Kitchen Creek
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| | Difficulty:3B II (v3a2 II) Raps:4, max ↨100ft
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| Condition Reports: | 7 Sep 2025
"Took a big group of beginners through Kitchen Creek. Bone dry canyon, mostly moss.. Anchors at R1 and R2 are showing age, anchor at R3 is old purp |
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32.7430, -116.4653
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Waterflow
Introduction[edit]
This is a very short and easy technical descent, perfect for kids and newbies. When flowing well, it can be really fun and may even require use of wetsuits. With decent flow, this can be a great place to practice Class C techniques.
A good checkpoint to compare water flow is the bottom of the last rappel.
Approach[edit]
You can access from the bottom (2mi 650ft elevation gain) but a more direct route is to access from the top (1.1mi 350ft elevation loss). Either way, from the parking spot hike to the top of Kitchen Creek Falls and start the descent there.
Descent[edit]
If you hike in from the top, it's hot and the flow is good, you may consider getting in the stream earlier and have fun jumping the pools and downclimbing the lesser falls along the stream.
The waterfalls have been bolted with 4 x dual bolt stations. All bolted anchors are DCL. The descent is very short, so if you like the flow you may want to descend it twice to make the trip worthwhile or combine it with other technical canyons in the region.
Approaching the first anchor can be somewhat involved, and beginners should be helped with the initial scrambling. Twin cracks DCL can be easily slid/stemmed down, or the rock DCR can be scrambled up and the potholes downclimbed with partner assist/capture. From there, a narrow trough must be either walked through or stemmed over. This trough gets a considerable amount of push through it in high flow, however it is easy to avoid and only a few inches deep.
R1 is at the top of the first major falls near the back of a bowl that can be waist-deep in high flow. This is a good place for beginners to start considering the complexities of rope pull and rope placement, as the rappel will immediately go around a boulder and into a pothole.
R2 is on a shelf DCL, just outside of the usual water course, that requires minor scrambling to reach. This rappel will lead around another boulder. Beginners may feel drawn to a smooth section DCR, but it will lead them away from R3 and into an overhang where they are likely to swing out and lose control. Instead, stick to the water course DCL to use the R3 anchor.
R3 is DCL, in the middle of the water course, and right above a series of cascades. The ledge for R3 is small, no more than three people should be on it at once in flow, and all should be clipped into the anchor.
Exit[edit]
It's really good for novices because you can exit at any point in the descent by using a use trail at the side of the waterfall.
If you're parked on kitchen creek road, and not planning to use the Alternate Exit, take care to exit the canyon after the technical section. There is plenty of fun creek walking to do past the rappels, but it will take you further from your vehicle.