May 18, 2019 — Okay, okay. I know I'm not supposed to go canyoneering alone, but there's likely never going to be a chance I will get someone to do this short canyon with me. It's sort of in the middle of nowhere, and I happened to be here to explore the Great Falls Basin area. To reach the trailhead, turn off from the paved road here (35.83263, -117.33775).
After a long time sitting in my car talking myself into it, I got up the nerve to pack my gear and commit. My main hesitation was that Great Falls was flowing, meaning I'd likely encounter water within the canyon. Whatever, it was only a few rappels, right? The canyon was six rappels for me in total, none of them difficult, but a few slippery due to the water. A lot of historic junk that was never cleaned up (thanks, humans!) clutters the canyon, but the industrial rusty pipes and bolts sort of added to the charm somehow.
I started up a well-established trail leading up the slope to the left of Great Falls, leading all the way to a saddle overlooking Great Falls Basin. From here, the trail thins out as it leads west, down to Great Falls Basin Canyon's head. A short bushwhack and some boulder-hopping led me deeper into the canyon, and then a few larger boulders served as obstacles just before the first rappel.
I looked at the "anchor", a rusty bolt jammed into the granite, likely used for a water pipe that was no longer there. A piece of webbing was already on it, so I tested it a few times and committed to it. After this first droI encountered running water. Oh boy. I continued to the second rappel, which had bolts. Just after this, the prettiest section of the canyon boasted some trees and algae that dotted the white granite canyon. I then got to an interesting section of slot that I never would have expected to see in the Mojave Desert. It was really something. A dam with some more old pipes served as my anchor (I set some webbing on a pipe). This section could likely be downclimbed, but I was alone and playing it safe. And then there were three more bolted rappels and a few full swimmers in the deepest section of narrows. It was on the border of my comfort level for being alone in a canyon, but it was the kind of stress I kind of live for, so there's that. After the last rappel, I ended up at the top of the lower falls, where I located a social trail to the north leading down to the base. There's some graffiti up here unfortunately, since people can scramble up. I
should note it'd be wise to throw your ropes far to avoid getting them caught in the pipes throughout the canyon (a mistake I made twice), and to be extra cautious the rope doesn't get severed by the rusty hangers and other metal.
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