Conditions:Rockets Red Glare Gulch-20250407004105

Latest:	5 Apr 2025 (13 days ago)

Reported by:	Toddk (16 reports)
Quality:	Good
Waterflow:	Dry
Wetsuit:	None
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	6 hours

Team: 5 people with experience level Beginner to Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: This is a canyon-wannabe. It's a glorified drainage area. With that said, it's a fun, easy route with a big payoff at the end. Definitely worth doing. The approach is on an established trail. The drop in is obvious. We cleared away a bit of brush on throughout the canyon. Beware the PO. We ghosted several small rappels rather than downclimb them due to the loose rock. All existing anchors were in good shape. The anchor for rap 3 (150') was hard to spot due to overgrown brush, but we cleared it. We elected to take that rappel all the way to the bottom. If you do that, it's a full 200'. There are other options, but this was the quickest & easiest and has a clean pull. The last rappel, which drops you into the narrows, is a hidden gem (if you ignore the graffiti). We elected to exit upstream. We weren't quite prepared for the chest-deep water in places. Would have been nice to have a shorty and some dry bags, but we were fine. The metal ladders that bypass the 25' waterfall were janky but managed to get us out. The exit is easy to find. Keep going until you find the handlines that lead to a trail that takes you right back to the exit parking.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
5 Apr 2025	Good	Dry	None	Normal	6 hours	5 people Beginner to Advanced	Toddk (16 reports)
Comment: This is a canyon-wannabe. It's a glorified drainage area. With that said, it's a fun, easy route with a big payoff at the end. Definitely worth doing. The approach is on an established trail. The drop in is obvious. We cleared away a bit of brush on throughout the canyon. Beware the PO. We ghosted several small rappels rather than downclimb them due to the loose rock. All existing anchors were in good shape. The anchor for rap 3 (150') was hard to spot due to overgrown brush, but we cleared it. We elected to take that rappel all the way to the bottom. If you do that, it's a full 200'. There are other options, but this was the quickest & easiest and has a clean pull. The last rappel, which drops you into the narrows, is a hidden gem (if you ignore the graffiti). We elected to exit upstream. We weren't quite prepared for the chest-deep water in places. Would have been nice to have a shorty and some dry bags, but we were fine. The metal ladders that bypass the 25' waterfall were janky but managed to get us out. The exit is easy to find. Keep going until you find the handlines that lead to a trail that takes you right back to the exit parking.
22 Mar 2025	Great	Dry	None	Normal	3 hours	1 people Advanced	Jcsjcs (117 reports)
Comment: Parked at the top of the exit climb just upstream from the Big Tujunga Narrows and walked along the road to the approach trail which was well-maintained. The canyon had some overgrown sections but nothing too difficult to get to. All the rappels were high quality. Three of them had anchors and I ghosted the other ones in the beta plus a couple of bonus drops that were slippery due to the recent rain. The final rappel down to the Big Tujunga River was spectacular with a tall free-hanging section. I measured it to be 190' and will update the beta. The exit upstream through the narrows was amazing; somehow I had never been through here in all my years of running canyons in the area. There were a few short swims. The big waterfall had a ladder in place to bypass it. A use trail began soon after the narrows and continued with some handlines up the slope to the road. I can't say enough good things about this canyon and encourage everyone to check it out!