Canyoneering Route Description
Blacksmith Canyon - 3A III or IV
Death Valley National Park, California.
03-06-11, 10 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 11 hours)
Time Required - 10 to 12 hours
Distance - 10.8 miles Total, 4 miles Technical
Rappels - 11 Rappels, Longest Rappel 115 feet.
Elevation Range - -120 feet below sea level to
3660 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - Passenger
Permit Required - No
Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up
to 115 feet and 100 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.
ATTENTION!!
Death Valley is considering a new permit system in response to the impact of the growing popularity of Canyoneering.
Lets continue to show the park just how respectful we can be to our environment.
Specific issues the park is concerned about:
1. Anchors: Bolting is Illegal in Death Valley National Park! Do Not Add Bolts. Natural anchor options are abundant.
Recent illegal bolts have popped up in Helios and Rainbow Canyons.
2. Poop: Dig a cathole at least 6 inches deep and 200 yards from any water source or campsite. Pack out all toilet paper.
3. Collecting fire wood is illegal, just don't do it!
Other basics:
Avoid walking in water when possible (Willow Canyon, etc).
Hike on durable surfaces and previously worn paths (avoid trampling vegetation or fragile soil crusts).
Pack out all trash including organic material (including seed shells, apple cores, orange peels, etc).
More info can be found here: http://www.nps.gov/deva/planyourvisit/backcamp.htm
Lets keep this wonderful resource pristine so that we may continue to enjoy the canyons with limited regulations!
The South Fork of Blacksmith Canyon has some good scenery and a very
soothing character to it. Thanks to Scott and Aysel for scouting
this and passing the info along.
There is also what appears to be a year round spring running through
a distance of the canyon creating some hanging gardens and other
greenery. And if you go at in the spring time you may be greeted
with flowers everywhere!
To get to the Trailhead
From the Badwater Parking lot drive south on highway 178 from
approximately 23.6 miles and pull over to the side of the road
where convenient (pkBlackSmithBt). There are no designated
parking areas just find a spot you feel comfortable with.
To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod
No exit vehicle required. The route is done as a loop.
GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom. For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the
Glossary page.
Click the links for maps of the route.
Map of the entire route.
Map of the technical section.
The Approach:
From the parking spot (pkBlackSmithBt), walk east in the wash toward
the Black Mountains. About 0.5 miles from the road you will have a
small vertical wall on the left (north) that is about 20 feet high
and carved out of conglomerate dirt clod like rock (wBlkSmithRP-01).
As the small vertical wall on the left (north) starts to end the
wall that has been on the right (south) side will become taller with
walls over 50 feet high. As you travel east up the wash stay fairly
close to this much larger wall on the right (south).
About 1.2 miles from the highway will be a small ridge starting up
out of the middle of the wash (wBlkSmithRP-02). The start of this
ridge will be about 450 feet away from the large wall you have been
following on the right (south). Walk up the gentle ramp up onto the
ridge about 30 feet up from the wash.
Once up on the ridge (wBlkSmithRP-02), walk north east along it.
The ridge here is actually the south bank of the wash leading out of
Blacksmith Canyon. The large wash on the left (north) of the ridge
is the wash flowing out of Blacksmith Canyon. Walk along the ridge
and enjoy the views down to the wash on the left (north). Views
down into the wash below are scenic as the walls of the ridge you
are on become much taller.
About 0.7 miles after getting up onto the bank of the wash will be a
black out cropping of rocks (wBlkSmithRP-03). Scramble up and over
this 15 foot section of rock to continue along the bank.
About 0.2 miles after the black rock out cropping the bank meets a
ridge (wBlkSmithRP-04). This is where the route begins to get a
little steeper. Follow up the obvious ridge running north east and
veering away from the wash you have been following.
About 0.3 miles up the climb there is a false peak with a relatively
flat area (wBlkSmithRP-05). From this flat area look north east and
not a small red peak about 0.5 miles away. The red peak makes a
good land mark. The route up will lead around the north side of the
red peak.
About 700 feet further, you will need to cross over a very shallow
drainage on the left (northwest) to get over onto another small
ridge (wBlkSmithRP-06). The other ridge is an obvious ridge line
and is a little more rugged and rocky looking. Shortly after this
the climb begins to get steeper. There will also be a few sections
of little rock out croppings to walk over along the climb up.
About 0.2 miles farther is a small saddle along the ridge
(wBlkSmithRP-07). As you climb up from this saddle you will begin
to notice you are getting closer to the red peak.
About 0.2 miles farther, the ridge will top out and level off a
little in an area of red dirt which is just west of the red peak
(wBlkSmithRP-08).
Next veer left and travel north toward a shallow drainage. Just
before reaching the shallow drainage turn right (east) and traverse
along the side of this wash on the north side of the red peak. As
you continue north you will find travel easiest down in the wash.
Continue along the wash about 0.2 miles to where you find an easy
ramp on pink dirt up onto a ridge. Climb up one of the ramps of
pink dirt up onto the ridge (wBlkSmithRP-09). This ridge is the
ridge running northeast from the red peak. You should now be on the
north east side of the red peak.
Once up on the ridge running north from the red peak look North East
up a small drainage. About 600 feet away you should be able to see
a portion of the drainage with large boulders in it creating a dry
fall like section (wBlkSmithRP-10). Walk over to this boulder piled
section of the wash then cross over to the east side of this
drainage to gain access to the ridge running up the right (east)
side of the small drainage.
Follow the obvious ridge line about 0.4 miles to a saddle where the
ridge turns slightly more east (wBlkSmithRP-11).
About 0.3 miles farther up the ridge is a saddle with a cairn left
over from mining days (wBlkSmithRP-12).
About 0.3 miles farther up the ridge is a high point
(wBlkSmithRP-13). After this high point the ridge still climbs but
begins to have a gentler grade. Shortly after this the ridge levels
off a lot.
About 0.3 miles farther the ridge crosses over a long saddle
(wBlkSmithRP-14). Along this saddle is a lot of granite like rock
and gravel.
About 0.2 miles after crossing the long saddle with lots of granite
rocks and gravel look for the start of a smaller ridge running to
the north and down toward Blacksmith Canyon (wBlkSmithRP-15). As a
land mark look north from the ridge to see a big patch of black rock
on the ground about 250 feet away. Walk over to the large patch of
black rock (wBlkSmithRP-16).
From the large patch of black rocks (wBlkSmithRP-16) work your way
down the slopes to the gravel bottomed wash to the start of the
technical portion of the route (yBlkSmithSF-Tp).
The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
Once down in the canyon (yBlkSmithSF-Tp) walk west down the very
wide flat granite gravel bottomed wash about 700 feet to a section
of rock to scramble through in the wash. About 250 feet through the
rock section is the top of rap 1.
Rap 1 (dBlkSmthSFR1-2) is anchored from a cairn anchor at the top of
the drop. Rap 1 drops about 45 feet down a slightly sloped wall
with a ledge about 20 feet down.
Rap 2 is about 40 feet down canyon of the bottom of rap 1 and is
anchored from rock embedded in the wash at the top of the rap. This
can be slung with webbing or simply lap the rope over it for a
retrievable anchor. Rap 2 drops a total of about 65 feet with a
ledge about 20 feet down.
Down canyon of rap 2 is a drop of about 40 feet. Bypass the drop
LDC down next to the canyon wall. A short section of the down climb
is a little difficult but most is pretty easy. Just after the drop
is rap 3.
Rap 3 (dBlkSmthSFR3) is about 300 feet down canyon of rap 2. Rap 3
is anchored from a cairn anchor. Rap 3 drops about 50 feet. All
but the last 15 feet is down climbable if you enjoy slithering stem
style down climbs.
Down canyon of rap 3 is a long drop of about 100 feet but is sloped
and very featured. This drop is spread out over several drops with
ledges between. Each drop is very easy to down climb but care
should be taken as the rock can be slick. As you down climb this
section you may begin to see water appear flowing along sections of
the down climb. This appears to be a year round spring. At the
bottom of this down climb section is an area of green vegetation and
a little flowing water. The top of rap 4 is at the bottom of this
section as well.
Rap 4 (dBlkSmthSFR4) is about 200 feet down canyon of rap 3. Rap 4
is anchored LDC from a rock horn at the top of the rap. The upper
portion of the rock horn looks like it has a fracture crack. Take
care when getting on rappel to keep the webbing situated below the
crack on the rock horn. Rap 4 drops about 65 feet. Take time to
enjoy the spring water running down the wall on rap 4 and the small
hanging gardens along the way as well.
Down canyon of rap 4 are a couple of down climbs to scramble down of
about 5 feet before reaching rap 5.
Rap 5 (dBlkSmthSFR5) is about 100 feet down canyon of rap 4. Rap 5
is anchored from a pinch point between two large boulders. Rap 5
drops about 50 feet in a narrow section of canyon over some boulders
with some awkward over hang to start the rap. When placing the rope
on Rap 5 keep the rope in the center over the rock at the top. If
the rope is placed to either side of the boulder there may be rope
pull issues in pinch points.
At the bottom of rap 5 is a narrow section of canyon to walk. About
100 feet down canyon of rap 5 is a drop of about 15 feet. To get
down this drop traverse along a rock ledge on the RDC side then down
climb about 6 feet.
A couple hundred feet farther down canyon the water course turns
right then widens out giving good views for a quite a way down
canyon. Around the corner is a drop of about 100 feet that drops
down a gentle grade that may require some scrambling. There is
water flowing over sections of the rock making things slick
especially on the last couple sections of the drop. The last drop
is especially slick with water and moss on steeply sloped rock and
is rappel 6.
Rap 6 (dBlkSmthSF) can be down climbed but is safer if rappelled
since the rock is wet with flowing spring water. If you have a good
confident down climber in the group they can meat anchor everyone to
rappel then down climb it last. The anchor option for Rap 6 is a
rock in the floor of an alcove on the RDC side at the top of the
rap. Be careful not to disturb the rock and dirt ceiling over this
alcove as it looks like it could break easily. Rap 6 drops about 20
feet and would need about 40 feet of rope travel if you decided to
anchor from the rock in the alcove RDC.
Rap 7 (dBlkSmthSF) is a little over 100 feet down canyon of rap 6.
Rap 7 is anchored from a cairn anchor about 10 feet back from the
drop and drops about 115 feet. At the bottom of rap 7 is short
slide down about 12 feet of rock after getting off rope from the
rappel. There may also be a small trickle of water running down the
rap from spring water.
Down canyon of rap 7 the canyon gets a little narrow again with
several small down climbs which are all easy. About 500 feet down
canyon of rap 7 the canyon widens out again and gives way to long
sections of easy wash walking in granite type gravel. This is also
where the spring water seems to fade away and leave you with a dry
canyon again.
About 0.2 miles down canyon of rap 7 will be a drop of about 40 feet
(wBlkSmithRP-17). This drop is easily bypassed up and over RDC.
Then traverse and gradually drop to the canyon about 80 feet down
canyon of the drop. After this drop is more easy wash walking with
granite like gravel with a few sections of rock to scramble down.
About 0.2 miles down canyon of the drop that was bypassed is a drop
of about 20 feet (wBlkSmithRP-18). This drop is down a slightly
sloped narrow section of rock that is easily down climbed with
stemming and sliding.
About 100 feet down canyon is another drop of about 20 feet that
will give a little more challenge. The drop is slightly sloped and
may be slick but there are places for foot holds if you take to time
to look for them.
Another 0.2 miles down canyon is a section of conglomerate rock that
looks like concrete with large aggregate in it (wBlkSmithRP-19).
This is at the top of a drop of about 40 feet. To get down the drop
you can go RDC and work down a couple ledges or take the fun down
climb or slide down the water course.
Down canyon of this drop is another long section of wash walking in
granite gravel. This section of wash walking is about 0.7 miles
long before reaching a drop of about 20 feet (wBlkSmithRP-20). The
drop is slightly sloped and looks difficult to down climb. To get
down this drop climb down to a good spot to stand about 6 feet down
then down climb the LDC side where there are more foot and hand
holds. This drop looks difficult but is not nearly as bad as it
looks. About 80 feet down canyon of this drop is another drop of
about 15 feet that is an easy slide.
About 100 feet down canyon is the confluence of the north and south
forks of Blacksmith Canyon (jBlkSmithNandS). The confluence is not
real obvious until you go down canyon a short distance then look
back up canyon to see the fork.
Rap 8 (dBlkSmthSFR8) is about 400 feet down canyon of the
confluence. Rap 8 is anchored from a cairn anchor and drops about
25 feet down a sloped very featured wall. Rap 8 is down climbable
by better down climbers.
After rap 8 is another very long section of wash walking of about
0.4 miles before reaching an area where the canyon starts to get
narrow again and offer a few very easy down climbs of about 5 feet
or so. Just after these short down climbs will be rap 9.
Rap 9 (dBlkSmthSFR9) is about 0.4 miles down canyon of rap 8. Rap 9
drops about 20 feet around a huge boulder wedged into the canyon.
Rap 9 has a few options for getting down and anchoring it.
Note:
The first option for anchors is a pinch point between a rock
embedded in the wash and the RDC canyon wall right at the top of the
rap.
The other option is to use the huge boulder with a counter weighted
rappel. To do this drop the rope down a small hole LDC then throw it
over the boulder. Provide a meat anchor for the first person down.
The person at the bottom can tie into the rope and act as a counter
weight for the subsequent people. The rope pulls around this
boulder surprisingly well.
Rap 9 can also be down climbed in a couple ways. Small people can
squeeze through the small hole under the boulder LDC and access a
pretty easy down climb. Larger people only have the option of down
climbing RDC. To down climb RDC you will need to traverse out about
8 feet on a small ledge then down climb along a fin like feature
that becomes smaller as it drops to the canyon floor. This down
climb will require some upper arm strength and be a little exposed
so not everyone will like this idea.
Down canyon of rap 9 is easy
wash walking in gravel again for about 0.4 miles before reaching a
series of easy down climbs ranging from 5 feet to 12 feet spread
over the next 800 feet.
After some of the easy down climbs will
be a drop of about 15 feet that is easily bypassed LDC
(wBlkSmithRP-21).
About another 150 feet down canyon is another
drop of about 12 feet which is down climbed by walking down a fin
like ramp on the LDC side.
Then another 200 feet down canyon is a
drop of about 15 feet down a sloped section of gray rock.
Next the
canyon opens up again and offers another long section of wide gravel
bottomed wash walking for about 0.4 miles to a section of rock to
scramble over. After the scramble through the rock section there is
another section of wide gravel bottomed wash walking for about 600
feet to the top of rap 10.
Rap 10 (dBlkSmthSFR10) is anchored from
a cairn anchor and drops about 40 feet down a vertical wall.
At
the bottom of rap 10 is another long section of easy gravel bottomed
wash walking for about 0.2 miles to the start of a 2 stage drop
(wBlkSmithRP-22).
Note:
The first stage of this two stage drop
(wBlkSmithRP-22) drops about 8 feet around some boulders and may be
a little tricky for short people. The second stage is about 50
feet down canyon of the first.
The second stage is a drop of about
15 feet down a fluted section of rock that allows one to chimney
climb down but offers few hand and foot holds and gets wide and
slick near the bottom. Better down climbers will enjoy this one
while not so good down climbers will want a rope. There are few
anchor options at the top of the second stage. If you have a good
down climber in the group have them meat anchor everyone down before
they down climb. If no one wants to tackle this drop, an anchor can
be set about 50 feet back at the first stage from one of many
boulders there.
About 200 feet down canyon of the two stage drop
is the top of rap 11 with a 6 foot short down climb between.
Rap
11 (dBlkSmthSFR11) is anchored from a cairn style anchor at the top
of the rap and drops about 45 feet down a slightly sloped wall. It
is possible to bypass this rappel on the RDC side if you prefer to
down climb.
Rap 11 is the final rap in the canyon. Down canyon of
rap 11 is just wash walking. About 0.4 miles down canyon the north
bank of the wash begins to get lower and it starts to not feel like
a canyon any longer. This is an arbitrary point marked as the ext
if the canyon (yBlkSmith-Bt).
The Exit:
From the exit of the canyon (yBlkSmith-Bt) walk down the wash as it
slowly veers east and back to the car about 1.8 miles away.
Downloadable GPX files
available at
BG-Gear Store
(easier than manual entry and a great way to support
Bluugnome).
Waypoint naming convention and map symbol information can be found on the Glossary page.
Elevations are approximate.
BEFORE
manually entering coordinates set your system to WGS84 datum and Lat/Lon hddd.ddddd° coordinate format.
Inconsistent datum's and coordinate formats will result in location errors.
Click to show / expand the list of waypoints below........
| Blacksmith 1 - Drive to Trailhead |
- extBadWatr-190
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.44835
W -116.85247
Elev: 10 Feet
Junction of highway 190 and Badwater Road (178).
- extDesoltnCyn
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.39642
W -116.84753
Elev: -186 Feet
Exit for the road to Desolation Canyon.
- extDevilsGolf
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.29845
W -116.81171
Elev: -200 Feet
Turn off for the Devil's Golf Course. Park here to leave an exit vehicle when doing Brimstone Canyon.
- extNatBridge
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.27404
W -116.79292
Elev: -241 Feet
Exit for the road to the Natural Bridge trailhead.
- sBadWater282
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.23001
W -116.76791
Elev: -282 Feet
Sign at Bad Water Stating 282 feet below sea level
- extWillowPkBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.06770
W -116.74806
Elev: -263 Feet
Exit to the parking area for the bottom of Willow Canyon.
- MormonPntSign
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.05564
W -116.76533
Elev: -306 Feet
Sign on the side of the road for Mormon Point.
- pkBlackSmithBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.95607
W -116.72153
Elev: -120 Feet
Parking for the start of and exit from Blacksmith Canyon.
|
| Blacksmith 2 - Approach |
- pkBlackSmithBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.95607
W -116.72153
Elev: -120 Feet
Parking for the start of and exit from Blacksmith Canyon.
- wBlkSmithRP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.95721
W -116.71242
Elev: NaN Feet
Passing by a small cliff band on the north side of about 20 feet high carved from conglomerate dirt clod like rock.
- wBlkSmithRP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.95522
W -116.70119
Elev: 290 Feet
Start of a small ridge starting up out of the wash. There is an easy grade ramp to get up onto the wash at this point.
- wBlkSmithRP-03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.96091
W -116.69163
Elev: 600 Feet
Black rock out cropping of about 15 feet that needs to be scrambled over to continue along the bank of the wash.
- wBlkSmithRP-04
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.96289
W -116.68938
Elev: 680 Feet
Spot where youbegin to leave the bank of the wash and start to climb a steeper ridge.
- wBlkSmithRP-05
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.96575
W -116.68708
Elev: NaN Feet
Moderately flat area along the climb up. This appears to be a false peak as you start the climb.
- wBlkSmithRP-06
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.96692
W -116.68510
Elev: NaN Feet
On the next small ridge north after crossing over a shallow drainage to get over to it.
- wBlkSmithRP-07
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.96890
W -116.68221
Elev: NaN Feet
Small saddle along the rige.
- wBlkSmithRP-08
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.97043
W -116.67936
Elev: 1,720 Feet
Ridge tops out in a reddish rock area that is just west of the red peak.
- wBlkSmithRP-09
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.97065
W -116.67646
Elev: NaN Feet
Up on the ridge that runs north east from the red peak.
- wBlkSmithRP-10
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.97194
W -116.67519
Elev: NaN Feet
Boulders piled in a shallow drainage creating a dry fall like spot.
- wBlkSmithRP-11
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.97465
W -116.66971
Elev: 2,680 Feet
Saddle where the ridge line turns slightly more east.
- wBlkSmithRP-12
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.97568
W -116.66546
Elev: 3,130 Feet
Saddle along the ridge with a cairn from mining days.
- wBlkSmithRP-13
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.97825
W -116.66178
Elev: 3,450 Feet
Anotehr high point on the ridge.
- wBlkSmithRP-14
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.97919
W -116.65725
Elev: 3,490 Feet
Long saddle on the ridge that is littered with lots of granite like rock and gravel.
- wBlkSmithRP-15
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.98072
W -116.65379
Elev: 3,660 Feet
Spot to leave the ridge and go over toward Blacksmith Canyon.
- wBlkSmithRP-16
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.98133
W -116.65423
Elev: NaN Feet
Large patch of black rocks on the ground about 250 feet away from the major ridge you had been following up.
- yBlkSmithSF-Tp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.98295
W -116.65372
Elev: 3,430 Feet
Top entry for the South Fork of Blacksmith Canyon. Not the head of the canyon just a point that makes sense to drop into a large gravel wash area.
|
| Blacksmith 3 - The Canyon, |
- yBlkSmithSF-Tp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.98295
W -116.65372
Elev: 3,430 Feet
Top entry for the South Fork of Blacksmith Canyon. Not the head of the canyon just a point that makes sense to drop into a large gravel wash area.
- dBlkSmthSFR1-2
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.98208
W -116.65657
Elev: 3,330 Feet
Raps 1 and 2 - South Fork Blacksmith Canyon.
Rap 1 anchored from a cairn style anchor and drops about 45 feet.
Rap 2 about 40 feet from the bottom of rap 1 and is anchored from a rock embeded in the wash and drops about 65 feet with a ledge about 20 feet down.
- dBlkSmthSFR3
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.98205
W -116.65764
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 3 - South Fork Blacksmith Canyon. Anchored from acairn style anchor and drops about 50 feet with all but the last 15 feet down climbable.
- dBlkSmthSFR4
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.98190
W -116.65826
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 4 - South Fork Blacksmith Canyon. Anchored from a rock horn LDC and drops about 65 feet down a wall with running spring water and small hanging gardens.
- dBlkSmthSFR5
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.98168
W -116.65852
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 5 - South Fork Blacksmith Canyon. Anchored from a pinch point between two boulders and drops about 50 feet in a narrow section of canyon over some boulders.
- dBlkSmthSFR6
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.98134
W -116.65919
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 6 - South Fork Blacksmith Canyon. Anchored from a rock in the floor of an alcove RDC and drops about 20 feet down steep rock made slick with flowing spring water and algae.
- dBlkSmthSFR7
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.98145
W -116.65971
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 7 - South Fork Blacksmith Canyon. Anchored from a cairn anchor about 10 feet back from the drop and drops about 115 feet.
- wBlkSmithRP-17
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.98136
W -116.66259
Elev: NaN Feet
Drop of about 40 feet. Bypass the drop on the RDC side up and over then traverse and drop to the canyon floor.
- wBlkSmithRP-18
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.98082
W -116.66521
Elev: NaN Feet
Down climb of about 20 feet which is an easy stem style slide down climb.
- wBlkSmithRP-19
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.97973
W -116.66726
Elev: NaN Feet
Section of conglomerate rock that looks like concrete with large aggregate. This is at the top of a drop of about 40 which is down climbed.
- wBlkSmithRP-20
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.97766
W -116.67576
Elev: NaN Feet
Drop of about 20 feet that is slightly sloped and looks difficult. The down climb is not very difficult by starting down the center then traverse of to the LDC side.
- jBlkSmithNandS
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.97741
W -116.67641
Elev: 1,910 Feet
Confluence of the north and south forks of Blacksmith Canyon.
- dBlkSmthSFR8
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.97645
W -116.67713
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 8 - South Fork Blacksmith Canyon. Anchored froma cairn acnhor and drops about 25 feet down a sloped very featured wall. This rappel can be down climbed fairly easy by better down climbers.
- dBlkSmthSFR9
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.97584
W -116.67993
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 9 - South Fork Blacksmith Canyon. Anchored from either a pinch point between a rock and the RDC wall or using a huge boulder asa counterweighted rappel. Can be downclimbed via a small hole under the boulder LDC for small people or down climbed RDC along a fin like rock feature.
- wBlkSmithRP-21
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.97356
W -116.68638
Elev: NaN Feet
Drop of about 15 feet that is bypassed by climbing around LDC.
- dBlkSmthSFR10
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.96857
W -116.69059
Elev: 880 Feet
Rap 10 - South Fork Blacksmith Canyon. Anchored from a cairn anchor ad drops about 40 feet.
- wBlkSmithRP-22
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.96577
W -116.68917
Elev: NaN Feet
Start of a two stage drop. First stage is about 8 feet and maybe a little tricky for short people. The second stage is abot 50 feet down canyon, drops about 15 feet and may give a lot of people a challenge.
- dBlkSmthSFR11
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.96534
W -116.68956
Elev: 700 Feet
Rap 11 - South Fork Blacksmith Canyon. Anchored from a cairn style anchor and drops about 45 feet down a slightly sloped wall.
- yBlkSmith-Bt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.96129
W -116.69263
Elev: 550 Feet
Bottom exit of Blacksmith Canyon. Arbitrry point where the banks of the wash start to get lower on one side and start to not feel like a canyon any more.
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| Blacksmith 4 - Exit |
- yBlkSmith-Bt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.96129
W -116.69263
Elev: 550 Feet
Bottom exit of Blacksmith Canyon. Arbitrry point where the banks of the wash start to get lower on one side and start to not feel like a canyon any more.
- wBlkSmithRP-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.95522
W -116.70119
Elev: 290 Feet
Start of a small ridge starting up out of the wash. There is an easy grade ramp to get up onto the wash at this point.
- wBlkSmithRP-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.95721
W -116.71242
Elev: NaN Feet
Passing by a small cliff band on the north side of about 20 feet high carved from conglomerate dirt clod like rock.
- pkBlackSmithBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 35.95607
W -116.72153
Elev: -120 Feet
Parking for the start of and exit from Blacksmith Canyon.
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