My original plan was to go the roost, but I saw some permits were still available for Mystery canyon on Saturday, October 27, so I grabbed two of them for me and my son. It was a great decision. The fall colors were peaking, and the weather was perfect (72 degrees and sunny). There were relatively few people on the approach hike from weeping rock, and we saw only one other group in the canyon itself (a group of five we passed at the first rappel). Other than that we had the canyon to ourselves.
Mystery lake was bone dry. We put on light wetsuits (I used a 2.5 short sleeve with a dry top) for the rappel at Mystery spring, and am glad we did. The water was ice cold in the unavoidable pools.
End of October is a great time to do Mystery!
Here are some pictures of the amazing fall colors.
Trip Report