Conditions:Wilbur Canyon-20230525170607

Latest:	23 May 2023 (16 days ago)

Reported by:	Rglenn (17 reports)
Quality:	Great
Waterflow:	Very Low
Wetsuit:	Full wetsuit
Water temperature:
Difficulty:	Normal
Time:	7 hours

Team: 4 people with experience level Intermediate to Advanced

Trip report URL:

Comments: Water in pools was cold and clean. Replaced webbing on 2 anchors. Other webbing good. We used a variety of wetsuit thicknesses from 4/3 to 7mm. No one was too hot. 4 wheel drive high clearance a must.

All condition reports

Date	Quality	Waterflow	Wetsuit	Difficulty	Time	Team	Reported by
26 May 2023	Great	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Normal	4 hours	2 people Advanced to Intermediate	MRickerd (5 reports)
Comment: This was our second time to Wilbur. On FR9353 wife and I moved downed tree covering trail. Trail out to the start of the canyon is rocky, but only required 2wd (lifted and armored Tacoma at full tire pressure on aggressive Hybrid MT/AT tires). Donned 3/2 wetsuits shortly after first rap. Beautiful conditions. No flowing water, but pools of varying depths everywhere. Final two slot pools were very cold. All anchors/webbing looked great, replaced nothing. All retrievals were without issue. Relaxed down at WCC for ~1/2 hours soaking up the sun. Replaced cairn at exit out of WCC up steep gully. Trail is steep but still easy to follow.
23 May 2023	Great	Very Low	Full wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	4 people Intermediate to Advanced	Rglenn (17 reports)
Comment: Water in pools was cold and clean. Replaced webbing on 2 anchors. Other webbing good. We used a variety of wetsuit thicknesses from 4/3 to 7mm. No one was too hot. 4 wheel drive high clearance a must.
1 May 2023	Great		Thick wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	2 people Advanced	EMoorcroft (282 reports)
Comment: R1 Anchor and log washed away. We ghosted off another log wedged down on the lower tier. It appeared as if we were the first through since winter. We had to move quite a bit of debris around near anchor locations. Thick wetsuit were toasty but nice in the short narrows swim toward the end. Time includes slaying trout at the creek before the sneak exit.
1 May 2023	Amazing	Deep pools	Full wetsuit	Normal	6 hours	2 people Advanced	Cooper smith (11 reports)
Comment: We found the anchor for the first rappel washed out below the drop. The log it was on has been washed away. Either ghost from log above or be prepared to mine resources from above as this level has little anchor material. All other anchors present once debris was cleared. A few may need new webbing soon, one is particularly frayed but functional. I was using a 4/3mm wetsuit, vest, and merino base layers and was more than warm enough. Canyon was beautiful and clean water made this run a treat! Water dogs, frogs, and even a snake in the canyon. Caught some rainbow trout at the bottom from clear creek. Spring is here!
18 Sep 2022	Good	Deep pools	Rain jacket		5 hours	3 people Brand new to Advanced	Davidsnaz (23 reports)
Comment: All the pools are still completely full. The water temperature made made having a thin wetsuit worthwhile. The log rappel setup before the first traditional rap1 could be replaced but the downclimb on canyon right is still manageable with care due to the moss. The creek was definitely a warm reprieve.
17 Sep 2022	Amazing	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit		5 hours	2 people Advanced	RFontaine (125 reports)
Comment: A wonderful enjoyable full featured canyon! Great rappels, fun downclimbs, beautiful slots and some swims! Almost like a mini Illusions. My top favorite in WCC area. All pools were full to the brim, WCC has lots of deep swimming pools along the exit hike too. The exit ascent is also fairly easy for a WCC exit and beginning was marked with cairns. As you travel down WCC, pass the first possible exit gully, the next one is the one you take! Such a fun quick route, a must do!
5 Sep 2022	Amazing	Deep pools	None	Normal	5 hours	3 people Beginner to Advanced	Stber321 (20 reports)
Comment: Beautiful canyon with a lot of fun down climbs and a massive great horned owl hanging out above R3. Just a word of caution, we stuck our rope on the 80 ft rappel. We eventually decided to abandon it, then return and attempt to collect if from the top. Our time does not include this additional ~2 hrs or so to retrieve it. What had happened is a twist in the rope got jammed between the wood and rock under the anchor, it was shocking we could not pull it out with a 3 to 1 as there was only about a foot of rope to go. Make sure to get rid of any twists in the rope while pulling! Seeing it from the top was a very good reminder to not try and ascend a stuck rope. We found a sneak approach to get in a little above the log downclimb right before our rap, so retrieval wasn't that difficult. The road is bad but I was (barely) able to make it most of the way in a Subaru Crosstrek. I dont know that I would want to take my car back there again.
5 Sep 2022	Great	Deep pools	None	Normal	4 hours	2 people Advanced	Erek (197 reports)
Comment: All pools were completely full. Water was cold, but able to get out pretty fast. Did not regret not having a wetsuit, with two was able to keep moving, a thin wetsuit would have been nice. All webbing looked good. Road to canyon is getting worse, a lot of mud and ruts.
22 Jul 2022	Amazing	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Normal	4 hours	3 people Intermediate to Advanced	Jawx0420 (40 reports)
Comment: Awesome canyon and an awesome route! The approach is fun and engaging with several downclimbs. The raps are fun and there are plenty of them. This one might be my new favorite in WCC. Enjoyed the creek for about an hour before hiking out. The exit was also a blast. Like the approach, it is very engaging and fun but will get your legs burning!
15 May 2022			Thin wetsuit		4 hours	2 people	EMoorcroft (282 reports)
Comment: All anchors in good shape. Sneak exit and GPS signal were not an issue. The track was really good.
30 Apr 2022	Great	Deep pools	Full wetsuit	Normal	4 hours	3 people Intermediate to Advanced	Nclegg (275 reports)
Comment: Comfortable in 5mm wetsuit. Several deep wades and a few semi-lengthy swims. Dead owl in long hallway just up-canyon of final rappel. Exit was steep and loose but straightforward following faint trail and staying RUC towards the top. Left the exit gully early and picked up forest road once at the rim. Updated KML track to reflect this more direct route.
29 May 2021	Good	Deep pools	Full wetsuit	Normal	5 hours	5 people Beginner to Advanced	Mojojojo (20 reports)
Comment: All anchors inspected and in good shape. Water level is very low for this time of year, both in the canyon and in the creek. Lots of algae bloom in the creek, uncharacteristic for this early in the season. There is a dead decomposing cow in a pool before the first rap which can be bypassed by climbing up the canyon walls down canyon right and traversing a game trail. The pothole with the log is full enough to swim out, but requires a little extra muscle than normal as it is a few inches below the lip likely due to drought conditions. The last sequence is quite cold, we were happy to have full wetsuits.
8 Aug 2020	Great	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Normal	3 hours	3 people Beginner to Advanced	Doctors out (25 reports)
Comment: Wore a shorty and was fine, only one cold swim and a couple waders. Walked upstream past the sneak exit by a couple hundred feet before realizing it. Gotta keep your eyes peeled. Sneak exit is loose but direct. Time is for car to car loop.
8 Aug 2020	Great	Deep pools	None	Normal	5 hours	2 people Brand new to Intermediate	Chrischumphrey (1 reports)
Comment: Great run through Wilbur! The conditions & weather were perfect. We parked at the sneak exit parking, and headed straight down into the canyon. The first half of the canyon included one 20 ft. rappel, and a couple interesting down-climbs on logs. The rappels in the narrow portion of the canyon were beautiful, and all anchors are in good condition. There's one shorts swimmer toward the end, and a swimmer into WCC at the end. As others have mentioned, please be careful when going up the sneak exit! We exited up one drainage too early, and were faced with some exposed class 4 which might be a mental and/or physical challenge for some.
12 Jul 2020	Great	Deep pools	Thin wetsuit	Normal	7 hours	2 people Beginner to Advanced	Erek (197 reports)
Comment: Time is for doing sneak exit. Took our time on the early obstacles and downclimbs. Pot hole with log is 3/4 full, log moves a lot, have to make a move from log to lip to not fall in. Did not need wetsuits until pot hole log rappel. One cold swim before last rappel makes worth having a wetsuit. Found dead skunk in pool before first rappel. Found dead owl outside pool of second to last rappel. Sneak exit can be hard to find. You should go around an obvious protruding rock cliff, you should have to swim through an obvious pool built up by WCC, you should be able to see obvious stair like steps going up to the right as you look from WCC. It is class 4 climbing.

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