Canyoneering

Picture Gallery

External Links

Luke

---

Canyoneering Route Description

Styx Canyon - 3A III
Death Valley National Park, California.

Back to the Canyoneering Trip Report List page.

Pictures 03-08-08

Quick Facts

03-08-08, 6 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 8.9 hours)

Distance - 7.1 miles Total, 6.4 miles Technical
Rappels - 15 Rappels, Longest Rappel 100 feet.  13 raps in Styx Canyon and 2 raps in Upper Coffin Canyon as part of approach.

See the Canyoneer Trip Report Explanation Notes page for an explanation of how the technical mileage is determined.

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, 200 foot rope, and 50 feet of 1” webbing for sling placement.

See the Canyoneer Trip Report Explanation Notes page for an explanation of how the gear used list is determined.

General Comments

The Copper Canyon area in Death Valley is closed.  This closure effects this route.  A permit for the area is free and can be obtained by contacting the rangers in Death Valley.  For more information on this including contact information for permits see the Copper Canyon Closure Page.

The lower portion of the Styx Canyon route is full of seemingly endless down climbs and rappels one right after the other.  This is in contrast to the abundant wash walking at the beginning of the route.  This route starts down a portion of Upper Coffin Canyon with 2 raps until reaching the main wash of Coffin Canyon.  After some wash walking you leave the large Coffin Canyon wash and go up a ravine to a saddle at the top of Styx.  The remaining 13 rap on the route are in Styx Canyon.  The final rap in Styx drops under a huge boulder balanced across the canyon walls at the top of the rap.  You will also pass down from above sea level to below sea level on the final rap.

Getting to the Trailhead and Exit Vehicle (Escape Pod) Parking

To get to the Trailhead

The trailhead starts at the bathrooms about 0.5 road miles below Dante's View parking area.  From the junction of highways 178 (Bad Water Road) and 190, drive east on highway 190 about 10.7 miles to the turn off for Dante's View.  Follow the signs to Dante's View and drive 12.5 miles on paved road until you come to a set of bathrooms on the left (southwest) side of the road.  These bathrooms sit all by themselves and make a good landmark for the trailhead.  Park your vehicle anywhere off the road.  Note you are only 0.5 miles from Dante's View.  If your trip is planned with a little extra time it is worth the view to make a quick stop at the view to look over the Death Valley area from this high up.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

Parking an exit vehicle is necessary.  From the junction of highways 178 (Bad Water Road) and 190, drive south on highway 178 about 16.5 miles to Bad Water.  From Bad Water continue south on highway 178 another 4.4 miles.  There is no particular spot to park, just pull over to the side of the road where it looks like it would be safe to leave your vehicle.  The exit point of Styx Canyon is 0.5 miles north east of the parking spot on a bearing of 50°.  Leave a vehicle here as the escape pod.

Maps

Map showing entire route.

Click for High-Res version.
Right Click then select "Save Target As" to save the Hi-Res version.

GPS Waypoint Information

Waypoint coordinates are given with the WGS84 datum and in Lat/Lon hddd° mm.mmm' format unless otherwise noted.

Details

The Approach:
From the trailhead start hiking just south of due east at a bearing of 110° to a wash (yCoffinUpperTp) that starts out heading almost east and will begin to turn south just after entering it.  The wash slowly gets deeper and deeper with various down climbs.  A little way into the wash are some cairns high up on the right.  (Note: We followed the cairns while on Coffin Canyon the following day and found they did not lead anywhere useful.  It is best to stay in the wash.)

The Canyon / Technical Section:
About 0.6 miles from the trailhead is a down climb that looks treacherous (wCofinUprRP-01).  To bypass this bad looking down climb go up and and around RDC.  It is possible to bypass this down climb LDC but the route around is steeper and more prone to slipping.  When climbing around this area RDC, the goal is about 250 feet down the wash.  It is best to stay high on the right side of the wash until you find an acceptable spot to ski back down to the wash below.

Rap 1 for Upper Coffin Canyon is about 0.2 miles down canyon of the climb around.  Rap1 for Upper Coffin Canyon is about 100 feet and anchored from a small boulder sitting in the wash just above the rap.  The wall of Rap 1 is all very loose rock and dirt.  It is easy to kick rocks loose and injure the person below.  There is a fairly safe spot for the belay person to stand if they keep their face to the wall and keep tucked in.

Rap 2 for Upper Coffin Canyon is about 500 feet after rap 1.  Rap 2 is a 40 foot rap anchored from a boulder LDC. 

Beyond Rap 2 are a few minor down climbs before reaching the wide open main wash of Coffin Canyon (yCoffinUpperBt) at about 1.6 miles from the trailhead.

About 0.5 miles down the main wash you can see the 60 foot wall LDC that is rappelled down to enter Coffin Canyon as described in Chris Brennen’s route for Styx Canyon.  Here is where you get a visual treat of looking a long way down the straight flat of Coffin Canyon wash to see the salt flats at the bottom of Death Valley in the distance.

About 2.7 miles from the trailhead is where you will leave the main wash of Coffin Canyon and travel up right (west) a wash that comes in RDC (jWash2StyxTp). 

Travel up the wash out of Coffin Canyon about 550 feet to where a smaller wash comes in from the left (wStyxRP-01).  Turn up this smaller wash on the left, rather than continue along the wider more obvious wash.  This smaller wash is steep and will lead to the saddle at the top of Styx Canyon (yStyxTp) which is marked as the top entry for Styx Canyon.  The saddle offers views of another portion of the Death Valley Flats which can bee seen over the top of Styx Canyon.

Along the way after the saddle are 2 down climbs, one of which is tricky enough that a "Meat Anchor" is good for all but the last person down. 

Raps 1 and 2 in Styx Canyon (dStyxR1-2) are right after the down climbs and are about 0.4 miles down canyon from the top of the saddle.  Raps 1 and 2 in Styx Canyon will be raps 3 and 4 for the entire route.  Rap 1 drops about 60 feet and Rap 2 drops about 50 feet.  Rap 2 is right at the bottom of rap 1.  Both raps 1 and 2 are anchored from boulders laying in the wash just above the rap.

After raps 1 and 2 the canyon opens up a little with easy hiking.

Rap 3 (dStyxR3) is about 0.5 miles down canyon from rap 2.  Just before reaching rap 3 is a short down climb.  Rap 5 drops about 20 feet and is anchored by a cairn style anchor.  Rap 5 has an overhang a little over mid way down which gives a short free hanging section.

After Rap 3 it is easy wash walking for a while.  Along the way is a pile of boulders in the wash that have a nice passage through them (sBoulderPass).  It is deceiving when you first see them.  It looks as though they block your path.  As you get closer it is entertaining to find you can stand tall and walk right through a passage through them.

A little way down canyon of the boulder passage the canyon starts showing it's fun side with the remainder of the trip down canyon involving  a series of down climbs at rappels that just seem to never quit. 

About 1.1 miles down canyon of rap 3 is a 15 foot fun down climb or "slide" (wStyxRP-02).  You can scoot down to about 9 feet off the ground before Losing almost all traction.  From there it is a fun but fast slide down to the gravel below!

Rap 4 (dStyxR4) is about 0.4 miles down canyon of the down climb with a slide.  Rap 4 drops about 85 feet and is anchored from 2 anchors.  One is a piton while the other anchor is from some small rocks wedged in cracks just above the rap.

Down canyon of rap 4 is a series of down climbs to Rap 5.

Rap 5 (dStyxR5) is about 0.2 miles down canyon of rap 4.  Rap 5 drops about 80 feet.  From the top of rap 5 is a great view to the wash below.  This rap feels taller than it is when you look at it from top. 

Rap 6 (dStyxR6) is about 500 feet after rap 5.  Rap 6 drops about 12 feet and might be a down climb for some skilled down climbers.

Rap 7 (dStyxR7) is about 300 feet down canyon of rap 6.  Rap 7 drops about 30 feet but is easily down climbed with a couple options RDC. 

Rap 8 (dStyxR8) is about 400 feet after rap 7 and is a two stage rap.  Rap 8 is anchored from some boulders at the top of the rap.  The first stage is about 30 feet to a ledge or pot hole then another 30 feet to the bottom.

After rap 8 is a series of down climbs.

Rap 9 (dStyxR9)  is about 0.2 miles after rap 8.  Rap 9 is also a two stage rap with stage one being 20 feet and stage two being only 6 feet.

After rap 9 is more down climbs.  One of the down climbs here is a bit sketchy and will give most people some trouble.  It has an overhang with about a 12 foot drop.  A good climber or rock scrambler can stem down, but it is best to assist one another on this down climb. 

Rap 10 (dStyxR10) is about 0.3 miles down canyon of rap 9.  Rap 10 drops about 70 feet.

Rap 11 (dStyxR11) is about 100 feet after rap 10 and drops almost 100 feet.  Rap 11 is anchored from a piton and a large cairn).

 Rap 12 (dStyxR12) is about 150 feet after rap 11 and drops about 90 feet. 

Rap 13 (dStyxR13) is the final rap in Styx Canyon and is less than 100 feet from rap 12.  Rap 13 is definitely the most memorable.  When you come up to Rap 13 the first thing you notice is a huge boulder that has fallen to the floor of the canyon.  The boulder has a large space under it which is where Rap 13 starts.  Looking down the wash at the boulder the salt flats of Death Valley can be seen through the hole under it. Rap 13 drops about 100 feet and is anchored with long webbing straps tied to some boulders LDC of the large boulder described above.  Starting the decent of the 100 foot rap lets you enjoy the view of Death Valley behind and to the side of you.  This rap also passes through sea level about midway down.  You start above sea level and end up below sea level at the bottom.

The boulder over rap 13 is a great spot to take a group photo.  How often do you get to get on a boulder straddling a canyon with friends?  

The Exit:
From the bottom of rap 13 it is a short distance to the wide open alluvial fan where the canyon ends (yStyxBt).  Walk about 0.5 miles south west to the exit vehicle (pkStyxBT) to complete the route.  All that is left is to go retrieve the vehicle left at Dante's View where the route began.

Links to Pictures are at the top of the page.

Back to the Canyoneering Trip Report List page.