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Canyoneering Route Description

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

Pictures 02-21-11

Quick Facts

02-21-11, 17 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 9 hours) - Lots of people using a longer convoluted approach than described here.

Time Required - 7 to 10 hours
Distance - 6.0 miles Total, 1.0 miles Technical
Rappels - 9 Rappels, Longest Rappel 140 feet.   - Anchor for longest rap set back about 25 feet so 165 feet of rope will be needed.
Elevation Range - -210 feet below sea level thru 2860 Feet
Shuttle Required -No Vehicle - Passenger Permit Required - No

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

Gear Used for Canyon

Rappelling and anchor gear, Ropes and or pull cords for rappels up to 165 feet and 150 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.

General Comments

The technical section fun but the lower half of Sidewinder in the conglomerate layer makes this route unique.

The long narrow section carved into the conglomerate layer near the end of the canyon goes on for almost 0.75 miles and is very scenic.  This section is worth the time to enjoy.  There are also some side slots in this section that are well worth the time to hike / scramble up into.  This area is below the last rappel and would make a great day hike to hike in from the bottom to check this area out.

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

To get to the Trailhead

From the junction of highways 178 (Bad Water Road) and 190, drive 16.6 miles south on highway 178 to Bad Water. Continue south on highway 178 approximately 14.6 miles to a turn off (extWillowPkBt) on the left (east). Turn left (east) then drive 0.2 miles to where the road ends at a tee (pkWillowBt).  When you get to the tee, turn right (south) and drive about 350 feet to park at the southern end of a hard dirt parking area (pkSideWndBt).

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

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

Maps

Map showing entire route.

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Map showing mostly the technical sections.

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GPS Waypoint Information

Details

The Approach:
From the parking spot (pkSideWndBt) look south.  The outlet of Sidewinder Canyon is about 1500 feet south but hidden since the wide gravel wash of Sidewinder wraps around the small hills you see to the south of the parking spot.  The small hills between the parking spot and the outlet of Sidewinder are what you will climb up to start the approach route.  In these smaller hills note the small drainage in these hills that is visibly the farthest right as viewed from the parking spot.  You will be scrambling up the hill just right of that draiange.

Hike across the desert to the south toward the outlet of Sidewinder.  Your goal so to scramble up the smaller hills just before reaching Sidewinder to get up onto the ridge running along the north side of side of Sidewinder.  The picture below shows where you will scramble up since this is difficult to explain in writing. 

This is what will show as the caption. It can be as long or short as you like. The text will wrap and the border will expand down to accommodate.

The base of the climb up onto the ridge (wSideWnd-Rp-01) is about 1100 feet south of the parking spot.  Scramble / claw your way up the loose dirt to get up onto the ridge.  I say clay because the dirt and rock is very steep and loose and you will need all four limbs working to get up the first 60 or 80 feet.  The route in the picture where the blue line is seems to be the best start up.

After you get up the first 60 or 80 feet the route along the ridge is an easy walk for long way.  Once at the top of the slope follow up the ridge as it winds a little along some narrow sections then heads south east and widens out.  About 500 feet along the ridge you will have views down into the lower portions of Sidewinder (wSideWnd-Rp-02).

Note:
Along the ridge will be some sections of faint paths to follow.  Other sections will look as though it has never been touched by man or animal.  Over the next mile and a half just follow south east up along the crest of the ridge.  In some spots where there are game trails cut in, there are paths on both sides of the ridge and sometimes on the crest of the ridge as well.  Follow what ever route feels best for you to get your self south east up along the ridge.

As you travel up the ridge you will get occasional views down into the lower portions of Sidewinder Canyon on the right (south).  The large drainage to the left (north) about 0.5 miles away is the lower portion of Willow Canyon.

About 0.3 miles farther the ridge widens out into a large almost flat area (wSideWnd-Rp-03).  When you get to the large, wide, almost flat area on the ridge, continue south east up the slope toward what looks like a small peak / hill about 500 feet away.

When you get to the top of the small peak / hill (wSideWnd-Rp-04) you are greeted with a clear view the still easy to follow ridge line to the south east.  Continue along the ridge line to the south east.

A little over a mile farther up the ridge will be a saddle (wSideWnd-Rp-05).  You will have went over a couple other saddles on the way up the ridge.  What makes this saddle stand out is that it is about 500 feet before reaching an obvious abrupt grade change where the route gets significantly steeper.  There will also be a side drainage dropping down from the left (north) side of this saddle.

Note:
The side drainage here can be hiked / scrambled to or from Willow Canyon from here.

From the saddle continue east and start up the ridge on a path.  About 250 feet from the saddle the path will veer a bit left and move away from the side of Sidewinder.  About 500 feet will be a whitish colored rock out cropping (wSideWnd-Rp-06).

From the whitish rock out cropping continue up the slope to the east.  About 300 feet from the whitish out cropping cross over the head of a ravine (wSideWnd-Rp-07).  As you cross over the head of the ravine you might notice a faint path if you look close.

After crossing over the head of the ravine, continue east while going up and traversing along the steep slope.  A little over 200 feet after crossing the ravine you will get up onto the crest of a ridge (wSideWnd-Rp-08) that runs up to the south east.  When you get to the crest of the ridge you may find a path leading east then north east toward Willow Canyon.  Do not follow the path.  Instead turn right and start going up the steep ridge to the south east.

Going up the ridge to the south east is a moderate grade with no paths so you will need to route find your way up.  About 1300 feet up the ridge is a false high point (wSideWnd-Rp-09).  The ridge at this false high point veers left and continues Up to the east.  From this point you start to get views down into Sidewinder again as the ridge roughly parallels Sidewinder Canyon.

About 0.4 miles farther up the ridge will be the top of a smaller ridge (wSideWnd-Rp-10) that leaves the main ridge and drops to the south down into Sidewinder.  Continue south east up the main ridge.

A little over 400 feet farther up the ridge is where to start the descent (wSideWnd-Rp-11) down into Sidewinder.  Start dropping down into Sidewinder Canyon but don't just go straight down the slope.  Instead traverse along the side of the slope up canyon.  The goal is to drop to the floor of the canyon about 1000 feet up canyon.  Doing this will drop you in just above rap 1.

Note:
There are no easily identifiable landmarks to use.  A GPS will be handy if you are a bad judge of what 400 feet is.  There are also no landmarks for the traverse down into the canyon.

About 350 feet on the traverse along the slope the route will intersect with a low use game trail (wSideWnd-Rp-12).  When you find it, follow the game trail as it continues to traverse south east down to the canyon floor.

About 650 feet along the game trail will drop you down to the canyon floor (ySidewinderTp) about 50 feet up canyon of rap 1.

Up canyon of this point looked to be a mellow wash with boulder debris so we did not go farther up to explore it.  This drop in point is a little over a mile down canyon from the actual top of the drainage up on the mountain.

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
From the drop in point (ySidewinderTp) walk a few feet down canyon to an easy down climb of about 15 to 20 feet.

Rap 1 (dSideWnd-R1) is about 50 feet down canyon of the drop in, is anchored from cairn anchor 15 feet back from the drop and drops about 60 feet down a mostly vertical wall.  Rap 1 drops down to a large shelf.

About 50 feet down canyon of rap 1 is a down climb.  The down climb is not difficult but does have a lot of loose rock and some exposure.  For safety, one of the better down climbers in the group could provide a top belay then down climb last. Those at the bottom can provide assistance from the bottom if needed.

After the down climb continue down canyon in a short section of scree before starting a longer section of wash walking.

About 450 feet down canyon are two drops just before reaching rap 2.  The first drop is by-passable on the LDC side down a ramp.  The second drop is bypassed RDC over to a rock debris pile to scramble down.  Shortly after these drops is the top of rap 2.

Rap 2 (dSideWnd-R1) is about 650 feet down canyon of rap 1, is anchored from a pinch point between two large rocks laying in the water course about 15 feet back from the drop and drops about 35 feet down a mostly vertical wall.

Just down canyon of rap 2 are a couple drops with an easy bypass up and over to a large scree pile on the LDC side.

After the scree pile bypass is will be a combination of easy wash walking with a few short easy down climbs / scrambles mixed in for about 0.35 miles down to rap 3. 

Rap 3 (dSideWnd-R3) is about 0.35 miles down canyon of rap 2, is anchored from rock embedded in the wash and and drops over two stages with a horizontal section between the stages.  The first stage is about 65 feet and the second stage is about 35 feet.  Rap 3 will use about 150 feet of rope travel from top to bottom.

Rap 4 (dSideWnd-R4) is a little over 100 feet down canyon of rap 3, anchored from large rocks at the top of the drop drops over two stages of about 40 feet each with a horizontal section between using about 115 feet of rope travel for the rappel.

A little over 200 feet down canyon of rap 4 are a few short easy down climbs.  One of these drops is a sloped chute of 10 to 12 feet to slide down.  The slope is gentle allowing for a well controlled slide.

Rap 5 (dSideWnd-R5) is about 600 feet down canyon of rap 4, is anchored from large rocks in the wash about 15 feet back from the drop and drops about 30 feet.

A little over 200 feet down canyon is a series of small easy down climbs through a section of gray rock.

Rap 6 (dSideWnd-R6) is about 350 feet down canyon of rap 5, is anchored from rock debris about 15 feet back from the drop and drops about 50 feet down a mostly vertical wall in gray rock.

Down canyon of rap 6 is more wash walking for about 250 feet to a drop of about 15 feet.

Another 130 feet down canyon the rock turns from grayish to white where there is a pour off of about 30 feet and is by-passable up and over on the LDC side then down a white white rock ramp. to the top of another drop of about 12 feet that is sloped and an easy slide down.  Just after these two drops the rock turns from white back to gray and travel down canyon is wash walking.

About 260 feet farther down canyon is is a drop in the gray rock. The drop is down a sloped section of rock of about 40 feet and an easy stem style down climb.  Rap 7 is shortly down canyon.

Rap 7 (dSideWnd-R7) is about 700 feet down canyon of rap 6, is anchored from cairn anchor 25 feet back from the drop and drops about 140 feet down a mostly vertical wall.  Rap 7 will use a total of about 165 feet of rope travel back to the anchor.  The area around the top of rap 7 is wide open and offers great views over Sidewinder Canyon and out to the salt flats in the distance.

Rap 8 (dSideWnd-R8) is about 100 feet down canyon of rap 7, is anchored from cairn style anchor piled in the water course and drops about 95 feet down over three shelves creating 4 short drops in a rough semi narrow slot.

Just after rap 8 is an easy down climb of about 20 feet then into a section of gray rock narrows.

Rap 9 (dSideWnd-R9) is about 200 feet down canyon of rap 8 and is in the gray narrows section after a down climb.  Rap 9 is, is anchored from a pinch point between a choke stone and the canyon wall and drops about 30 feet down a sloped narrow slot. 

Note:
Rap 9 looks intimidating with the slick rock but is a pretty easy down climb.  Depending on the skill level of the group this drop could easily be down climbed to save time.  If down climbing, one of the better down climbers in the group could provide a top belay then down climb last. Those at the bottom can provide assistance from the bottom if needed.

Just below rap 9 is a stem style down climb of about 20 feet.  At the bottom of the down climb is a side drainage joining in from RDC.  Continue right down canyon.  Down canyon of this down climb there is nothing else you will need a harness for so you can take the gear off and be comfortable.  There will still be a few down climbs but nothing needing a harness.

Down canyon of here are sections of narrows, wash walking, and multiple easy short down climbs.

About 0.5 miles down canyon of rap 9 you will start (wSideWnd-Rp-13) into a section of narrows carved into a conglomerate layer.  This conglomerate slot is extremely scenic and worth taking the time to enjoy.  I would also recommend this as a destination for a bottom up hike.  This conglomerate slot goes on for about 0.75 miles.

About 0.5 miles into the conglomerate slot is a side slot (wSideWnd-Rp-14) carved into the conglomerate layer on the left (south).  If you have time a hike / scramble up this side slot is well worth the time.  You can go along way up into the slot.  There are also a couple arches carved out of the conglomerate that are pretty interesting to check out.  This would also be a reason to hike up form the bottom.

About 0.3 miles farther the narrow conglomerate slot opens up (wSideWnd-Rp-15) to a VERY wide wash with conglomerate walls.  There is also another side slot to go check out on the left (south) here just after the narrows opens up.  This side slot goes a long way in as well and feels over all a little darker than the one farther up canyon.

After the canyon opens up walk down the side wash about 0.8 miles to where it opens up onto the alluvial fan (ySidewinderBt).

The Exit:
Once out on the alluvial fan (ySidewinderBt), turn right (north) and walk 0.3 miles over to the parking spot where you began (pkSideWndBt).

GPS Waypoint Information

Back to the Canyoneering Trip Report List page.

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