I think it was early March....anyway, my roomate and I decided to descend Christopher Creek. Christopher is a red quartzite box canyon which flows year round. It eventually joins Tonto Creek (see past trip report). We had been here before in summer a while back but didn't bring ropes that time or go very far down canyon. Prepared with wetsuits, harnesses, belay devices and that crucial thing called a rope, we returned determined to see the creek through. The water was cold but clean. Some exposed downclimbing was necessary but all went well. Rappel # 1 was straight forward and began from a wide ledge on canyon left into a deep pool. Rappel # 2 was very short and probably could have been down climbed. Rappel # 3 was another fun descent into a deep pool but this time featured an undercut wall which requires the canyoneering to really lay back into the rappel, almost to the point of being upside down. Very cool. Rappel # 4 held yet more adventure. Though short, it required us to descend through and then behind a pretty intense waterfall. Looking out from this grotto we could see where we needed to swim to. Helmets helped as the torrent of water thundered down as we made a B-line from through the falls to the placid creek some 20 feet away. Again, very cool. A short hike through a nice section brought us to our exit and
eventually Highway 260 where the car awaited.
Unfortunately, I wasn't a very active photographer on this trip. Here a few shots of the only rappel I photographed.
 |
| Joe S, Starting Rap # 1 |
.
 |
| Joe S, halfway down Rap # 1 |
No comments:
Post a Comment