable to drive FR 142A but I wouldn't encourage it.

Time is for Meadow Canyon exiting via the trail for hanging gardens. We could have shaved hours off the trip by sticking to the trail going in and out. Came across two rattlesnakes in the canyon. Although a beginner canyon, it is rugged and the endless boulder hopping and slippery rocks made the hiking not beginner friendly. Another reason that Meadow isn't great is because you're going up river the whole time, which means fighting all the plants custom oriented to poke at you on the banks (instead of just half the time). Plus not enough time to enjoy what the area really has to offer.

We did it at 9 CFS. The water was pretty warm and felt good, no wetsuits needed.

The full hike/canyon (not counting drive time) took us 8 hours and 35 minutes. 6.3 miles. For comparison, alltrails says the nontechnical route is 3 miles.

1 hour on the approach to the mouth of Meadow Canyon.

3 hours 45 min to west clear creek. 1/2hr break to filter water.

1/2 hour to the hanging gardens. 1/2 break (felt short).

2 hours 15 minutes to the car.

Without Meadow Canyon, you would shave two miles and over three hours off your trip. I was really excited to get Meadow, but it's a one-and-done sort of thing.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
1 Jun 2024	Ok	Dry	None	Normal	8 hours	4 people Brand new to Intermediate	Grapefruit (33 reports)
Comment: We dropped gear and people off at the start of the start of Meadow which did help a little. Meadow Canyon is just boulder hopping, for hours. Right at the end, the three raps were clean although the anchors use a lot of webbing. I'm so tired of the boulder hopping. The standard trail would have been prettier because white box was gorgeous. The creek from Meadow was full of slippery algae. I regretted not bringing my approach shoes. Drove both roads (approach: FR142A, exit: FR9241N/power lines/FR142J). Agree with others that the exit was a better road. The road though is very rough. I was grateful to be in something lifted with tough tires and we still touched in spots. Pictures don't do justice to how bad the road is. You could do it easily in any 4 or 2 wheeled OHV. Without skid plates and a lift, it's doable to drive FR 142A but I wouldn't encourage it. Time is for Meadow Canyon exiting via the trail for hanging gardens. We could have shaved hours off the trip by sticking to the trail going in and out. Came across two rattlesnakes in the canyon. Although a beginner canyon, it is rugged and the endless boulder hopping and slippery rocks made the hiking not beginner friendly. Another reason that Meadow isn't great is because you're going up river the whole time, which means fighting all the plants custom oriented to poke at you on the banks (instead of just half the time). Plus not enough time to enjoy what the area really has to offer. We did it at 9 CFS. The water was pretty warm and felt good, no wetsuits needed. The full hike/canyon (not counting drive time) took us 8 hours and 35 minutes. 6.3 miles. For comparison, alltrails says the nontechnical route is 3 miles. 1 hour on the approach to the mouth of Meadow Canyon. 3 hours 45 min to west clear creek. 1/2hr break to filter water. 1/2 hour to the hanging gardens. 1/2 break (felt short). 2 hours 15 minutes to the car. Without Meadow Canyon, you would shave two miles and over three hours off your trip. I was really excited to get Meadow, but it's a one-and-done sort of thing.
10 Jul 2023	Good		None	Normal			EMoorcroft (450 reports)
Comment: Anchors looked good. Parked at the exit for hanging gardens and took that trail back up. 6.5 hours at a chill pace with a long break at the gardens. Tom's Creek road was in much better shape than the Calloway road (142), both require high clearance.
8 Jul 2023	Good	Very Low	None	Normal	4 hours	1 people	Nclegg (407 reports)
Comment: Made a short loop descending to the gardens and taking the Jacob's Ladder sneak exit back up to my vehicle. 2h to hanging gardens, 1h at gardens, 1h exit. Did 2 rappels. Replaced webbing at R2. Technical section was dry except for one completely avoidable ankle-deep pool. Waist-depth wades in WCC that could probably be easily avoided along the sides of the creek. Water temp was comfortable.
15 Jul 2020	Good	Deep pools	None	Normal	6 hours	1 people Intermediate	Coalemus (160 reports)
Comment: White Box is super cool. The canyon is a fine way to get down to a beautiful part of WCC. Really could do this canyon with 1 rap. R3 especially is downclimbable by anyone (when dry) but looks a little intimidating from the top. I did 3 raps. Webbing was super fresh on all but the last one which is a bit weathered but still supple. Swims were welcome relief from the heat. Water temps perfect. Improved exit section.
24 May 2020	Good		Thin wetsuit	Easy	10 days	2 people Intermediate to Advanced	Mojojojo (27 reports)
Comment: All 4 anchors in good condition. The stomach deep pool is still present right before the 1st rap. It was cold at 7:30am but doable with no wetsuit. WCC is still chilly- we wore 3mm wetsuits which made it very comfortable. Saw another group without wetsuits. In 2-3 weeks the water should be great for no suits! WCC beautiful as always. Hiked up and followed the jeep road to the powerlines and the powerlines back to the car which made for a long exit but also made that post-canyon car beer so much sweeter!
3 May 2020	Ok	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Normal	10 hours	2 people Advanced to Beginner	Erek (206 reports)
Comment: One stomach deep pool in canyon section, one used wetsuit other did not. Cold, but out in Sun fast, stay RDC along edge to stay only stomach deep. 3mm wetsuit used in WCC was really nice to have. Canyon section took us 4 hours, WCC section 2.5 hours. All webbing looked good.
21 Jul 2019	Good	Very Low	None	Normal	8 hours	2 people Beginner to Advanced	Erek (206 reports)
Comment: One knee deep pool in canyon. No wetsuit needed. Swimming in west clear creek water not cold.
14 Aug 2017 Trip report							HikeArizona.com (271 reports)
Comment: Most recent conditions reported at HikeArizona.com
15 Jun 2013 Trip report	Good						CanditionBot (2103 reports)
Comment: See the full condition report at Candition.com. Submitted by mzamp.
15 Jun 2013 Trip report							Candition.com (287 reports)
Comment: Most recent conditions reported at Candition.com, see Trip Report for full details.