Preparation:Jump Trip

Jump Trip is an amazing wet canyon in the California Sierras composed of two parts: Upper Jump Trip (UJT) and Lower Jump Trip (LJT). It is my favorite canyon that I've ever done, but it does involve some unusual preparation and challenges, including some swift water. This page describes what to expect and how to prepare for this trip.

Time
All of a weekend plus one week day plus getting off work early another day

Drive
The campground and canyon are a little more than 5 hours from Los Angeles or a little less than 5 hours from the Bay Area

Level of physical activity
UJT shouldn't be too exhausing, but LJT is very tiring. Most people should be able to do it, however

Technical difficulty
There are some tall rappels, but none of them are particularly difficult. The real challenge is tall (up to 25ft mandatory) jumps

Water
Swimming throughout both days, and many jumps into water, but probably not much current

Cold
With the proper gear, getting cold should only be a minor issue

Heat
Jumping in the water at any point should instantly cool you down despite (hopefully) very warm air temperatures

Special gear
Sticky shoes and full neoprene are required for this canyon. That's a full wet suit, neoprene socks, and neoprene gloves

Cost
If you don't have it already, the gear can be expensive. Camping is $17/night/site and we'll be staying 3 nights. Also, 11 hours of gas

Schedule

• Thursday
  • Leave work a little early, drive to the camp site, and get to sleep quickly
• Friday
  • Get up around 8am and do UJT (6-10 hours)
  • Everyone goes to sleep on the early side
• Saturday
  • Get up around 5:30am and do LJT (9-13 hours)
  • Hang out at camp and pass out
• Sunday
  • Get up leisurely, pack up, head home

Upper Jump Trip

Upper Jump Trip is the easier of the two days and we'll do it first. The 6-10 hour trip will consist of:

• A brief walk down to the river
• 1.6 miles of hiking, wading, swimming, jumping, and climbing over rocks
• 0.9 miles and 540 ft of elevation gain up a well-traveled trail

Lower Jump Trip

Lower Jump Trip is harder and more majestic than Upper Jump Trip; it will take a full day and you'll likely be exhausted by the end. The 9-13 hour trip will consist of:

• A 0.9 mile downhill hike to the river
• 0.8 miles of amazing pools and waterfalls; the best parts of the trip
• 1.4 miles of more sedate hiking, wading, rock scrambling, and swimming
• 0.2 miles of fun water features
• 0.4 miles of hard slog to the end

Jumps

Jump Trip has many jumps (go figure). You will need the willingness and ability to jump up to 25ft into water promptly and repeatedly.

Gear

Special gear (MANDATORY!)

• Full wet suit between 3mm and 5mm thick (core can be thicker)
• Neoprene socks, at least 2mm thick, preferably 4 or 5, not more than 5.
• Neoprene gloves, at least 2mm thick. If they don't have kevlar palms, they won't last past the weekend unless you put another pair of gloves over them for the rappels
• Backpack with grommets in the bottom to drain water (I have a few of these to lend)
• Sticky shoes; MUST be one of these kinds:
  • Five Ten Canyoneer (1, 2, 3, or SAR) or Savant
  • Adidas Hydro Pro, Terrex Hydro Lace, or Terrex Climacool Voyager Aqua (also listed as Terrex CC Voyager Aqua)
  • Bestard Canyon Guide or Aqua Pro
  • Five Ten Camp 4, Exum Guide, Enforcer, Aescent, or Insight, but these will be heavier when soaked
  • Five Ten Water Tennie, Guide Tennie, or Access, but these will be less sticky than other options
  • Anything else labeled has having Stealth rubber outsoles, and that can survive being submerged for a day, and that provides enough support for your ankles. But keep in mind that there are different variants of Stealth rubber and some are substantially less sticky.

• 

  Five Ten Canyoneer 3

• 

  Adidas Hydro Pro

• 

  Bestard Canyon Guide

Optionally, a PFD (life vest) may be nice for additional flotation if you're not a strong swimmer. But, be sure to choose one that your backpack can be worn over, and see this for a longer discussion.

Standard gear

• Helmet
• Climbing harness
• Descender & carabiner
• Tether/Cowstails
• Whistle
• A true dry bag for anything you don't want to get wet
  • Neither trash bags nor zip lock bags will do the job
  • The lightweight bags REI sells will break
  • The heavyweight vinyl bags by Seattle Sports are pretty good
  • Canyon Kegs are great
  • Nalgene bottles can serve as mini canyon kegs

Clothing

• A bathing suit
• Wool socks (for the hike out of UJT and into LJT)
• Whatever you want to wear at camp

Supplies

In canyon

• Lunch and snacks
• Minimum 2L of fluid per day

At camp

• Camping gear
• Minimum 2L *additional* fluid per day
• Meals

Rappelling

None of the rappels are difficult, but there are one or two that are probably not for first time rappellers. If you want to go on this trip and haven't rappelled before, just let me know and we'll find a couple of hours for you to go on a local canyon beforehand.

Temperature & water

The air temperatures should be warm, but the water will be very, very cold. As long as you have the proper gear, there shouldn't be any problems and you should be pretty comfortable for most of the day both days.

Camping

We'll be camping for the entire trip (3 nights). Assume there will be no cell reception anywhere in the area; we may have to drive up to 2 hours to get to cell reception.

Location

Meet at Kirch Flat Campground, 36.8788, -119.1487