Photos:
http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=275196367/a=38054161/t_=38054161
Saturday 9/6:
Our friend Fritjof was going to be heading back to Finland soon. He had wanted to do some class C canyons (moving water.) We had previously done some wet canyons, and he did great. We did a trip down Dream Canyon a few days ago and again, he did great. We didn't have a whole lot of time, so we decided to do some of the local Class C canyons over the weekend. This was also going to be the inaugural trip of my new Pentax W60 waterproof camera; and I was looking forward to testing it out. I woke up REALLY early, drove over and picked up Jonas. We then headed out to pick up Fritjof; and drove over to the Loveland Pass area.
We got there around 7am, and it was still pretty chilly out. We changed into our wetsuits, glad to have the insulation. I went with 3mm neoprene socks, so I'd have a better feel with the shoes. As soon as I hit the water though; wow, it was cold. Definitely switching to my 5mm neo socks for the rest of the canyons. We started down the North Fork of Snake around 7:30am. There were a few short drops that could be downclimbed. There was some algae that was super slippery. We all slipped several times, and had to regain our balance. Made us cautious with our footing, making sure we had a good foot at any critical placements.
We reached the only rappel in the canyon just before 8am. I set up the rappel, and we all rapped down. It was a pretty fun rappel, and we took lots of pictures. Shortly after, there was an escape. Since it was a good rappel, and since it was so early, we decided to make another lap. We climbed back up and around, and then did the rappel again. That way, Fritjof would have pictures at the top and the bottom.
We pulled the ropes, and climbed back up and out and were back at the cars around 8:45am. All in all, it's a really short canyon. It's good for a quick training run, but I definitely wouldn't make this a destination of a special trip since it only took us a little over an hour to pretty much do two laps.
Next we headed over to Spruce canyon over near Breckenridge. We stopped in Breckenridge for some Subway for lunch, and then made it to the trailhead before 11am. We packed up, and started hiking up around 11am. The hike took us past some old cabins and mining ruins; including an old cable system at the crest heading to Lower Mohawk lake. The canyon looked pretty cool, with a couple neat falls. It was pretty open, so there were many possible escapes.
When we got to Lower Mohawk lake around 11:30am, we saw another section of canyon ahead of us across the lake. It looked like it could be decent, likely similar to the lower section. Since it was still early, we decided to head over there and climb up that section to see what it looked like and if there was anything else above it. After getting around Lower Mohawk Lake, just before heading up; we found an old mine shaft. We went inside to take a peak, and it was pretty neat. There were still some rails and old mining equipment. We soon reached a part that was a little flooded, with a cave in area filled with snow from above. We decided to head back, and finished the climb up.
We reached the upper lake around 12:15pm, and took a look around. There were tailings from some other mining activity; and a beautiful lake surrounded by peaks. This was the end of the canyon, so we had a quick snack and suited up. We started to drop into the Upper Spruce section around 1pm.
Most of the canyon was pretty open, but it still had some fun downclimbs and obstacles. I had changed to my 5mm neo socks for this one, and was feeling very comfortable. The water was again pretty cold as it was pretty much snowmelt, but I felt great in my 4/3 full wetsuit and 5mm socks with canyoneers. We reached a cool slanted rappel around 1:30pm and made a few laps on it. There were a few more rappels and many more downclimbs. We constructed an anchor at each rappel, and when we were done, we took turns climbing back up and around and deconstructing our anchor.
We arrived back at Lower Mohawk Lake, checked out some mining equipment, and then headed down into the Lower Spruce canyon section around 2:30pm. Similar to Upper Spruce, we constructed anchors at each drop. We did a couple of the rappels over again for fun and practice, and again took turns climbing back up and around to deconstruct our anchors - leaving no trace of our passage. We finished up our final rappel around 5:45pm.
Spruce was a fun little romp. For the time it took, I think it was worth the scenery to hike to the upper lake. It also gave some decent practice and one cool slanted rappel in the top section. The bottom section is definitely better than the top though. Both sections took us less than 7 hours total though; and we did some sections multiple times; so adding the top makes for a little longer trip. Overall, Spruce was a fun little canyon; and the open nature of it makes it quite non-committing so it's a great Class C starter canyon.
We then changed back into our regular clothes and drove a little ways down the approach road, where we saw some camp spots. Luckily, we found a great spot, and we set up camp. (Didn't know if we would find a spot since it was Saturday night...) We set out our gear to dry, and rigged a line to hang our clothes, wetsuits, packs, etc to dry. Then it was dinner time; sharing food and drinks as we chatted about the fun day and the plans for tomorrow.
Sunday 9/7:
We woke up REALLY early again; 5:30am. Ugh. But we needed to drive over to the Vail area, and none of us had done Booth before, so better safe than sorry. We had some breakfast, and packed up camp. It was pretty chilly outside, and some of our gear was a little frozen. It would thaw in the car on the way out there.
We got to the trailhead around 7:30am. This was in Vail, and there was a car with a ticket on it. I was wondering if the spot we chose to park was legal (it was right next to the car with the ticket), when a police car pulled up. Good timing. I asked if it was okay to park where we were, and he said it was fine. The other car had been there a while; which is why it was getting ticketed. Glad I didn't have to wonder about that during the day...
We packed up, and started hiking around 8am; reached Booth falls and took a look over them around 9am, and then continued the hike up. We reached a decision point just before 10am. It looked like the canyon section was opening up. We debated on whether to keep heading up farther and go all the way to the water source. Another round of good luck, while we were debating it; a ranger was hiking by. He asked about our gear; and we told him our plans to canyoneer down the waterway. He had never heard of anyone doing that before; and was interested in it so we talked about the gear a little. We asked about more canyon higher up; and he said he didn't think there was anything significant. Since it was already an unknown canyon to us, and we all had things to get done (Fritjof was leaving for Finland in less than a week); we decided to just drop in here.
We suited up, and dropped into Booth around 10am. Booth was definitely a little deeper than the other canyons; with not as many exits. It was also very beautiful rock with many pretty waterfalls. There were some fun downclimbs and a few short rappels. Before long, we reached the Booth Falls drop (now around 11:30am.) Since we took a look at it earlier, we recognized it easily. It's the main falls in the watercourse, it's a significant drop, and it looked like a lot of fun!
The Booth Falls drop didn't disappoint. It was a spectacular rappel through very beautiful falls. This was the only rappel that ended in a pool, so it's the only spot of the weekend that you would have to worry about having too much rope out where it might get swept around and you could get tangled up in it. We had done a pretty good job and only had about 5 feet in the water. I was able to climb out on the other side of the pool to signal to Jonas and Fritjof. We still adjusted the rope up a little, and then they came down. Got some great pictures of them.
It was such a beautiful rappel, we debated on whether to try to get out to do it again. I saw a route that looked like it would go. I could climb up with a rope, and then they could use the rope as a belay or safety line. We decided not to risk it (looked a little sketchy), but spent a little time jumping off the cliff ledges into the deep pool. Fun!
We continued downcanyon, now around noon, through more downclimbs, and a couple more rappels. A few of which you had to pay attention to your rope pulls. There were some more very beautiful falls. Before long though; we hit the bottom. We changed out of our wetsuits, and headed back upcanyon to retrieve our anchors. It was 2pm when we retrieved the anchor materials, and 2:45 when we were back at the car.
Booth was a great canyon; definitely worth doing and a great destination canyon. Very worth the trip. It was the perfect finish to a wonderful weekend; especially since it involved the descent of three new canyons for all of us. Even better, they are right in our backyard!
Hope you enjoy the pics!
A.J.
Photos: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=275196367/a=38054161/t_=38054161
Group Room (multiple albums): http://ajoutdoors.snapfish.com/snapfish