Conditions:Saucer Branch-20221001221642

Latest:	1 Oct 2022 (2 yrs, 11 mos ago)

Reported by:	Jcsjcs (125 reports)
Quality:	Great
Waterflow:	Dry
Wetsuit:	None
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	4 hours

Team: 1 people

Trip report URL:

Comments: Approach up Millard Creek Trail past Dawn Mine to Tom Sloan Saddle took 2:00. I had low expectations for Saucer Branch but it vastly exceeded them, being generally open and easy to travel down with many interesting downclimbs especially in the rocky glen near the middle. Signs of human passage throughout. The left wall of the canyon soared to awesome heights in the last third. Used existing anchors for the two rappels near the end which had a trickle of water and some easily avoidable pools. Saucer Branch was a beautiful, chill hike and one well worth doing.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
1 Oct 2022	Great	Dry	None	Normal	4 hours	1 people	Jcsjcs (125 reports)
Comment: Approach up Millard Creek Trail past Dawn Mine to Tom Sloan Saddle took 2:00. I had low expectations for Saucer Branch but it vastly exceeded them, being generally open and easy to travel down with many interesting downclimbs especially in the rocky glen near the middle. Signs of human passage throughout. The left wall of the canyon soared to awesome heights in the last third. Used existing anchors for the two rappels near the end which had a trickle of water and some easily avoidable pools. Saucer Branch was a beautiful, chill hike and one well worth doing.
12 Jan 2021	Poor	Dry	None	Special challenges	7 hours	1 people Intermediate	Aquamoo (91 reports)
Comment: Murphys law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Saucer Branch is the physical manifestation of Murphys law. My approach was terrible and I hiked over 7 miles just to get to the "drop in". The drop in was just me bumbling down the side of a brush covered mountain. Did I mention the Yuccas? If anyone sees a particularly bloody one, give it a good kick for me. Once I got into the bottom of the tributary there was still a lot of yuccas but my speed greatly improved. For the most part the upper portion of Saucer Branch is just a lot of easy downclimbs and dry creek walking. Unfortunately there are also many parts of the canyon that are densely covered with tree branches. Sometime after I entered the canyon one of my large water bottles disappeared leaving me pretty dehydrated. I eventually drank some moving water which seemed only slightly more appetizing than drinking my own urine. The last third of the canyon is by far the worst part. The density of the canyon kelp makes suicide canyon look like childs play. It was torturous. The many downclimbs in this part are actually easy because the sheer amount of canyon kelp makes it easy to "slide" down the canyon kelp. After six and a half hours I finally arrived at the first rappel. There was a single bolt that I decided to use as the trees near the water course are covered with brush. This is actually a nice rappel but I was too tired to enjoy it, and at this point it had been dark for well over an hour (headlamp really came in clutch). The next waterfall is immediately after and the very dense brush prevented me from looking for the trail that allegedly exists to bypass it. I instead chose to rap off of a large fallen tree. This rap was really annoying as the canyon kelp grows so heavily through the path you rappel through that you have to kick your way down. After this I found a use trail dcr that bypassed the next waterfall. From there there was an intermittent use trail that ran to Millard Creek. From Millard Creek I had to hike/run back to my car parked ~ 2 miles away to avoid being locked in as the gate is closed on weekdays at 8pm according to a sign. In its current state Saucer Branch is a real contender for the worst canyon in Southern California. You do walk directly past the crashed plane which is kinda cool I guess. Everything else sucks. I propose the name is changed to "death by a thousand yucca canyon". Assuming I don't die from a lethal dose I will update this report on whether or not the large swathes of suspected poison oak, were in fact poison oak. Edit: Yep there was lots of poison oak. My arms got completely covered in a PO rash, Tecnu helped a lot.