Vinegaroon Canyon
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| | Difficulty:3A III (v3a1 III) Raps:5, max ↨85ft
Red Tape:No permit required Shuttle:Required 20 min | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Condition Reports: | 19 Dec 2024
"Vinegaroon is an OK canyon with one big rappel and a few short ones. The hike to the Vinegaroon drop-in is shared with many other canyons that have m |
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| Best season: | Nov-Mar (avg for this region)
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36.3997, -116.8136
36.3915, -116.7785
36.3957, -116.8386
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Introduction[edit]
A very scenic approach hike through the same geologic layers as Artists Drive (greens and pinks) and Golden Canyon (yellow).
Scorpion, Vinegaroon, and Arachnophobia are very similar. They share the same approach. Vinegaroon has the least rope length needed. These three canyons are very popular, mostly becuase they have a very short car shuttle, are short canyons (a rarity in Death Valley), and are very close to Furnace Creek. They are NOT typical examples of Death Valley canyoneering routes.
Approach[edit]
2WD passenger cars can drive to the trailhead -- if you're very careful. Driving a Subaru or better will be less stressful.
Park exit vehicle at Desolation Canyon Trailhead (a few miles south of CA-190 on Badwater Road). You're looking for an unmarked dirt road.
Drive back to CA-190, then east to Twenty Mule Team Canyon Road. There is an unmarked pullout. If Twenty Mule Team Canyon Road is closed, park on shoulder of CA-190 near the exit. From there it's about 1/2 mile walk to the normal parking spot.
From parking space, walk back down the road about 100 yards, then turn up the wash. The wash will turn into a narrow canyon, then it will turn right. Not long after, there will be a scramble up about 8 feet. Take the first left after that. There is likely to be a cairn here.
Hike and scramble. One 20-foot obstacle may make some people nervous due to gravel on hard-pack slope, and sometimes we put on helmets for that up-climb.
The approach opens up into a network of small washes and badlands. Go left initially, then right-ish. Up a gulley to a saddle.
Go down the other side. This wash is upper part of Scorpion Canyon. Enjoy mellow, scenic 3/4-mile walk.
Eventually get to a crossroads. Arachnophobia is to the left/south (up a ridge to a flat yellow saddle) and approach to Vinegaroon is to the right/north up a wash to a saddle. From the saddle, follow ridge to the left/west. Eventually you drop down off left side into a colorful valley, then gentle short uphill to a saddle, then side-slope to another saddle. Then it gets really confusing.
A GPS track is highly recommended!
Descent[edit]
Starting the canyon there are two 10' down climbs followed by a mildly-technical down climb by a chockstone. Then another 30' of easy down climbing until the first rappel.
Anchors may be further back that adds to the rope length. All anchors are cairns:
R1 : 85
R2 : 25
R3 : 20
R4 : 25
R5 : 25
Exit[edit]
Walk down the wash a short distance until you can see the cars off to your left, then cut over that way.
Red tape[edit]
It is illegal to place new bolts in Death Valley National Park without a permit, unless you are replacing existing unsafe bolts. (However there are no rocks in Vinegaroon that look like anyone would want to place a bolt anyway!)
Camping is not allowed at exit (Desolation Canyon Trailhead) or trailhead (Twenty Mule Team Canyon). The closest campgrounds are Furnace Creek, Sunset, and Texas Springs.
Beta sites[edit]
BluuGnome.com : Vinegaroon Canyon
Trip reports and media[edit]
- http://www.bogley.com/forum/showthread.php?71377-Vinegaroon-Death-Valley
- EVEN FURTHER VINEGAROON CANYON
- December 2021 Trip Report
Background[edit]
First descent, 30 November 2013: Mike Cressman, Luke Galyan, Angela Horvath, Rick Kent, Kathy Langin, Paul McDaniel, Megan Wilkins, Abby Wines. (Alphabetical order.)
