Tuff Tributary (San Juans)

Also known as: NE Tributary fork of the West Fork of the San Juan (WFSJ) River.

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Difficulty:‌3C IV (v4a3 I)

Swift water

Raps:‌10, max ↨175ft

Metric

Overall:	11h	⟷14.1mi
Approach:	5h	⟷7.8mi	↑3025ft
Descent:	4h	⟷0.5mi	↓960ft
Exit:	2h	⟷5.9mi	↓1630ft

Red Tape:‌No permit required

Shuttle:‌None

Vehicle:Passenger

Rock type:Volcanic Ash

Start:

37.5229, -106.9502

Parking:

37.4577, -106.9191

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Weather:

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Waterflow

Best season:

Jul-Sep

winter				spring				summer				fall
Dec	Jan	Feb		Mar	Apr	May		Jun	Jul	Aug		Sep	Oct	Nov

Regions:

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Introduction

Tuff Tributary has a better sequence of more closely-spaced rappels into the final WFSJ River waterfall, but requires departing the trail, crossing the river and hiking the hillside on the East. Descending waterfalls in the West Fork of the San Juan is always a big day due to trail distance from the trailhead, but this lines up a alternate path to the standard, more open main canyon: https://ropewiki.com/West_Fork_of_the_San_Juan_(Colorado), which as of 2023 was loaded with avalanche debris.

Geology: Technically, this tributary is in the Huerto Formation, an Oligocene layer of aphanitic to sparsely porphyritic dark andesite to rhyodacite flows and breccias. Some rocks have prominent thin tabular plagioclase phenocrysts.

However, Tuff's simpler and broader definition of "being an igneous rock that forms from the products of an explosive volcanic eruptions," should be an easier placename. The San Juans have a volcanic origin and many of these canyons are carved into compressed Volcanic Ash, which sits above the lower harder rock layers.

Approach

Drive East from Pagosa Springs on Highway 160. Turn left/north on the dirt road turning left toward West Fork Campground and proceed a total of 3 miles to the end. Park at this trailhead.

Hike 5.5 miles from the West Fork Trailhead past camping by Rainbow Hot Springs to where the trail crosses the West Fork of the San Juan River. The hiking trail is well-marked in the first mile to avoid private land.

After crossing the West Fork, the trail steeply climbs up a series of switchbacks to a viewpoint and then parallels the West Fork of the San Juan with an easier contour. Follow this trail another half mile, depart the trail aiming for the West Fork of the San Juan River below, cross the river and begin to gain elevation on the hillside to the east, being sure to stay above the cliff bands. The 2013 West Fork Complex Fire (https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/image/west-fork-complex-fire-map) opened up the hillside to easy traversing.

Viewpoint of the Tuff Tributary after the switchbacks
Hike the contouring West Fork Trail for a short ways and gain the hillside on the far side (right) above the rock outcroppings
Continuing the approach on the East hillside: fire remnants from the large 2013 West Fork Complex Fire

Descent

R1: 15' from a log in Canyon Center

R2: 30' or bypass on Canyon Right

Looking upstream at the drop in
R1
R2

R3: 175' from a stout short tree on Canyon Right for a large two stage rappel

R3
R3
R3

R4: 80' from a tree on Canyon Left

Snow Bridge

R5: 30' waterfall. Bypass on Canyon Right if anchor material is unavailable.

R4
Snow bridge
Snow bridge
Snow bridge
R5, bypassable

R6: 15' from a small tree on Canyon Right.

R7: 60' from trees in Canyon Center for two small stages.

R8: 165' from a large boulder in Canyon Center for three final corkscrewing tiers into the main WFSJ drainage

R6
R7
R8
R8

Main Drainage for the West Fork of the San Juan River

Main-R12: 15' off a log

Downclimb Canyon Left under a large boulder

Main-R13: 100' from a large boulder on Canyon Right

~~Main-R14: 40'~~ is a downclimb in 2023.

Main-R13
Main-R13
Main-R13

Exit

Walk through the final narrows a short distance downstream and pick up the trail where it crosses the West Fork. Hike 5.5 miles back to the trailhead parking.

Red tape

Beta sites

Trail crews clear the West Fork Trail annually in May or June. The number of standing dead trees typically fall during the winter or during microbursts in storms after the 2013 West Fork Complex Fire. The trail really needs to be a highway to make these canyons at the end a success and hopping over downed logs is a sure way to make the day trip harder.

Check trail conditions before hiking the West Fork Trail:

https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/colorado/rainbow-hot-springs
http://pagosatrails.org/portfolio/west-fork-trail-561/
Pagosa Ranger Station: (970) 264-2268

Trip reports and media

13 July 2023: Explored by Ira Lewis, Eva & Aether Vaitkus, Dan Kinler, Laurie Zuehls

Background

Incidents

Credits

Information provided by automated processes. KML map by (unknown). Main photo by (unknown). Authors are listed in chronological order.

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