---

Canyoneering Route Description

Mud Spring Canyon - 3B (or A) III
Red Rock Canyon, Nevada.

Pictures 03-12-11

Quick Facts

03-12-11, 4 people, 1 Day (Travel time in route 7.5 hours)

Time Required - 6 to 8 hours
Distance - 3.1 miles Total, 1.1 miles Technical
Rappels - 8 Rappels, Longest Rappel 100 feet.
Elevation Range - 4240 - 6465 Feet
Shuttle Required -Yes 6.2 Miles Vehicle - High Clearance recommended but not required 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 100 feet and 50 feet of 1 inch webbing for sling placement.  Wet suits are recommended if there is flow in the canyon.  During moderate weather a 3mm full is recommended.  The wet suits are only needed for the lower portion of the canyon.

General Comments

There are two major forks for the top portion of Mud Spring Canyon.  The route here is for the fork that had the least amount of vegetation in it to make the descent more enjoyable.  Rick I. and Tom descended the major fork just south of this one and found the bushwhacking heavier and more annoying than the route described here.  

Mud Spring Canyon is best done in the spring time when the ambient temps are rising and there is still plenty of spring runoff to keep the canyon full of water.  The lower portion of Mud Springs Canyon is a lot more fun when done with water flowing.  Then lower section has a few jumps and slides into pools to keep the fun factor up.  Each of these drops is easily down climbed or bypassed for those that do not wish to jump or slide.  

Mud Spring Canyon is a short but fun route worth repeating.  

Thanks to Rick Ianniello for locating this and descending it with Tom Walmsley before sharing it with the rest of us.

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

To get to the Trailhead

Note:
The last 0.3 miles of the drive in to the start trailhead may be a little rough for some passenger vehicles.  Most passenger vehicles however should be fine.  If the road is not something you wish to take your car on you can find a spot to park it and walk the final 0.3 miles.  

The junction of highways 159 and 160 are on the out skirts of town on the south west side of town.  From the junction of highway 159 (Charleston Blvd) and highway 160 (Blue Diamond Road), drive west on highway 160 for 10.2 miles to the turn off on the right (north) into Mountain Springs (extMountSprngs).   This turn off will be shortly after driving up and over the crest of Mountain Springs Pass.  

After turning into Mountain Springs (extMountSprngs), drive north east about 850 feet to a turn off onto a dirt road to the left (wMudAprDP-01).  

Drive north on the dirt road for about 850 feet to a junction in the dirt road (wMudAprDP-02).  At this junction there is a private property sign and gate blocking travel to continue north here.  Turn right (east) and continue on another dirt road which has signage on it labeling it as road 541.   

Note:
From here forward is the rough part of the road where some passenger cars might have issues.  If you are worried about your car making it you can find a place to park and walk the rest of the way since it is only another 0.3 miles.  

After turning onto road 541, drive about 0.2 to a turn out on the right where you could park.  Do not stop at this first turn out parking spot.  Continue another 0.1 miles to the second parking spot on the right.  This second turn out parking spot is the one you want to park at (pkMudPearlTp).   Lining this turn out are large boulders placed to prevent vehicles from traveling north up what used to be a dirt road.

To leave the Exit Vehicle / Escape Pod

The junction of highways 159 and 160 are on the out skirts of town on the south west side of town.  From the junction of highway 159 (Charleston Blvd) and highway 160 (Blue Diamond Road), drive west on highway 160 for 4.7 miles to a turn off on the right.  Turn off the road at this turn off and drive into the parking lot (tLateNight) for the Late Night Trailhead for the Cottonwood Trail System.  

From the paved parking area for the Late Night Trailhead (tLateNight), drive north east in the parking lot to the start of a dirt road.   

Note:
The dirt roads you will be driving to get the exit vehicle in place are part of a large complex of mountain bike trails and can be very confusing.  Be on the lookout for people on mountain bikes.  Since the roads can be confusing A GPS is recommended to locate the proper location.  

Once on the dirt road drive north east about 1.28 miles to an intersection for 3 roads (wMudExitDP-01).  Turn left (west) here.   

In about 500 feet the road will swing right then come Tee into another road about 200 feet later (wMudExitDP-02).  Turn left (south west) here.  

After turning left, follow the road about 0.58 miles to where the road makes a sharp bend to the left (south).  As you go around this bend look for a small cleared area to park on the left (south east) side of the road (pkMudCynExit).  Leave the exit vehicle here.

Maps

Map showing entire route.

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

Map showing mostly the technical section.

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

GPS Waypoint Information

Details

The Approach:
From the parking spot (pkMudPearlTp) walk up the hill to the north following an old dirt road. Follow up the steep, old dirt road for about 0.6 miles to where it tops out (wMudPearlRP-01).  At this top out the road is now traveling east.  

Continue east along the road down the other side of the top out.  About 500 feet from the top out the road will drop down to a saddle (wMudPearlRP-02).  At this saddle the road turns to the north and drops to a drainage.  This is where you will leave the road to continue up to both Mud Spring Canyon and to the String of Pearls route.  Continue east and start up the slope / ridge.  Route find your way up the ridge since there is no defined trail to follow.  

About 0.2 miles up the ridge from the saddle is a section on the ridge that levels off a little to a gentle grade for a short distance (wMudPearlRP-03).  

Another 0.2 miles further up the ridge is a high point (wMudPearlRP-04) before crossing over a small saddle.  

Another 0.2 miles the ridge heading east tops out (wMudPearlRP-05).   From this top out of the ridge you have good 360 degree views of the area around you.  

From the top out of the ridge look for a trail heading to the left (north) that drops down and then follows along the ridge running north.  About 250 feet from the top out the trail that runs north crosses over a saddle (wMudPearlRP-06).  

From the saddle continue north on the trail up the slope on the other side of the saddle.  About 350 feet from the saddle the trail will top out near a rock out cropping with orange patches of lichen on it.  Walk north just past the rock out cropping to get to the spot where you will leave the trail then start dropping down into Mud Spring Canyon (jMudCanyon).  Leave the trail and head down the slope to the east.  

Note:
The slope down to the east is a ridge between two forks of Mud Spring Canyon.  The fork on the left (north) is the fork this route description will take you down.  Alternately you can drop down the fork on the right (south) but it is filled with heavier brush and not as much fun.  

About 0.3 miles down the ridge after leaving the trail is where you will leave the ridge (wMud-RP-07) and drop to the drainage to the left (north).  To get a visual clue of where to start down, look north at the terrain below.  Look for the very defined line where the scree cover hillside meets the slick rock area.  As you drop down off the ridge aim for the line between the two types of terrain.  The stark difference between terrain types is quite impressive.  

About 450 feet from the ridge you should be in the drainage right at the line between the two types of terrain (yMudSpringTp).  This is marked as the top of the canyon.

The Canyoneering / Technical Section:
From the top of the canyon (yMudSpringTp), start walking down the wash which will shortly turn to just sandstone.  The first 0.25 miles down canyon from the head are multiple short easy down climbs of 4 to 8 feet each.  This first section of canyon starts out with minor vegetation and slowly gets heavier farther down canyon.  A few sections of the vegetation are quite thick making some of the bush whacking a bit annoying.  

About 0.25 miles down canyon of the head is a drop over a section of boulder debris of about 30 feet (wMud-RP-08).  This drop is in a narrow section of the canyon with the boulders pilled between the walls.  Down climbing down the boulder debris is easy and straight forward with a combination of scrambling and chimneying.  

About 350 feet down canyon after the 30 foot drop is where a minor fork of Mud Spring Canyon drops in (wMud-RP-09) from LDC (north).  The drainage drops in from above the main drainage you are in and goes almost un-noticed.  This is also where the vegetation starts to thin out and travel is fun and easy again.  

Just after the junction is a series of easy scrambles and down climbs.  Two of the drops are about 10 feet chimney down climbs and can be very slick if there is water flowing in the canyon.  Then more easy down climbs and a few potholes to easily walk around.  This is a pretty section of canyon to enjoy if there is flow filling the potholes.  

Rap 1 (dMudSpringR1-2) is about 600 feet down canyon after the drainage that dropped in from LDC.  Rap 1 is anchored from a tree with a base of 6 inches in diameter about 10 feet up on a ledge RDC.  You will need to climb up a vertical section of about 5 feet to get up to the ledge for the anchor.  Rap 1 drops a total of about 90 feet from the tree option for the anchor.  The first 70 feet is down a vertical wall to a large pothole then down another 20 feet on the other side of the pot hole.  

Note:
Optionally boulders in the wash about 15 feet back could be used for the anchor for rap 1 but would make the rope pull a little more problematic.  Another option would be a choke stone in a crack with a redirect of the webbing through the crack.  The crack best suited for this is RDC at the bottom of the climb up to the tree anchor option.  

Rap 2 is right at the bottom of rap 1.  Rap 2 is anchored from a large rock near the top of the drop.  Be sure to wrap the webbing on the rock in such a way that it cannot slip under the rock.  Rap 2 drops about 55 feet down a sloped section of very rounded and sculpted rock.  At the bottom of rap 2 is a small pool that will only be shin deep if full.  

About 60 feet down canyon of rap 2 is a section of drops over a lot of pot holes.  This section is easily bypassed LDC along sloped sandstone ledges.  As you by pass this section walk around LDC over the ledges and look for a crack leading along a wall leading back down to the water course to the top of rap 3.  Scrambling down the crack is much easier and safer than trying to down climb straight over to the top of rap 3.  

Note:
The section of drops and potholes that is about 60 feet down canyon of rap 2 can optionally be descended rather than bypassed.  Dropping down this section will provide some challenging chimney style down climbs.  The last drop in that section requires a rap of about 30 feet.  The anchor for the rap is a pinch point between a rock and the canyon wall down in one of the potholes and may be very difficult to find if the pothole is full of water.  

Rap 3 (dMudSpringR3-4) is about 150 feet down canyon of rap 2.  Right at the top of rap 3 is a natural anchor just LDC of the anchor which looks good from the top of the rap and looking back up as you rap down rap 3.  Rap 3 is anchored from large choke stone in the water course.  Rap 3 drops 100 feet down 3 stages.  

Rap 4 is right at the bottom of rap 3.  Rap 4 is anchored RDC from some boulders at the top of the drop.  Rap 4 drops 85 feet down and sloped twisted and winding section with a few places to stand along the way down.  At the bottom of rap 4 is the confluence of another fork in the Mud Spring Canyon system (wMud-RP-10).  

After rap 4 continue southeast down canyon.  Just down canyon of rap 4 the canyon has a lot of very thick vegetation.  Traveling through the thick vegetation is easily avoided by scrambling up onto the sandstone ledge LDC and walking up out of the wash for about 250 feet before dropping back to the wash.  As you walk the ledge to avoid the brush you can look back up canyon and pick out the black varnished wall of rap 1.  

After dropping back down to the wash the canyon offers boulder hopping and a few short easy down climbs for about 750 feet before reaching the confluence of the two major forks of Mud Spring Canyon (wMud-RP-11).  This is where you would meet this route if you chose to descend the major fork to the south of the one described here.  

From the confluence continue east down canyon with more easy boulder hopping and easy down climbs.  A little over 400 feet down canyon of the confluence is a drop of about 20 feet (wMud-RP-12).  This drop is over a pile of boulder debris.  This drop is not difficult but is stands out as different and makes a good land mark for knowing where you are on the route.  

About 150 feet farther down canyon is a drop of about 15 feet to break up the constant rock hopping along the wash.  

About 150 feet farther down canyon is a large boulder wedged between the walls of the wash.  There is an easy sandstone slope to bypass this boulder on the RDC side.  When the canyon is flowing there is a long pool flowing out from under it.  

Just after this boulder and the pool is a wide open section of slick rock (wMud-RP-13).  The canyon has an obviously different wide open feel here.  Down canyon of this flat area is where the fun begins if the canyon is full of water.  This is the time to put your wet suits on if you brought them.  

Continuing down canyon in the water course will be a down climb of about 20 feet to a pool about waist deep.  This drop is in a narrow slot and is a moderately easy chimney down climb.  This drop is fun when water is flowing along the drop with you.  From the pool at the bottom, slide down another drop about 5 feet to another pool to continue the walk down canyon.  Optionally this drop can be bypassed if desired by walking the ledge LDC.  

Rap 5 (dMudSpringR5) is about 80 feet farther down canyon.  Rap 5 is RDC in the wash and can be anchored from one of many boulders in the area.  A fun option for Rap 5 is to do a balanced rappel with the rope slung over a boulder at the top of the rap.  Two people rappel at the same time with one person on each side of the rope providing a counter balance for each other.  Rap 5 drops about 50 feet under a huge boulder choke stone and has a grotto like feel as you rappel under it.  At the bottom of Rap 5 is a pool which will be about waist deep if full.  

About 50 feet down canyon of rap 5 is a drop of about 12 feet down into a pool.  This drop can be easily down climbed and slid down chimney style.  Optionally you can jump off and land in the water if the water is deep enough at the time you are there.  The pool is a swimmer for about 20 feet.   

At the other end of the pool is another drop into another pool.  This drop can easily be bypassed along a ledge on the RDC side.  If the pool has water it is a fun pool to run and jump into as well.  

Next the water course flows down a narrow fluted drop.  About 10 feet down this fluted drop is a large choke stone.  This large choke stone is used as the anchor for rap 6.  

Rap 6 (dMudSpringR6-7) is about 150 feet down canyon of rap 5.  Rap 6 is anchored from a large choke stone in a fluted slot and drops about 20 feet into a pool that will be a swimmer if full but quickly go to only waist deep.  

Rap 7 is on the other side of the pool below rap 6.  Rap 7 can be anchored LDC from a small shrub.  If this small bush dies off or becomes weak there are other options to use various rocks for anchors.  The webbing for Rap 7 should be set long to avoid rope pull issues and keep from scaring the rock with too much rope drag.  Rap 7 drops about 40 feet with a ledge about half way down.  The start of rap 7 goes over an overhang giving a short section of free hang rappel and drops to a ledge.  From the ledge Rap 7 drops down a vertical wall to a pool below.  The pool below rap 7 is a swimmer for about 20 feet.

About 60 feet down canyon of rap 7 is a drop of about 8 feet to another pool.  This drop is fun to slide down and drop off into the water if the pool is full.  This drop can also be bypassed down a rock slope RDC.  

Rap 8 (dMudSpringR8) is shortly after the last pool and about 100 feet down canyon of rap 7.  Rap 8 is anchored LDC from one of many trees.  There are also a lot of other options for anchors to be built from rocks in the area.  Rap 8 drops about 60 feet down a vertical wall to the top of a large boulder at the bottom of the rap.  

From the top of the boulder at the bottom of rap 8 it is an easy scramble down to the wash to continue down canyon.  

Down canyon of rap 8 is a lot of rock hopping and scrambling in the boulders along the wash.  None of this is difficult or worth specifically noting.  This is the typical boulder strewn wash that can be tedious travel.  Continuing down canyon of rap 8, the canyon walls continue to get wider apart and the area starts to open up to the flat desert ahead.  About 0.25 miles down canyon of rap 8 is where canyon exits the sandstone mountains and becomes a deep wash in the open desert.  I chose an arbitrary point in this area to mark the exit of the canyon (yMudSpringBt)

The Exit:
From the arbitrary point marked as the exit of the canyon (yMudSpringBt), continue down canyon another 0.4 miles to where the sides of the wash begin to get lower making it easier to climb out (wMud-RP-14).  Climb out of the wash on the left (north) side.  

After climbing out of the wash, continue east along the side of the wash in the open desert which is far easier travel than down in the wash.  If you look around you may be able to find faint path going east and roughly following the wash.  Follow that path east.  If you do not find the path, just walk east in the open desert.  Rather you are on the path or not you will tee into a large mountain bike trail about 0.4 miles after exiting the wash (if you exited where at wMud-RP-14).  When you tee into this large mountain bike path (wMud-RP-15) turn right (south east) and follow the path.  

About 0.2 miles farther the mountain bike trail crosses over a very large wash (wMud-RP-16).   

After crossing the wash the mountain bike trail will hook left then back right and come to a tee about 500 feet after crossing the wash (wMud-RP-17).  Turn left at this tee to continue to the exit vehicle.  

About 250 feet farther will be a 3 way intersection.  Turn left and walk about 80 feet to where the exit vehicle is parked (pkMudCynExit).

GPS Waypoint Information

Back to the Canyoneering Trip Report List page.

---

Content on BluuGnome.com is protected by copyright and may not be distributed without permission from BluuGnome.com.