Our first class C canyon! Was tons of fun, ended up doing the trip in 7 hours. We did not use a car shuttle and walked back the easy 2 miles on the road to Black Rock campground.
No extreme difficulty or problems, just jump, jump, jump. Wish I had a 60 foot rope instead of carrying my 200 foot.
I used my 7mm dive wetsuit and left the back flap open and was very comfortable, never cold once. The others rented 7mm suits also and were comfortable also. Beta on ropewiki was very accurate.
The canyon was about a 5.5 hour drive from Los Angeles, but definitely worth the drive. It would be hard to tackle the 13 hour Lower Jump Trip.
Click vimeo link to watch in HD
Shane
It took our group of 6, all first timers 12 hours in canyon. Of course lots of time was spent evaluating jumps/rappels, looking for anchors, taking video/photos, enjoying scenery etc…..A group of about 15 that started the same time as us easily beat us by a couple hours, but they had done it before and marched straight through each jump/rappel
Stevee B
You’re right, 12h as an average is too long. If it were provided as a Supertopo-style time range, I’d say 8h-12h, depending on group size and experience level. Notes from my own descents with groups from 2-10 show times of 8.5h, 10h, 9h, etc. I expect that’s closer to average. Other groups have reported to me 6h, 10h, 11h, and as many as 15h. My friend Eli and I ran into Chris Brennan’s group when they did their 11h descent, as posted on his webpage. Keep in mind, most groups using Brennan’s beta rush through and skip right past the underwater arches, Rainbow Room, and other features without even knowing they are there.
“Largely dependent” was poorly worded. We are in agreement, granite is very slippery all by itself. The algae condition I refer to is a different animal, however, and occurs in LJT infrequently but is a serious hazard when present.
This is a message Tim Schiller sent me in 2005 during the last bad algae event:
Did (Patterson) Gorge yesterday. It is EXCEEDINGLY DANGEROUS! Dried algae from 2 1/2 months of high flow has left a film. When water is added (from shoes) it turns to snot. It went from being an exciting adventure to a survival ordeal. It was not fun. We were glad to get out of there with no serious injuries.
Tim had done the canyon closer to twenty times at that point. We went in there the following week. He was pretty dead on, it was much slicker than usual.
Shane
I’m doing Lower Jump for the first time end of this month….What do you mean by “It would be hard to tackle the 13 hour Lower Jump Trip”? Are you referring to both being done in one day?
Mojave Silence
Many groups do both upper and lower in less than 13 hours easily
Stevee B
Granite slipperiness is largely dependent on the length of time the canyon is submerged during release, which allows an algae film to develop on the granite surface. I would expect that there would not have been a significant or lengthy large release this year, so probably the notorious super-slick algae condition hasn’t developed. Would still be “granite slick” and much unlike Utah sandstone regardless. Can any recent descenders who’ve seen it both ways confirm?
The average is certainly 12h for just LJT. Though the link-up has been done solo in less than 8h, I don’t think its unfair to say that 13h for both is exceptional. Mojave, how are you qualifying “many” and “easily”? I’d say “a few” and “with focus and preparation”. Hate to see a group unfamiliar with either section attempt to link with an “easily” effort and expect to come out in 13h.
Mojave Silence
(how about) Many “groups experienced in Class C canyons”…
Algae is one part of granite slipperiness, “largely dependent…” is overstating it. Algae growing on rocks underwater in most Class C routes is always going to be slippery. The granite in many Sierra canyons gets polished from lots of water moving over it for lots of time, its like walking on ice, particularly in the low-angle areas. When you do lower jump this will be very apparent.
Dreamflows will tell you exactly if there have been “significant or lengthy large releases this year.” (or any of the last 3 years)
Average time for LJ is “certainly” 12 hours? What’s your source for that?
skunkteeth
I guess because we arrived at camp 2am Friday night and got a pretty late start (11am). I would want to start Lower Jump no later than 7am.
Upper was a great balance of the effort for the amount of fun. Towards the end of the canyon in Upper the additional 1 mile of technical in lower sounded like a very long day in a wetsuit.
delenius
Cool. No rappels at all? Did you send someone down to check the jumps first?
Kuenn
Looks like great fun…Splash-fest anyone!?! And beautiful scenery to boot.
Ram
Awesome. I hear GREAT things about Upper and Lower. Thanks for the visuals. Is the granite as slippery as i have heard?
Mojave Silence
Yes, the granite is very slippery, particularly in Lower Jump. Upper and lower are completely different animals.
skunkteeth
I would say it is no more slippery that the granite we are used to in the San Gabriels. A lot of the underwater rocks are cover with a very thick tan/brown algae though.
Not typically, the water was crystal clear and we could see any obtacles. We vetod the “big jump” at the start due to the rocks in the landing area. 3 rappels of about 15 to 20 feet each though.