Big Dude

This canyon is beautiful with a remote, non-crowded, non-touristed feel. Please preserve arche sites as there are a lot around here and if we do not respect this we can lose access years later to these places. Please also exercise good Canyoneering ethics in this canyon. Do not step on the plants, mosses, and lichen. Leave no footprint. Practice good noise level controls in this area. Canyoneering gear should be stowed from clanking. Noise travels. Silence should be observed in certain areas on the exit.

Take the approach gully from the parking pin to enter high above Hartwell canyon from the west. The trail is still developing. In general, stay LUC until the rockfall is reached. This section can be bypassed by scrambling up on the right and circling around a large butte. Traverse across the wide shelf, heading north and passing Contigo, Hawk, and the turn off for End of the Rope. Continue to the first rappel of Big Dude.

R1: 90 feet off tree RDC. R2: 40 feet off tree RDC. R3: 65 feet off tree RDC. R4: 25 feet off boulder RDC. Lastly, 15 foot semi-hard downclimb can be bypassed on the left side.

Continue down the Big Dude drainage until it merges with Hartwell canyon. Follow Hartwell back to the turn off for the exit gully. take the gully ~400' up and over a saddle. Weave through manzanita and locate social trails back to End of Rope parking.