Canyoneering Route Description
Inconceivable Canyon - 4A III
Death Valley National Park,
California.
01-09-13, 8 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 8.7 hours)
-- Using the North Approach not the South as described.
Time Required - 7 to 9 hours
Distance - 6.6 miles Total, 0.7 miles Technical
Rappels - 7 Rappels, Longest Rappel 285 feet.
Elevation Range - 210 - 1860 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - High Clearance, 4WD
Permit Required - No
Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up
to 285 feet and 60 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.
A dry bag may be a good idea to toss in your pack in the rare event
you find the pothole below rap 5 full of water. It will be
very rare for this to happen but possible.
The Princes Bride area is a collection of canyons north of
Stovepipe Wells in the Cottonwood Mountains on the Panamint Range. The
Princess Bride Collection offers a few fun semi short canyons. But you do
need a high clearance 4WD vehicle to safely go enjoy them.
Thanks to Scott Swaney for locating these canyons,
initiating the explorations of them and freely sharing the information.
Parking spots are limited and the spots are only large
enough for one or two vehicles. When driving out to the Princess Bride
Canyons try to leave excess vehicles at Stovepipe Wells and take only one or
two vehicles to the parking spot to start the canyons. When choosing
vehicles it is best to use the ones with 4WD and some clearance since there
are a couple spots with deep rutted sand.
The vehicles will likely not be visible after exiting
the canyon and you walk back across the desert toward them. A GPS or a
compass and map can be very helpful to get you pointed back to the cars
after exiting the canyon. If you follow the natural flow of the open
desert and the wash like areas, you may find yourself wandering off course.
Inconceivable Canyon uses the the South Approach route.
Inconceivable Canyon has a big rappel of about 285 feet, some spicy
downclimbs and a pothole that may be difficult to get out of if wet or
muddy. Inconceivable Canyon is a very fun day out if you are ok with
lugging the big rope along.
Inconceivable Canyon gets the technical rating of 4 due
to the pothole at the bottom of rap 6 possibly being difficult to get out
of, a few spicy downclimbs and the need for good anchor building skills.
The pothole below rap 5 can is deep but can be walked
out of on the RDC side if things are dry. However water in the pothole
can make the mud at the bottom very slick making escape from the pothole
difficult. If the pothole is full of water it will be a swimmer for a
few feet but the odds of being there when the pothole is full are extremely
low.
Note:
There are two approach
routes used for the
Princess Bride Canyons,
North Approach or South
Approach. While
each approach route
keeps the distance to a
minimum for specific
canyons, either approach can be
used to access any of
the Princess Bride
Canyons. There is an easy
0.7 mile route
connecting the upper
ends of the approaches
running between the tops
of Fire Swamp and
Inconceivable Canyons.
The North Approach is
best used for;
Pit of Despair,
Cliffs of Insanity and Fire Swamp
Canyons.
The South Approach is
best used for;
Inconceivable, Buttercup,
Humperdinck,
Prepare to Die
and Miracle Max Canyons.
Travel from upper end of
North Approach to upper
end of South Approach:
To travel from Fire
Swamp to Inconceivable
route find your way
south about 0.2 miles to
a saddle
(wP-BrideCct01).
From the saddle route
find your way down the
slope south about 350
feet down into a wash
(wP-BrideCct02)
traveling down to the
south. About 900
feet down the drainage
is a confluence where
side drainage join from
east and west
(wP-BrideCct03).
Of note the drainage
going east from here
leads up to the top of
what looks like a steep
canyon running down the
face of the mountain
when viewed from the
valley floor.
Continue south down the
main wash about 500 feet
passing another drainage
joining in from the west
(wP-BrideCct04).
Follow the drainage
south about 0.2 miles to where it bends
and begins to travel
almost due east (InconceivableTp).
This is the top of
Inconceivable Canyon and
is the upper end of the
South Approach route.
Travel from upper end of
South Approach to upper
end of North Approach:
To travel from the top
of Inconceivable to the
top of Fire Swamp, walk
north up the
Inconceivable drainage
about 0.2 miles to where
a small side drainage
joins in from the west
(wP-BrideCct04).
Continue north up the
drainage about 500 feet
to where a couple side
drainage join from east
and west
(wP-BrideCct03).
Of note the drainage
going east from here
leads up to the top of
what looks like a steep
canyon running down the
face of the mountain
when viewed from the
valley floor.
Continue north up the
drainage about 900 feet
to the upper end of the
wash (wP-BrideCct02).
Travel north up the
slope about 350 feet to
a saddle
(wP-BrideCct01).
Thee route find your way
north about 0.2 miles
down to the top of Fire
Swamp Canyon
(yFireSwampTp).
To get to the Trailhead
The drive directions start from the gas station in Stovepipe
Wells Death Valley. Stovepipe Wells is a small community
on Highway 190 about mid way between Panamint Springs and
Furnace Creek.
From the convenience store / gas station in Stovepipe Wells (wStovpipeStore)
look for the paved road on the southwest side of the store that
leads west away from highway 190 which leads out toward Marble
and Cottonwood Canyons (Cottonwood Canyon Road). Drive west on the road
passing the camp ground along the way.
About 0.5 miles from highway 190 will be a fork in the road (ExtStovAirStrp).
The fork to the left goes over to an airstrip and is paved.
Stay right at this fork and travel on the dirt road going west.
Note:
Be aware that a few spots early on in this road have deep sand
with ruts that will give some vehicles trouble. High clearance
4WD is recommended for travel on this dirt road. Road
conditions do change depending on rains, vehicular traffic and
if the roads have been graded recently. While it is possible to
get passenger vehicles with all wheel drive through the sand it
is not recommended. A vehicle with clearance is helpful to get
through the deep rutted sections. The 4WD may not be used most
of the time but with the sand it could make the difference
between being stuck and being able to pull through a rough patch
Follow the dirt road west about 5 miles to where it bends to the
right to the northwest (Pk-PrBrideS). This bend in the
road is a good place to park if you are following the South
Approach route.
If you are going to be following the North Approach route,
continuing past the bend about 0.4 miles to a wide spot in the
road where you can park a couple vehicles (Pk-PrBrideN).
Note:
There are various turnouts or wide spots in the road which are
generally intended to be used for vehicles to pass one another
and are only large enough for one or two cars to park. The
locations of the wide spots will change over time depending on what is done
each time the the road is grated.
To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod
No exit vehicle is needed. This is done as an out and back
route.
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 drive into the route.
Map of the entire route.
Map of the technical section.
The Approach:
From the parking spot (Pk-PBrideS)
begin the South Approach
by walking southwest
across open desert.
To follow the South
Approach walk southwest
across open desert on a
bearing of about 204
degrees (true) toward
the bottom of a ridge
about 2.25
miles away. From
the parking area the
ridge to aim for is
toward the south end of
the visible range. The
picture below will help.
Follow the Yellow line to the drainage to begin the North Approach. Follow the Blue line to
the ridge start the South Approach.
This view is from
the parking spot for
South Approach
route. The
view will be
slightly different
from the parking
spot for the North
Approach route.
About 2.25 miles after
leaving the parking spot
is the base of the ridge
(wP-BrideS-01) you will
start to travel up.
Start walking southwest
up the steep ridge.
After about 0.37 miles
the ridge tops out
(wP-BrideS-02) about 700
feet higher than the
base. The canyon on the
right (northwest) of
this top out is
Humperdinck Canyon.
From the top out
continue southwest down
the other side toward a
saddle (jPBrideS) about
330 feet away.
Note:
The saddle (jPBrideS) is
where you will choose a
direction depending on
your chosen route.
If you are going to
Miracle Max or Prepare
to Die Canyons you will
follow up the ridge to
the southwest. If
you plan to do
Humperdinck, Buttercup
or Inconceivable Canyons
you will drop down the
west side of the
saddle down the steep
slope into the
Humperdinck drainage.
To continue to
Humperdinck, Buttercup
or Inconceivable Canyon
drop down the steep
slope on the west side
of the saddle down into
the drainage for
Humperdinck Canyon
(yHumperdinkTp).
To continue to Buttercup
and Inconceivable
Canyons cross
Humperdinck Canyon then
start going up the steep
slope on the west side.
About 450 feet up the
slope is a level-ish
spot on the slope
(wP-BrideS-03).
Continue northwest up
the slope.
About 900 feet farther
up the slope is the top
of a crappy looking
canyon / drainage
(wP-BrideS-04) that runs
down to the northeast.
Continue northwest up
the slope.
About 250 feet farther
up the slope is a top
out (wP-BrideS-05).
From this top out a
gentle ridge runs up to
the west. Do not
follow up the ridge.
Instead continue
northwest contouring
down and over to the
Buttercup drainage about
0.2 miles away northwest
on a bearing of about
330 degrees (true).
The walk over to the
Buttercup drainage is
easy and fairly
intuitive as you contour
northwest staying above
the cliff band dropping
off to the south.
After dropping down into
the Buttercup Drainage
(yButtercupTp) turn left
(west) to walk up
canyon.
A few hundred feet up
canyon you will notice a
side drainage joining in
from the south
(wP-BrideS-06).
Stay right and continue
up the main wash to the
northwest.
About 500 feet up the
wash will be the bottom
of a dry fall
(wP-BrideS-07).
When you get to the
bottom of the dry fall,
leave the wash and
scramble up the right
(north - right facing up
canyon) side of the wash
up the steep dirt and
rock slope.
Travel northwest up the
slope for about 400 feet
to the top out on a
ridge (wP-BrideS-08).
Continue northwest down
the other side of the
ridge for about 350 feet
and drop down into the
Inconceivable Canyon
drainage (yIncnceiveTp).
The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
Once down in
Inconceivable Canyon (yIncnceiveTp)
turn right and start
walking east down the
wash.
About 700 feet down the
wash is the start
(wIncnceiveRP1) of a
section with 6 easy
drops to scramble down
with each being up to 8
feet high.
After the series of
short drops is a drop
(wIncnceiveRP2) of about
30 feet with a chute
running down it.
The drop is bypassed by
downclimbing on the RDC
(south) side. The
start of the bypass
involves a very awkward
traverse along the RDC
side then the rest of
the downclimb is a
pretty easy scramble /
downclimb along a
featured wall.
Lowering packs and doing
the bypass without your
pack on is a good idea
here. Rap 1 is
about 100 feet down
canyon of the bypassed
drop.
Rap 1 (dIncnceiveR1)
anchored from a cairn
anchor about 10 feet
back from the drop and
drops about 180 feet
with a couple of small
almost downclimbable
stages near the bottom.
After rap 1 is easy
travel for about 150
feet to a downclimb of
about 15 feet. The
downclimb is moderately
difficult but is in a
chute with lots of
features for and and
foot holds.
Shortly after the
downclimb is rap 2.
Rap 2 (dIncnceiveR2) is
anchored from a cairn
anchor and drops about
85 feet down a sloped
wall that then goes
vertical for the last
half.
Easy travel after rap 2
for about 200 feet to
the top of a downclimb
of about 25 feet in a
chute. The
downclimb looks
difficult from the top
but as you start down
you soon find is an
overall moderately easy
downclimb. About
50 feet down canyon is
the top of rap 3.
Rap 3 (dIncnceiveR3) is
anchored LDC from a
pinch point created by a
chokestone and drops
about 35 feet over two
stages with the last
stage being downclimable.
After rap 3 are a few
short easy downclimbs
and scrambles on the way
down canyon to rap 4.
Rap 4 (dIncnceiveR4-6)
is about 450 down canyon
of rap 3, is anchored
LDC using a large
creosote bush about 10
feet back from the drop
then drops about 40 feet
over two stages.
Rap 5 is right at the
bottom of rap 4, is
anchored from a
chokestone rock pile and
drops about 285 feet
over two stages to a
deep pothole at the
bottom. The
pothole at the bottom of
rap 5 can be escaped on
the RDC side but water
and slick mud can make
this difficult. In
the rare event the
pothole gets filled with
water it will be a
swimmer for a few feet.
Be prepared to help one
another up out of this
large pothole especially
if it gets wet and
muddy.
Rap 6 is anchored from a
small arch / hole in the
rock down in the small
pothole after the large
pothole below rap 5 and
drops about 175 feet
down a mostly sloped
wall. At the
bottom of rap 6 is a
pothole that may be
waist deep if full of
water but again this
would be very rare.
About 75 feet down
canyon of rap 6 is a
downclimb of about 15
feet. Shortly
after is a longer
downclimb of about 30
feet that is gently
sloped an and broke up
over stages so it is
more of a scramble.
Rap 7 (dIncnceiveR7) is
anchored from an arch
about 20 feet back from
the drop and drops about
170 feet using a total
of about 190 feet of
rope travel. Rap 7
has a little bit of free
hang on the way down.
About 300 feet down
canyon is a drop of
about 12 feet
(wIncnceiveRP3) that can
be downclimbed or easily
bypassed on either side.
About 500 feet farther
down canyon is a ramp of
about 12 feet
(wIncnceiveRP4) to
scramble down near where
a few other drainages
join in from LDC.
About another 500 feet
down the wash a slot
forms running through a
conglomerate section of
rock (wIncnceiveRP5).
About 200 feet down
canyon is a confluence (yIncnceiveBt)
where another
conglomerate slot joins
in from the right
(south).
The Exit:
From the
confluence in the
conglomerate rock (yIncnceiveBt),
continue northeast down
the Buttercup drainage
still in the deep
conglomerate slot.
As you pass the
confluence of
Inconceivable Canyon the
conglomerate slot you
are in will gradually
get wider. About
0.27 miles past the
confluence of
Inconceivable Canyon the
conglomerate slot is
coming to an end and is
very wide. When
you get to a point where
the side walls of the
slot are only about 10
feet high (jP-BrideExt)
you will be greeted with
open desert ahead to the
north east. As you
exit the conglomerate
slot you will want to
walk back to your cars
but they will not be in
sight.
From the end of the
conglomerate slot (jP-BrideExt)
the cars are about 1.9
miles away and not in
view. If you have
GPS you can plot a go to
for the waypoint where
you parked your cars and
go for it.
Note -
Navigation Hint:
From the exit of the
conglomerate slot
walking directly toward
the cars will have you
walking across the
alluvial fan and will be
tedious walking.
The easiest walking for
the exit is to veer
right (north east) and
walk out toward the more
flat wash systems then
follow them north back
to the car. This
will save you from too
much tedious walking.
However doing this with
nothing to point you
toward the cars could
end you you wandering
the desert for a while
since the washes are
wide and wondering and
the cars or road are not
visible until you get
pretty close to them.
If you have a compass
you can set a course of
18 degrees magnetic
north (which is 31
degrees true north here)
to be pointed directly
at the cars.
To navigate back to the
cars visually you can
use the mountain range
way off in the distance
to the north.
Looking at the mountain
range locate the pointed
peak in the image below
which is Thimble Peak.
Look for the dip along
the range to the left of
Thimble Peak then aim
for the left side of the
dip. The image
below will make this
more clear.
When you exit the
conglomerate slot you
can visually navigate to
the cars by locating the
point noted in the
picture and walking a
straight line to it.
Which ever method you
chose to navigate back,
walk 1.9 miles to the
cars to complete the
route (Pk-PBrideS).
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........
| Inconceivable Canyon () - The Canyon and Exit |
- yIncnceiveTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58417
W -117.27754
Elev: 1,805 Feet
Top of Inconceivable Canyon. This is where the drainage for Inconceivable makes a bend and begins to travel almost due east.
- wIncnceiveRP1
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58461
W -117.27529
Elev: NaN Feet
Start of a section with a series of small drops. 6 drops of up to 8 feet each and all easy scrambles.
- wIncnceiveRP2
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58489
W -117.27461
Elev: NaN Feet
A drop of about 30 feet with a chute running down it. The drop is bypassed by downclimbing on the RDC (south) side. The start of the bypass involves a very awkward traverse along the RDC side then the rest of the downclimb is a pretty easy scramble / downclimb along a featured wall. Lowering packs and doing the bypass without your pack on is a good idea here.
- dIncnceiveR1
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58482
W -117.27428
Elev: 1,680 Feet
Rap 1 - Inconceivable Canyon. Is anchored from a cairn anchor about 10 feet back from the drop and drops about 180 feet with a couple of small almost downclimbable stages near the bottom.
- dIncnceiveR2
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58454
W -117.27388
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 2 - Inconceivable Canyon. Is anchored from a cairn anchor and drops about 85 feet down a sloped wall that then goes vertical for the last half.
Just before reaching rap 2 is a moderately difficult downclimb of about 15 feet in a chute.
- dIncnceiveR3
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58461
W -117.27307
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 3 - Inconceivable Canyon. Is anchored LDC from a pinch point created by a chokestone and drops about 35 feet over two stages with the last stage being downclimable.
About 50 feet before reaching the top of rap 3 is a downclimb of about 25 feet that looks difficult from the top but is only moderately difficult.
- dIncnceiveR4-6
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58527
W -117.27188
Elev: NaN Feet
Raps 4 thru 6 - Inconceivable Canyon.
Rap 4 is anchoredLDC from a large creosote bush about 10 feet back from the drop then drops about 40 feet over two stages.
Rap 5 is right at the bottom of rap 4, is anchored from a chokestone rock pile and drops about 285 feet over two stages to a deep pothole at the bottom. The pothole at the bottom of rap 5 can be escaped on the RDC side but water and slick mud can make this difficult. In the rare event the pothole gets filled with water it will be a swimmer for a few feet. Be prepared to help one another up out of this large pothole especially if it gets wet and muddy.
Rap 6 is anchored from a small arch / hole in the rock down in the small pothole after the large pothole below rap 5 and drops about 175 feet down a mostly sloped wall. At the bottom of rap 6 is a pothole that may be waist deep if full of water but again this would be very rare.
- dIncnceiveR7
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58566
W -117.27128
Elev: NaN Feet
Rap 7 - Inconceivable Canyon. Anchored from an arch about 20 feet back from the drop and drops about 170 feet using a total of about 190 feet of rope travel. Rap 7 has a little bit of free hang on the way down.
- wIncnceiveRP3
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58532
W -117.27035
Elev: 748 Feet
Drop of about 12 feet that can be downclimbed or easily bypassed on either side.
- wIncnceiveRP4
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58576
W -117.26911
Elev: 665 Feet
Ramp of about 12 feet to scramble down near where some other drainages join in from RDC.
- wIncnceiveRP5
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58525
W -117.26770
Elev: NaN Feet
Start of a slot running down through a conglomerate slot.
- yIncnceiveBt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58528
W -117.26697
Elev: 635 Feet
Confluence of the Buttercup and Inconceivable Draianges. This is in a deep slot carved through conglomerate rock.
- jP-BrideExt
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58765
W -117.26333
Elev: 560 Feet
This is where the conglomerate slot is now very wide and comming to and end the side walls are about 10 feet high on both sides.
- Pk-PBrideS
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.61036
W -117.24602
Elev: 210 Feet
A bend to the right while driving the road out toward Marble Canyon. If following the South Approach route to the Princess Bride Canyons park hear near the bend in the road.
|
| Inconceivable Canyon (1) - Drive in to Trailhead |
- wStovpipeStore
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.60663
W -117.14688
Elev: 0 Feet
Convenience store / gas station at Stove Pipe Wells.
- ExtStovAirStrp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.60696
W -117.15503
Elev: NaN Feet
Turn off to go over to an airstrip. To drive out toward the Marble and Cottonwood Canyon area stay left at the fork to drive west.
- Pk-PBrideS
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.61036
W -117.24602
Elev: 210 Feet
A bend to the right while driving the road out toward Marble Canyon. If following the South Approach route to the Princess Bride Canyons park hear near the bend in the road.
|
| Inconceivable Canyon (2) - Approach |
- Pk-PBrideS
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.61036
W -117.24602
Elev: 210 Feet
A bend to the right while driving the road out toward Marble Canyon. If following the South Approach route to the Princess Bride Canyons park hear near the bend in the road.
- wP-BrideS-01
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58107
W -117.26235
Elev: 640 Feet
Bottom of the ridge to start the climb up the South Approach for the Princess Bride Canyons.
- wP-BrideS-02
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.57768
W -117.26737
Elev: 1,440 Feet
Top out on the first ridge of the South Approach. Continue southwest down the other side of the top out.
- jPBrideS
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.57685
W -117.26773
Elev: 1,410 Feet
A saddle about 330 feet after going over a peak along the ridge.
To go to Humperdinck, Buttercup or Inconceivable Canyons drop down the steep slope to the north west down into Humperdinck Canyon.
To go to Miracle Max or Prepare to Die Canyons continue southwest up along the ridge.
- yHumperdinkTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.57689
W -117.26846
Elev: 1,330 Feet
Top of Humperdinck Canyon. At this point the dranage is a wide wash with little to nothing of interest above here. To drop down Humerdinck Canyon travel north down the wash. If you are continuing to Buttercup of Inconceivable Canyons cross the wash and start up the steep slope to the west.
- wP-BrideS-03
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.57765
W -117.26968
Elev: 1,470 Feet
A levelish spot along the slope up out of Humperdinck Canyon on the way to Buttercup and Inconceivable Canyons.
- wP-BrideS-04
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.57904
W -117.27219
Elev: 1,755 Feet
Top of a crappy looking canyon / draiange running down to the northeast. Continue northwest up the slope.
- wP-BrideS-05
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.57952
W -117.27271
Elev: 1,790 Feet
Slope tops out here. To continue to Buttercup and Inconceivable Canyons continue northwest contouring down to the Buttercup drainage about 0.2 miles northwest.
- yButtercupTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58211
W -117.27378
Elev: 1,665 Feet
Top of Buttercup Canyon. This where the canyon starts to drop steeply down with wide open flat wash up canyon of here.
- wP-BrideS-06
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58204
W -117.27503
Elev: 1,680 Feet
A side drainage dropping in from the south (RDC) into the Buttercup drainage. This is a few hundred feet up canyon of the technical section of Buttercup Canyon. To continue to Inconceivable Canyon continue northwest up the Buttercup wash.
- wP-BrideS-07
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58252
W -117.27650
Elev: 1,770 Feet
The bottom of a dry fall in the Buttercup drainage about 0.2 miles up canyon of the technical section. To go to Inconceivable Canyon do not try to go up the dry fall, instead leave the draiange and travel north up the steep slope.
- wP-BrideS-08
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58349
W -117.27701
Elev: 1,860 Feet
Crest of a ridge between the Buttercup and Inconceivable Canyons. To go into Inconceivable Canyon travel down the slopes to the northwest toward a confluence in the Inconceivable drainage about 350 to the northwest.
- yIncnceiveTp
Lat/Lon (WGS84): N 36.58417
W -117.27754
Elev: 1,805 Feet
Top of Inconceivable Canyon. This is where the drainage for Inconceivable makes a bend and begins to travel almost due east.
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