Advertisement: A beautiful varied canyon with plenty of opportunities for exploring side canyons and scrambling. The narrows are the scenic highlight of this hike.
More photographs.
Difficulty: Variable. We hiked about 7 miles and 2600 feet up the canyon before setting up camp, a little bit before the second and third dryfalls. The elevation gain is very gradual throughout. Wahguyhe Peak was another 5000 feet up and probably 7 miles away, which we did not make. If you are only interested in the narrows, they can be covered easily by a day hike. However, camping in the canyon with no one around is a very nice experience.
Preparation: Here is a map I made that may help, and a very useful trip report by Steve Hall (see especially the map and also the "trip report format" which has photos; note that they enter from Titus Canyon which we did not).
Dryfalls: There are three dryfalls to surmount. The first one more or less must be bypassed, it appears unclimbable to all but possibly very expert climbers. The bypass is to the climber's right, a little bit further back along the canyon, and is often marked by rock cairns. The first move is an V0 bouldering move which might intimidate some due to the possible hard landing, but the excellent hand-holds make it a pleasant climb. From there it is just a walk over the dryfall. The second dryfall appears climbable to the left, but we were unable to. We bypassed it to the right via the obvious route. The third dryfall appears climbable from the right, but there is a class 4 bypass further to the right which we took. Generally, I would say rope is not needed on any of these sections if you have had some experience and feel comfortable scrambling with exposure.
Side Canyons: Rather than try to summit Wahguyhe Peak, it may be pleasurable to explore the various side canyons. I have marked the lookout over one of the side canyons on the map, which also overlooks the cutoff from Titus Canyon. This also involve some class 3 or 4 scrambling.
Water: We hiked this in the winter when the sun was to the south. For much of the hike in, going east-west, we were in the shade and did not drink much water. On the second day I drank much more water despite traveling much less (we did not make it much further than the third dryfall), due to the north-south orientation and lack of cover from the sun. I brought 2.75 gallons of water and had 1 gallon left over, including water for cooking dinner and breakfast.
Summary: My favorite trip in Death Valley, easily. A really beautiful canyon and you won't see anyone past the first dryfall. 5/5
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| The sun sets in upper Fall Canyon |
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| The canyon after the third dryfall |
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| A view of the mountains from a high point between Fall and Titus Canyons (side trip) |
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| The narrows of Fall Canyon |
More photographs.
Difficulty: Variable. We hiked about 7 miles and 2600 feet up the canyon before setting up camp, a little bit before the second and third dryfalls. The elevation gain is very gradual throughout. Wahguyhe Peak was another 5000 feet up and probably 7 miles away, which we did not make. If you are only interested in the narrows, they can be covered easily by a day hike. However, camping in the canyon with no one around is a very nice experience.
Preparation: Here is a map I made that may help, and a very useful trip report by Steve Hall (see especially the map and also the "trip report format" which has photos; note that they enter from Titus Canyon which we did not).
Dryfalls: There are three dryfalls to surmount. The first one more or less must be bypassed, it appears unclimbable to all but possibly very expert climbers. The bypass is to the climber's right, a little bit further back along the canyon, and is often marked by rock cairns. The first move is an V0 bouldering move which might intimidate some due to the possible hard landing, but the excellent hand-holds make it a pleasant climb. From there it is just a walk over the dryfall. The second dryfall appears climbable to the left, but we were unable to. We bypassed it to the right via the obvious route. The third dryfall appears climbable from the right, but there is a class 4 bypass further to the right which we took. Generally, I would say rope is not needed on any of these sections if you have had some experience and feel comfortable scrambling with exposure.
Side Canyons: Rather than try to summit Wahguyhe Peak, it may be pleasurable to explore the various side canyons. I have marked the lookout over one of the side canyons on the map, which also overlooks the cutoff from Titus Canyon. This also involve some class 3 or 4 scrambling.
Water: We hiked this in the winter when the sun was to the south. For much of the hike in, going east-west, we were in the shade and did not drink much water. On the second day I drank much more water despite traveling much less (we did not make it much further than the third dryfall), due to the north-south orientation and lack of cover from the sun. I brought 2.75 gallons of water and had 1 gallon left over, including water for cooking dinner and breakfast.
Summary: My favorite trip in Death Valley, easily. A really beautiful canyon and you won't see anyone past the first dryfall. 5/5
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