Waterfall Canyon - 12/11/19

Waterfall and Pool in Waterfall Canyon

Red Rock Wash

Willow Springs Petroglyphs

Group visiting the Petroglyphs

On Wednesday, nineteen club hikers gathered for a hike up through Waterfall Canyon. This canyon is found approximately 1.75 miles up Rocky Gap Road from the Willow Springs Picnic Area in the La Madre Wilderness. The canyon usually has running water but for the past few months, the output across Rocky Gap Road was nil. Since we had some rain in the past two weeks, we were hoping for a good display of waterfall activity! We were not too disappointed. Our loop hike began by following the Petroglyphs Trail down across Red Rock Wash from the picnic tables. The trail is well marked and we came to the fenced wall with signage.

Line of 19 Hikers

A few of the hikers, today, had not seen the petroglyphs so we stopped for a moment and got our photos then returned to the wash and started hiking through the gravel upstream.

Into the Shade

It was a slightly chilly morning so we reveled in the sunshine picking our way through the small boulders. Too soon, we had to duck into the shade. Someone took a temperature reading of 38 degrees.

Climbing out the Embankment

Arriving at the Pink Jeep Turnaround

This is a colorful and interesting wash with moderate scrambling. The pace was moderate as well as we climbed up. There were a few places where the use of hands was helpful. We stopped to regather two or three times but the group was pretty well matched and everyone was keeping up. Finally, we came to the first trail used to climb out of the wash. (There are 2 or 3.) This trail led up to the north side of the Pink Jeep Turnaround on Rocky Gap Road. It is probably rated as upper moderate as far as small trails go. We had to scramble up for part of the trail as seen in the photo above. Once we all arrived at the turnaround spot, we started up Rocky Gap Road for only about a third of a mile.

Rocky Gap Road

At this point, we saw a small stream of water making its way across the dirt road and down to the big wash. Then, to the right, we found the entrance to Waterfall Canyon. Three hikers left the group since they wanted to get back earlier. We were now sixteen; just over the wilderness group-size recommendation.

Starting the Waterfall Canyon Scramble

There is a trail at the beginning of the canyon. This gets you started but the scrambling ensues soon as you have to climb over small limestone thrust faults (?) on the left side to get to more trail.

Anyone have a lawn mower?

Overgrown Grass in Canyon

It became clear very soon that Waterfall Canyon has overgrown with marsh grass and thistles. I believe this has happened because of years of low water. We could see some of the waterfalls but the stream, itself, was invisible under all the grass. The trail criss-crosses the stream all the way up the canyon and, at one point, it climbs high up the right embankment to circumvent a wall climb of one seven foot falls. Also, over the years, the limestone has gotten more and more slippery as foot traffic smooths over the sharp rock ridges into round nubs. The water was not particularly high so all the crossings were easily negotiated.

The Tall Waterfall

The tall waterfall at the end of the canyon displayed the low water flow as seen above. See the last photo of this entry that shows a normal water flow back in 2009.

Scrambling to top of Tall Waterfall

Some of the hikers scrambled up to the top of the tall waterfall to take their break. Others stayed at the bottom. Afterwards, we started back down the canyon, again trying to decipher the trail.

View down from Top of Tall Waterfall

Slippery Scramble in Descent

We got back down the canyon in good time then started down Rocky Gap Road. The conversation was relaxed as we took a brisk walk down. Perhaps this hike is more beautiful in the spring. We'll try it again then. The thistles will be blooming and, maybe some of the winter grasses will be died off a little. We should do this hike more often so that the trail doesn't die, too. Fun group.

4 miles; 900 feet elevation gain; 3.25 hours

A Little Exposure

Sharon and Rick finishing the Scramble

Relaxing down Rocky Gap Road

Blast from the Past! 2009!