Canyon Y

A moderate-length canyon with no car shuttle. It has some swirly, pretty rock like neighboring canyons.

Drive to Natural Bridge Trailhead, off Badwater Road. Hike south about 1/4 mile, short-cutting over a gravel ridge, cross a wash, then start up a very pleasant slope with rock and small gulleys. For about 500 vertical feet, the approach is great. Eventually it becomes less like rock and more like crumbly dirt, or gravel on crumbly rocks. At this point it is a lot less fun.

Optional R1 (25 feet or downclimb) This can be downclimbed. It is immediately followed by some easier downclimbs, then R2. However, it can also all be strung together as a multi-stage rappel, which Scott Swaney's description listed as 150'. R2 (20') from a rock chock on left, or this is the final stage of the multistage R1 Optional R3 (30') or downclimb on right. R4 (20') from horn on right Downclimb/bypass left immediately before R5 R5 (40') from rock chock and knot chock on right. Immediately followed by down climbs. R6 (90') fiddle horn on left. Pretty chute. R7 (30') fiddle from center rock. R8 (40') from cairn R9 (140') two-stage rappel from cairn. (Or each stage can be anchored separately, and is about 50' each.) R10 (40') from a cairn R11 (30') from a rock chock on left At this point, it looks like there will be more rappels, but there aren't. You will have lots of easy downclimbs until the canyon drops into a wash. Then there are some surprise not-as-easy downclimbs at the very end.

At canyon mouth, turn north for easy, short stroll to Natural Bridge parking lot.