Fish Creek (Swallowtail)

Swallowtail is a great way to enjoy some splashy early-season fun. Its rappels are long, particularly slippery, and full of fun surprises. Unlike its neighboring canyons, these rappels tend to have diffuse flow and no significant entrapment hazards, making it an acceptable canyon for beginners with experienced guidance. In return for your enjoyment on the way down, you will pay handsomely on the exit, which is an unrelenting bushwhack straight up the side of the San Joaquin gorge.

From Minarets road parking, hike west along the ridgeline until you see the first drop, then descend into the drainage.

R1: 270’ off a bolt DCL near the lip. No good way to break into 200’ sections, but bypassable DCL. R2: 90'(?) off a boulder pinch DCL R3: 110’ off a boulder pinch DCR near the lip R4: 200’ off a boulder DCR. Watch out for a rope-eating rock at the bottom of the falls on the pull R5: 70’ off a flake DCR R6: 160’ off a boulder pile that may wash away DCL near the lip. Anchoring DCR would keep you more in the flow R7: 30’ from a chockstone just left of the drainage near the lip

Continue down canyon until you’re about 300’ from the San Joaquin, then look DCL for the megacairn indicating the exit route. This would be a great time to dry out your gear to dry and wait for the sun to dip below the horizon. When you’re ready, hike up the DCL ridge, eventually intersecting with the approach trail and retracing your steps to the car. This exit hike kinda sucks. The brush isn’t as bad as it could be (unless more grows in as the area recovers from the Creek fire), and the poison oak is pretty avoidable, but it’s still a hot 2300’ of elevation gain up a loose 70% slope.