Canyoneering Route Description

Sheepbone and Quarry Canyons Loop 3A II
Lake Mead Nat. Rec. Area, Nevada.

Quick Facts

10-28-12, 9 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 4.5 hours) Pictures Icon

Time Required - 3 to 5 hours
Distance - 5.2 miles Total, 2.4 miles Technical
Rappels - 8 Rappels, Longest Rappel 70 feet.
Elevation Range - 1250 - 2280 Feet
Shuttle Required - No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - No

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 70 feet and 60 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement. 

In addition to gear it is a good idea to also have a good climber or strong scrambler in your group who can go up the difficult drops and lower a rope to assist everyone else.

General Comments

Sheep Bone Canyon and Quarry Canyon make a short fun route when combined into a loop route.  The Sheepbone Canyon and Quarry Canyon loop route is in the River Mountains by Lake Mead a few miles north of Boulder City Nevada. 

Quarry Canyon involves rappels that you can not climb up while Sheepbone can be upclimbed.  With an easy route to connect the top of the two canyons they make a good combo.  The route travels up Sheepbone Canyon involving some spicy upclimbs where you may or may not find fixed ropes to help.  After enjoying the narrow-scenic-upclimbing fun in Sheepbone the route crosses over to the top of then descending down Quarry Canyon.  After exiting Quarry Canyon you walk down a dirt road to the highway then walk back to your cars.  It is a fun and short two for one canyon route worth the visit.

The views over toward Lake Mead as you cross over from Sheepbone to Quarry Canyon add to the scenic value of the trip and are worth taking time to stare at for a few minutes.

Some of the upclimbs in Sheepbone Canyon may be difficult and require good climbing skills.  Sometimes ropes have been set in place to allow people easier access.  As with any fixed line the condition is never fully known so only use them at your own risk.  A safer alternative is to have a good climber or two with you who can make the climbs then throw a rope (that you brought in with you) down to assist the rest of the party up.

Thanks to Rick Ianniello for finding and sharing this route!

Driving Directions

To get to the Trailhead

From Boulder City Nevada drive 4 miles east along highway 93 toward Lake Mead to the turn off for Lake Mead onto Lakeshore Road (highway 166). 

Turn left onto Lakeshore road and drive north 2.5 miles to a dirt road (extSheepbone) on the left (west).  Turn left onto the dirt road and drive about 500 feet to where there is a wide enough area to park (pkSheepbone).

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

No exit vehicle is needed.  This is done as a loop route.

Maps

GPS coordinate information listed at the bottom.  For information about waypoint naming and map symbols, refer to the Glossary page.

Map Link Icon
Click the links for maps of the route. Map of the entire route.

Details

The Approach:
From the parking spot (pkSheepbone) walk across open desert about 0.8 miles west on a bearing of 264 degrees (true) over to the bottom of Sheepbone Canyon (ySheepboneBt).  The point marked as the bottom of the canyon is where the canyon walls start to close in and take on a canyon feel as you walk up into Sheepbone Canyon.

The Canyoneering / Technical Section - Going up Sheepbone Canyon:
From the bottom of Sheepbone Canyon (ySheepboneBt) walk west up into Sheepbone Canyon.

About 0.2 miles up into Sheepbone Canyon is a side drainage (wShepbonRP-01) that joins in from the left (north).  Pass the drainage and continue west up the main Sheepbone drainage.

About 0.2 miles farther up Sheepbone is a dry fall (wShepbonRP-02) to upclimb of about 20 feet.  The climb up the dry fall is said to be rated a 5.6 in difficulty.  There may be a fixed line here, remember use fixed lines with unknown history at your own risk.  The preferable way to get up the dry fall is to have a good climbing in your group climb the dry fall then lower a rope to assist the rest of the party.

Note:
The dryfall can be bypassed on the RDC side.  The start up the bypass is about 6 feet and will require a partner assist to get up.  After the partner assist the rest of the bypass is a walk around.

About 100 feet up canyon is a 6 foot upclimb over a boulder.  Just after is another boulder to get over but is easily bypassed by going up the ledge on the right (north) side.

About 350 feet farther up canyon is a series of three upclimbs.  The first is a huge boulder to climb / scramble about 15 feet up and over.  Just after that is an upclimb of about 15 feet in a steep chute with lots of hand and foot holds.  At the top of the chute is a slope of about 15 feet to scramble up with a huge boulder at the top of it.  At the top of the series of upclimbs (wShepbonRP-03) the canyon widens out a little.

About 500 feet farther up canyon is a short easy upclimb where the canyon makes a sharp bend (wShepbonRP-04) to the right and starts to travel northwest.  Up canyon of here the canyon widens out a bit more and travel is easy wash walking with the occasional short scramble.

About 0.25 miles up canyon is a moderately difficult upclimb (wShepbonRP-05) of about 15 feet.  This upclimb feels sketchy and may a bit of trouble for some people. 

After the 15 foot upclimb are a few more short easy scrambles over the next 800 feet to a fork (wShepbonRP-06) in Sheepbone Canyon.  Go right at the fork following up the fork going up to the north.

As you start up the fork there is easy scrambling as the canyon gets more shallow and begins to widen out.  About 0.2 miles up from the fork the canyon tops out on a saddle (ySheepboneTp).  From the Saddle at the top of Sheepbone Canyon you have good views toward Lake Mead to the right (east).

The top of Quarry Canyon is about 650 feet north of the top of Sheepbone Canyon.  To get there you can walk about 650 feet due north across a low saddle area. 

Note:
Before walking over to the top of Quarry Canyon it is worth the view to take a side trip about 400 feet east over to a spot (sShepQaryLkVw)where you can enjoy great views east over toward Lake Mead.  After you have enjoyed the views you can walk back to the saddle area and over to the head of Quarry Canyon.

After enjoying the views walk north a few hundred feet over to the head of Quarry Canyon (yQuarryTp). 

The Canyoneering / Technical Section - Dropping down Quarry Canyon:
As you get near the head of Quarry Canyon (yQuarryTp) you will notice a few spots that look like you can climb down in.  Walk around left (northwest) to where you can drop down into the main wash / drainage just above the obvious start of the drops.

As you get to the drops at the head of Quarry Canyon scramble down through the chunky rock to the top of rap 1.

Rap 1 (dQuarryR1) is anchored from a large boulder at the top of the drop and drops about 30 feet.  Rap 1 can be bypassed by downclimbing LDC.

Just after rap 1 is a downclimb of about 15 feet then shortly after is a sloped section to scramble down.  About 400 feet down canyon of rap 1 the canyon opens up to a very long section of easy wash walking.

About 0.35 miles down canyon of rap 1 a side drainage joins in from LDC (northish).  Continue easy wash walking past this drainage for about 600 feet to the top of rap 2.

Rap 2 (dQuarryR2) is anchored LDC from a large rock horn a little over head high and drops about 20 feet down a vertical wall.

Rap 3 (dQuarryR3) is about 200 feet down canyon, is anchored from a rock at the top of the drop and drops about 50 feet. Rap 3 is also downclimbable if you wish to downclimb instead.  Shortly down canyon of rap 3 is a scramble / downclimb of about 15 feet with more easy wash walking for about 0.23 miles to the top of rap 4.

Rap 4 (dQuarryR4) is anchored from a large rock about 5 feet back from the top and drops down a slightly sloped wall about 50 feet.

Rap 5 (dQuarryR5) is about 100 feet down canyon of rap 4, is anchored from a tree about 10 feet back from the drop and drops about 35 feet.

Rap 6 (dQuarryR6-8) is about 90 feet down canyon of rap 5, is anchored from a pinch point between a boulder and the canyon wall and drops about 30 feet down a chute.

Rap 7 is about 40 feet down canyon of rap 6, is anchored from a cairn style anchor and drops about 20 feet.

Rap 8 is about 30 feet down canyon of rap 7, is anchored from a cairn style anchor and drops about 70 feet over a series of sloped drops.  All but the last 20 feet is easily downclimbed.  The last 20 feet is sketchy so rappelling is recomended.

After rap 8 is easy wash walking for about 0.2 miles to where the wash meets a well graded dirt road (yQuarryBt). 

The Exit:
From where the Quarry Canyon wash meets the graded dirt road (yQuarryBt) follow the dirt road east toward the highway. 

About 0.35 miles along the road is chain link gate to pass through (wQuarryRP-02).

About 0.4 miles farther the dirt road will end where it meets the highway (Lakeshore Road).

When you reach the highway (extQuarryExit) walk east along the highway about 0.9 miles back to the cars parked on the dirt road (pkSheepbone).

GPS Waypoint Information

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........
Sheepbone - Quarry Canyons
  1. extSheepbone          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.03956   W -114.80727        Elev: 1,275 Feet
    Dirt road going west from the highway. Drive in to a wide area to parck about 500 feet from the road and park to start the Sheep Bone / Quandary Canyon loop route.
  2. pkSheepbone          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.03916   W -114.80867        Elev: 1,305 Feet
    Park here in a wide spot in the road to begin the Sheepbone / Quarry Canyon loop route.
  3. ySheepboneBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.03794   W -114.82279        Elev: 1,560 Feet
    Bottom of Sheepbone Canyon. This is where the canyon begins to get more narrow and take on a canyon feel as you walk up. Continue up canyon to start the Sheepbone and Quarry Canyon loop route.
  4. wShepbonRP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.03843   W -114.82620        Elev: NaN Feet
    A side drainage drops into Sheepbone from the north. Continue west up the main drainage for Sheepbone Canyon.
  5. wShepbonRP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.03771   W -114.82862        Elev: NaN Feet
    Dryfall to upclimb. The climb is about 20 feet and is said to be rated about a 5.6 climb. The dryfall can be bypassed on the RDC side. The start up the bypass is about 6 feet and will require a partner assist to get up. After the partner assist the rest of the bypass is a walk around.
  6. wShepbonRP-03          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.03700   W -114.82969        Elev: 1,840 Feet
    Top of a series of 3 upclimbs on the way up Sheepbone Canyon. The first is a huge boulder to climb / scramble about 15 feet up and over. Just after that is an upclimb of about 15 feet in a steep chute with lots of hand and foot holds. At the top of the chute is a slope of about 15 feet to scramble up with a huge boulder at the top of it. At the top of the series of upclimbs the canyon widens out a little.
  7. wShepbonRP-04          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.03614   W -114.83083        Elev: 1,880 Feet
    An easy upclimb where the canyon makes a sharp bend to the right as you go up it now heading northwest.
  8. wShepbonRP-05          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.03847   W -114.83421        Elev: NaN Feet
    Moderately difficult upclimb of about 15 feet. This one may give some people a little trouble.
  9. wShepbonRP-06          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.03900   W -114.83650        Elev: 2,085 Feet
    Fork in Sheep Bone Canyon. On the way up the Sheepbone/ Quarry Canyon loop go right following up the fork to the north.
  10. ySheepboneTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.04190   W -114.83782        Elev: 2,280 Feet
    Sheepbone canyon tops out here on a saddle with good views of the lake to the east. Continue north about 650 feet to get to the top of Quarry Canyon.
  11. sShepQaryLkVw          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.04255   W -114.83682        Elev: 2,220 Feet
    A saddle with a great view east toward Lake Mead.
  12. yQuarryTp          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.04374   W -114.83845        Elev: 2,170 Feet
    Top of Quarry Canyon in the main wash just before the canyon drops steeply.
  13. dQuarryR1          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.04359   W -114.83811        Elev: NaN Feet
    Rap 1 - Quarry Canyon. Anchored from a large boulder at the top of the drop and drops about 30 feet. Rap 1 can be bypassed by downclimbing LDC.
  14. wQuarryRP-01          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.04642   W -114.83426        Elev: NaN Feet
    Drainage joins in from LDC (northish). Continue easy wash walking down canyon.
  15. dQuarryR2          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.04722   W -114.83281        Elev: 1,870 Feet
    Rap 2 - Quarry Canyon. Anchored LDC from a large rock horn a little over head high and drops about 20 feet down a vertical wall.
  16. dQuarryR3          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.04741   W -114.83224        Elev: NaN Feet
    Rap 3 - Quarry Canyon. Anchored from a rock at the top of the drop and drops about 50 feet. Rap 3 is also downclimbable if you wish to downclimb instead.
  17. dQuarryR4          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.04624   W -114.82949        Elev: NaN Feet
    Rap 4 - Quarry Canyon. Anchored from a large rock about 5 feet back from the top and drops down a slightly sloped wall about 50 feet.
  18. dQuarryR5          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.04635   W -114.82916        Elev: 1,661 Feet
    Rap 5 - Quarry Canyon. Is about 100 feet down canyon of rap 4, is anchored from a tree about 10 feet back from the drop and drops about 35 feet.
  19. dQuarryR6-8          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.04642   W -114.82888        Elev: 1,640 Feet
    Raps 6, 7 and 7 - Quarry Canyon. Rap 6 is about 90 feet down canyon of rap 5, is anchored from a pinch point between a boulder and the canyon wall and drops about 30 feet down a chute. Rap 7 is about 40 feet down canyon of rap 6, is anchored from a cairn style anchor and drops about 20 feet. Rap 8 is about 30 feet down canyon of rap 7, is anchored from a cairn style anchor and drops about 70 feet over a series of sloped drops. All but the last 20 feet is easily downclimbed. The last 20 feet is sketchy so rappelling is recomended.
  20. yQuarryBt          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.04930   W -114.82859        Elev: 1,445 Feet
    Bottom of Quarry Canyon. This is where the wash meets a well graded dirt road leading toward the highway.
  21. wQuarryRP-02          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.05122   W -114.82299        Elev: 1,394 Feet
    A chain link gate to pass through on the hike out of Quarry Canyon.
  22. extQuarryExit          Lat/Lon (WGS84):  N 36.04789   W -114.81713        Elev: 1,250 Feet
    This is where the dirt road leading out of Quarry Canyon meets the highway (Lakeshore Road).

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