Wicked Canyon
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| | Difficulty:3A III (v3a1 III) Raps:7-8, max ↨180ft
Red Tape: Shuttle:Required Vehicle:High Clearance Rock type:Sandstone and Granite | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location: | APPROXIMATE LOCATION! |
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| Condition Reports: | 27 Aug 2023
"Parking location GPS more accurate at 39.0646,-108.75637. Team of 3, 7 rappels but the heights in beta description differed from what we found. R1 65 |
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| Best season: | Feb-May, Oct-Nov
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39.07485, -108.75676
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Introduction[edit]
This route is located in the McInnis Canyon National Recreation Area, which abuts the Colorado National Monument to the west. Spot a shuttle vehicle at the Devils Canyon Trailhead parking lot in Fruita. There are bathrooms here. People have car camped here for convenience, although it is very cold due to the proximity to the mighty river nearby.
Drive up to the western entrance to the Monument and drive to the top of the park. At 39.05534,-108.74167 take a right onto the dirt road. At 39.04433,-108.74874 make a right. At 39.05576,-108.76816 make a sharp right. Park at 39.06489,-108.75625 at a junction of the spur that heads east to the radio towers. It is not advisable to head north and down the 4X4 road as it gets very steep and rocky.
Approach[edit]
Hike down the 4X4 road then head right at 39.06755,-108.76070 onto a faint old 4X4 road. Take this abandoned Jeep road down to 6500 feet and then head east into the drainage.
Descent[edit]
There are no permanent anchors. Put your Fiddle Stick, Smooth Operator, CEM or releasable Bowlin skills to work and let's keep this one in it's pristine Leave No Trace state. Three rappels in the upper section: two 65-foot, 2-tier drops and a 75 foot rappel. Four rappels in the lower section: 75-feet, two 120-footers, one 60-foot. Adjust rope length, sharp edges. One of the 120-footers has small ledge, could be better done as 180-footer.
Exit[edit]
At roughly 5 miles, the exit hike is no joke. About half-way down you may encounter an ancient miner's cabin on a bluff in the middle of the canyon. After this you will descend a granite layer which changes the topography and drainage characteristics dramatically. The granite will require some mildly spicy downclimbs and there will be many pools of unknown depth during the winter season. If you can locate either D3 or D4 trail at some point, the going will get much easier. Finally, you encounter the 4X4 road that leads back to the parking lot and is peppered with many informational signs along the way.
Red tape[edit]
Beta sites[edit]
Trip reports and media[edit]
Background[edit]
Canyon discovered by Erek Burek. First known descent 4 February 2017 by Lilia Gilbo, Michael Pintal, and Logan DeGrand.
