TR: Upper Black Box (with pictures!)

[ajroadtrips]

Cristina and I did the Upper Black Box over the weekend. Wow! Incredible!

I had been in there a few times over the years, but the water level right now is perfect. If you have good cold tolerance, no wetsuit is needed. We wore them, and enjoyed them, but would have been ok without.

A 9AM start got us into the canyon with really good lighting, and lots of sun.

This is one of my all time favorite canyons. 10 minute approach, 20 minute exit, and a several hours in an amazing canyon. Highly recommended this time of year.

[Sombeech]

ummm.... Home Page candidate?

[asdf]

oh yeah.

Nice TR and pics, looks fun.

[Alex]

Looks relaxing, does the canyon get skinny at any places?

[oldno7]

very nice--

the ta-do list keeps growing.

tell us about the rappel,anchors,water disconnect?,etc

[jumar]

Looks like fun! How'd the gator hold up? Looks like you started using a tube part way through instead?

[ajroadtrips]

Looks relaxing, does the canyon get skinny at any places?

It doesn't get very skinny. The second picture, with the boulders, is pretty much as skinny as it gets....

[rockgremlin]

Very nice! The Oasis in the desert! I love that you guys dragged the float tubes down...that's hilarious!!


What's up with the rappel? Doesn't the Upper have a walk-in start? And I've also heard that there's a pseudo-rappel midway through the route -- something about a 15foot waterfall, with a fixed handline in place? Did you see that?

[accadacca]

Thanks for the Canyoneering Porn.

[ajroadtrips]

Very nice! The Oasis in the desert! I love that you guys dragged the float tubes down...that's hilarious!!


What's up with the rappel? Doesn't the Upper have a walk-in start? And I've also heard that there's a pseudo-rappel midway through the route -- something about a 15foot waterfall, with a fixed handline in place? Did you see that?

Yeah, you can walk in from the top, but it is a long day. 9+ hours.

By rapping in, you get to the good part quickly and easily. You rap in right above the waterfall/handline you mention. There were 2 fixed lines when we were there, but most canyoneers can easily downclimb this obstacle. The water is shallow, however, so jumping is NOT advised.

[goofball]

wet canyons in hot weather. excellent combo !

i thought the bb's were pretty deep, but it looks pretty shallow (compared ,to hte mental image i have developed), how deep is it in general ?

[stefan]

great photos ryan. another good choice for a hot weekend

thanks for sharin'

[hesse15]

the plan was me riding the gator and deserthiker the ring, but my cheap 1$ toys did not hold very much weight
and trying to ride the gator i was always flipping over
so i ended up using the ring and desert strap the gator to his pack for flotation .
floting the big walled channel was awesome
several spot were long swimmer mostly at the end
but in some place for me was much better float than walk on the slippery rocks and more fun too

Looks like fun! How'd the gator hold up? Looks like you started using a tube part way through instead?

[Alex]

trying to ride the gator i was always flipping over

Sounds like you need more practice riding the gators

[ajroadtrips]

trying to ride the gator i was always flipping over

Sounds like you need more practice riding the gators

I'm not sure Steve Irwin was as big in Italy... My attempts at wrestling the wild beast would have done Steve proud...

The canyon is probably 250-300+ feet deep in many areas. Because it's a bit wide, and we were there in full sun, the pictures don't do the place justice.... Definitely put it on your todo list if you haven't done it.

[Iceaxe]

The Black Boxes are pretty deep, much deeper then Ryan's pics would lead you to believe. Here is a pic from the rim looking into the Lower Black Box, the Upper is similar.