Soap Creek Canyon
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| | Difficulty:3A II (v3a1 II) Raps:4, max ↨90ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:Optional 10 min Vehicle:Passenger Rock type:Sandstone | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Best season: | Spring, Fall
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36.7470, -111.7496
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Nearby photosIntroduction
Soap Creek Canyon is a good introduction to Grand Canyon canyoneering given the short mileage and the normal presence of off-trail hiking and boulder field navigation, exposed bypasses and climbing obstacles. The technical trip goes down the north fork, then up the south fork and can be made into an easy overnight, spending the night at the beach at the Colorado River. This makes Soap Creek ideal as an introductory Grand Canyon overnight canyoneering trip. Full trip description is available in Todd Martins' book Grand Canyoneering.
Approach
Park an exit vehicles at the top of South Fork at 36.72995, -111.75490. Drive back to the highway and head east 5 minutes and park at the large parking area on the north side of the highway on the west side of the bridge that crosses over the north fork of Soap Creek. Do not park on the small gravel area next to the boulder house ruins, which is used by the Navajo vendor. Hike into the drainage, walk under the bridge and continue down the meandering creaked until shortly you arrive at the first rappel.
Descent
R1: 30’ off arch Canyon Right.
Continue for another 15-20 minutes to the start of the slot section. There is a deep pool at the beginning of the slot that can be avoided by walking on the ledge canyon right for about 100 feet to reach an anchor on the right.
R2: 60’ off boulder Canyon Right into a hole and partially free hanging rappel.
R3: 40’ off rock pinch in the watercourse down to a pool.
The canyon widens and several downclimbs must be negotiated prior to the final rappel.
R4: 80’ off boulder Canyon Left into large pool. 90 or 100’ of pull may be helpful here to pull from beyond the pool.
Note: There are anchors on both canyon left and right for R4. DO NOT descend on canyon right. The lip is cracking and a large portion of rock on the underside is very unstable.
Remove harness and continue down canyon to the confluence with the South Fork of Soap Creek.
Exit
After the 4th and final rappel, continue down the North Fork about 1/2 mile to the confluence with the South Fork. Turn right and head up the South Fork, climbing and scrambling where needed to cover the 3.5 miles to the exit vehicle.
Red tape
Permits are required for overnight use within Grand Canyon National Park boundaries.
Beta sites
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Super Amazing Map : Soap Creek Canyon - HikeArizona.com : Soap Creek Canyon
- HikeArizona.com : Soap Creek - North Fork
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Grand Canyoneering Book by Todd Martin : Soap Creek -North Fork
