Deimos Canyon Jan 3, 2014

[TommyBoy]

When I first started planning this trip I was looking at the weather and trying to decide where to go since it had to be dry. After calling a few people one of them suggested Death Valley and I knew we had a winner. The coldest it got was the high 30's at night, daytime temps were in the 70's. My first time canyoneering in Death Valley and we start with Deimos, this had to have the hardest approach hike I have ever done. There could be worse ones out there but none that I have done, we had to climb close to 3000' of elevation in under 2 miles. To make it worse the route was covered in loose rock and we kept slipping with every step.






Amazing what a small bump can do when the rocks are sharp, of course head wounds bleed a lot even when they are small. We all put on our helmets after this.






Unfortunately the canyons aren't exactly photogenic, there are a few spots that look great, but they don't photo well. Or maybe I just suck at taking pictures. Lots of dirt and rock and not much else. These canyons are tons of fun, but you better be in pretty good physical condition if you're doing one with an approach hike or it will kick your ass.

[deagol]

But, at least no poison oak/ivy like canyons in the San Gabriels !..
nice report.

[Sombeech]

How did the bump on the head happen?

[dude9478]

Cool Report! Deimos is a good one.

"Amazing what a small bump can do when the rocks are sharp, of course head wounds bleed a lot even when they are small. We all put on our helmets after this".

I put my helmet on before we start hiking up on most Death Valley canyons. Had many close calls with loose rock on those steep approaches.

[TommyBoy]

I put my helmet on before we start hiking up on most Death Valley canyons. Had many close calls with loose rock on those steep approaches.

Yeah this was my first trip through here, after that day I wore my helmet on all the approaches. Its just not something you think of when doing the approach.

As for how it happened, there were a lot of really steep spots and this one had a wall on the left with an over hang that he bumped as he was climbing up.

[dug]

HA! That's cool! I followed you guys by just a few days soloing it on the 9th. I saw your tracks in the Canyon and a couple spots up the approach. I took some video and managed a few good shots. I'll post a video link here when complete.

[Sombeech]

HA! That's cool! I followed you guys by just a few days soloing it on the 9th.

You know what, their post was from a year ago, I assume yours was just a few days ago.


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[dug]

Yup, I'm stoopid. But I did see tracks that were definitely post "last system"

[dug]

Deimos Jan 2015 vid