Stone Plus One
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| | Difficulty:3A III (v3a1 III) Raps:17, max ↨136ft
Red Tape:Permit required Shuttle:None Vehicle:Passenger | |||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 8 Feb 2025
"Decent amount of waterflow due to recent rains. Rain jacket was sufficient protection and didnt see any sustained water exposure. Serviced a couple o |
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34.2834, -118.2356
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Introduction
Stone Plus One contains a large number of reasonably-sized closely-spaced rappels; it could be described as a larger version of Little Santa Anita Canyon.
This canyon is notorious for rock fall after high winds and rain. Sharp rock can fall on webbing and cut it. Check all anchors thoroughly!
As with many canyons in the Big Tujunga area, canyoneers' help keeping access open is appreciated. This area is still recovering from the Station Fire in 2009 which means lots of invasive plants and overgrowth in general can quickly close off access to these areas and/or make your time in them miserable. Consider adding a pair of hand shears and/or small bypass loppers to your gear list when descending these places. There are many places online to learn how to prune constructively, and other organizations are helping with the effort.
Approach
Park in the Wildwood picnic area and find the small trail that heads up the ridge on the east side of Stone Canyon. Since the gate to the Wildwood parking area is posted as closing at 8 pm, it is tempting to drive into Vogel Flats instead, turn right, follow the road to its end, and park. Only park at the very end of Stonyvale Road. The property along this portion of the road is all privately owned.
Find the Stone Canyon Trail and follow it across the watercourse of Big Tujunga and up the mountain. At 3,015ft elevation, notice the large white rock face in the canyon as the trail turns to the right — this is R5-R7. After donning helmets, leave the trail at the drop-in at 3380ft elevation and proceed down loose scree for 120 vertical feet along a faint use trail. Full gloves are also advised to protect your hands from yucca spines.
Alternately, drop into the canyon earlier, saving 500ft of elevation gain and bypassing the first seven rappels.
Descent
The rappels begin almost immediately.
R1: 78' from two bolts slightly RDC. There is an overhanging rock LDC that makes for a good picture spot.
R2: 129' from cairn anchor center canyon.
R3: 37' from a tree center watercourse (could also be combined with R2, or down-climbed RDC.(R2-R3) Combine as one rappel with two 200' ropes.
R4: 39' from a large tree root RDC & exposed ledge to get to it, webbing on tree has been ignored by some groups not comfortable with walking on the ledge to the anchor. 11/5/16 there is a cairn anchor in the center of the watercourse. This rappel is easily down-climbed RDC.
R5: 83' from a BFR LDC (multiple cairn options available from huge rock slide 2/12/17). This is the first rappel of the sequence that is highly visible from the approach trail.
R6: 17' from log center watercourse; be careful, this rappel is slippery and awkward
R7: 59' from tree center canyon.
(R7-R8) There is a long walk in between R7 and R8. This is also where one would enter the canyon if taking the shortcut approach.
R8: 41' from extended webbing attached to a tree center watercourse.
R9: 46' from two bolts attached to a rock on the ground RDC. Canyoneers in the picture below are pointing to the rock with two bolts in it. Sharp Edges exist on this drop so proper rope placement and care should be taken.
R10: 116' from a tree high LDC.
R11: 47' from a tree center watercourse. This is the second stage of the same waterfall as for R10, and R11 could be combined with R10. (R10-R11) Combine as one rappel with two 200' ropes.
(R11-R12-R3) There is a long walk from R11 to R13, with R12 approximately half way through this walk.
R12: 136' from two bolts LDC. This is a two-stage rappel; 65' to the end of the sloping rappel that is probably down climbable in dry conditions, then the remaining distance over the lip is steeper.
11/5/16 note: if skipping the upper portion of the rappel, the bottom section would be a 30' rappel from a cairn anchor at the bottom over the middle of the rocks. Check to see if there is an anchor here before deciding to skip the upper section of this R12. Also, use caution on the rope pull going RDC in the curve if not going straight. UPDATE: 3/17/17 - cairn anchor moved to a lower shelf that avoids putting a curve in the rope pull. Rap from this location is much closer to 30' where cairn described above is more like 50'. It is probably not possible to see the cairn from the top of rap 12; however, one should never depend on these cairns being here as they are in the watercourse and will probably always need remade.
R13-R17 are five back-to-back rappels, and some of them may be combined. If you are short on anchor material and are not familiar or comfortable with releasable anchors, consider your pull strategy carefully for these last five rappels.
R13: ~60' from two bolts LDC
R14: ~40' from a fallen log center of the watercourse. Note: This anchor has been removed. This rappel ca be combined with R13, or it can be down climbed RDC
R15: ~25' from two bolts RDC
R16: ~70' from a tree center watercourse. This rappel could be combined with R15. A single 200' length of rope was just barely enough to combine rappels 15-16 (including pull).
R17: ~50' from two bolts RDC
Exit
Note: if you exit and cross the creek soon, there have been multiple attempts of setting traps. There is a small trail that crosses the brush and a sign reading "wolf crossing" there were several 2x4s with nails sticking out of them which looked intentional. 12/17/17
After packing up from R17, head back up the mountain to the left. Climb to the Stone Canyon Trail and follow that back to the Wildwood Picnic site. You will cross the creek once from the trail. Go left if parked in Wildwood or at the Wildwood gate. Go right after crossing the creek if you are parked at the end of Stonyvale Road.
Do not follow the small canyon out to your vehicle. I was recently shown where the property lines are. The property is privately owned and posted NO TRESPASSING. The private property extends up into the small canyon and up onto the lower portion of the mountains to the left. Respect the private property owners' rights. Recently the property owners have indicated they are not allowing any more trespassing on their properties due to crimes in the area. A short climb up is better than having a Misdemeanor on your record.
Red tape
An Adventure Pass must be displayed when parking in the Wildwood picnic area, and the gates to the picnic area may be closed at 8pm. There may be free parking available along Big Tujunga in exchange for a slightly longer hike and additional elevation gain upon exit. Be sure to check for signs around the area you choose.
The private property extends up into the small canyon and up on the mountain to the left just after you reach R17. The private property owners have posted NO TRESPASSING signs. Recently they have indicated they will not allow any more trespassing due to crimes in the area.
Beta sites
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Chris Brennen's Adventure Hikes (St Gabriels) : Stone Plus One - Super Amazing Map : Stone Plus One
Trip reports and media
Note that solo descents greatly reduce ability to handle accidents and unexpected issues, and can therefore be much more dangerous than a more typically-sized team.
Background
Named by Chris Brennen who first descended it in 1997.
