Dinkey Creek

This is a really scenic canyon with most sections in polished granite and some with marble. In typical late season flows, there are only minor swift water challenges, but in higher conditions, there is a serious potential for hydraulics and a dangerous sieve to form in the early part of the technical section. Canyoneers should attempt only at medium to low flows. Flow can be assessed at the bridge by the campground, and again at the top of the first rappel, which directly overlooks the narrowest section of the canyon. This canyon was originally explored as a potential kayaking route by Paul Martzen in 1985. He made the first descent on foot (a practice now known as canyoneering) from Ross Crossing Road to Balch camp in 1988, and returned the following year to complete the kayaking first descent from Ross Creek Confluence to Balch Camp. This description describes what Paul refers to as "Dinkey Creek Cascades", a canyoneering route from Ross Crossing Road to Ross Creek Confluence, which lies above the kayaking route. This canyon can be enjoyed as a 2+ day adventure continuing down to Balch Camp, or in one long day (10~18hrs) by taking one of the 2 other exit options returning back up to Ross Crossing Road, gaining 2000' of elevation on the hike out. The current and past water flow can be checked online at http://www.dreamflows.com/graphs/day.453.php.

Two possible approaches exist. 1) From Ross Crossing Campground Hike along the river until the walls develop and continue down canyon. 2) From Ross Crossing Campground, drive approximately 1 mile Southwest (towards Shaver Lake) on Ross Crossing Road, and park at the gate on the left side of the road. Hike down the quarry access road until you reach a boulder lined clearing. Scramble down the boulder field slopes travelling East, and follow a shallow drainage down towards the river, taking the path of least resistance. At the base of some granite slabs, traverse right before descending down a crack system, and scramble down a gulley down to the river at (36.979313, -119.122673). This approach takes less than 20 minutes and shaves off approximately 3/4 of a mile of river walking and boulder hopping.

The canyon can be divided into two sections with distinctly different character. The upper section of the canyon can be done as a long day, with a steep 2000' elevation hike out with some route finding and/or bushwhacking involved. The lower section, combined with the upper, is typically done as a 2 day adventure. From Ross Crossing Rd to Ross Creek is approximately 2 river miles which drops 1200 feet (1.25 miles and 1000' from the granite quarry drop in). This section is very technical with numerous rappels, a few jumps and significant downclimbing. Flows above 10 cfs are likely very dangerous. This section has up to 11 rappels, a few of which can be downclimbed by the skilled. This section should take 6-7 hours. From the drop in point, continue down canyon along the river until you reach a 20' drop with highly sculpted rock. This is a good place to change into wetsuits. Continue down canyon with some boulder hopping and easy downclimbing. The canyon walls start to narrow, and a long (~200') swim deposits you at the top of the first rappel. R2 is followed by a short swim through a narrow channel, which is blocked by a massive boulder. This boulder is what I will call the “Over or Under” obstacle, as it can be defeated either by going over it, or under it. Going over involves climbing a log jam, and stemming across a wide gap to traverse on top of this feature. Going under is quite entertaining, and gets you half way through, where you must climb up onto the boulder anyway. The climb was much harder for the “Under” variation, but both variations required some slings to be tossed around log jams to create steps to ascend the feature. This obstacle would become deadly in high flows, as the water runs below the boulder through some log jams, which can easily create a strainer. Here, the canyon eases for a little bit, providing a welcome opportunity to warm back up in the sun. This is a good spot for a lunch break (N 36 58.290, W 119 07.249, 3800’). Some scrambling, downclimbing, and swimming gets you to the next rappel. From here, the canyon widens, and gently but continuously loses elevation until the Ross Creek confluence. Some boulder hopping, scrambling, and swimming leads to a large pool right before the Ross Creek confluence (N36 57.887, W119 07.471, 3000’). The upper technical section should take 5-7 hrs for the average group. From Ross Creek to Balch Camp, the canyon is long but does not present as much technical challenge. There are only a couple mandatory rappels and the rest are all optional. I think all rappels are under 50 feet. Most groups will have more fun jumping some of the short drops rather than rappelling them. Jumping is also recommended at high flow, when the rappels may be too dangerous. All big rappels should have anchors options way out of the water flow or might be bypassed (with effort) if needed. This lower section from Ross Creek is commonly boated by expert kayakers, usually taking two days. This section has been canyoneered at higher flows around 50 cfs.