Mormon Point Canyon was an excellent choice for us to do as a short hike on a day off. We had just finished an epic 18 mile round-trip hike into Upper Big Fall Canyon the day before, so we were looking for something shorter with decent payoff in scenery. And on that count, Mormon Point Canyon delivered. When hiking Mormon Point Canyon, it's important to note the similarity to Sidewinder Canyon, which is the next canyon to the east. As you will see, Mormon Point Canyon can hold its own against similar canyons such as Sidewinder or Funeral Slot. All in all, Mormon Point Canyon is a good canyon and it does have a nice stretch of narrows. The name of the canyon comes from its close proximity to Mormon Point, which is located at a nearby major bend of Badwater Road. (We placed Mormon Point on our map below where it is marked on Google Earth.) We first looked into hiking Mormon Point Canyon back in November of 2010, but didn't get around to it until March of 2011. Originally we were going to call it South Sidewinder Canyon, but then somebody ended up hiking it before us and they gave it the informal name Mormon Point Canyon, which is much better. In Mormon Point Canyon, there are several side canyons with short narrows, an excellent stretch of narrows in the main canyon, and a dry fall at the end which makes a good stopping point about 2 1/2 miles into the hike. All in all, it was a very nice half day hike which allowed us to rest up a bit and just enjoy the scenery.
Mormon Point is located off in the distance where Badwater Road takes a sharp left turn and continues out of the picture. As you can see, the starting point for the hike is relatively close to Mormon Point:
Catching us by surprise, we ended up following the tracks of an old closed road which headed into Mormon Point Canyon:
Cairns marked the spot where the old road continues but has now become just a path:
Looking back out the very wide mouth of Mormon Point Canyon towards the Badwater Basin salt flats:
Huge block-like compacted mud and gravel walls in the early canyon:
After about one mile of hiking, the canyon begins narrowing down:
Up ahead is the first junction. The main canyon continues left, while the first side canyon splits off to the right:
We decided to explore the first side canyon for a few minutes:
The next four pictures are all images of the short low narrows in the first side canyon:
View as we headed back out of the side canyon to rejoin the main canyon:
Just past the junction we found some old remnants of a mining camp. Notice the top of a stove and other assorted items:
This rusted container is being buried in the gravel of the wash:
These rusted coils are all that remains of an old mattress:
After checking out the mining camp remnants, we continued further up canyon:
The canyon walls were still not very high, but things started narrowing down:
Ahead we could see the fallen boulders from a collapsed wall:
Check out the footprints in the wash. It is clear that this is a fairly popular canyon to visit, despite the fact that it is officially unnamed, not marked on any maps, and not mentioned in a single guidebook:
From this point on, Mormon Point Canyon took on a unique beauty as we reached the central narrows:
The rugged texture of the walls with a such a narrow space to walk through make these narrows special:
Soon the walls grew in height, which made the scenery more extraordinary:
If you look up to the right here, you can see a huge overhang that we were walking under, towering far above us:
An extremely beautiful spot in the narrows of Mormon Point Canyon:
A picture of Steve walking through this spot gives you some perspective on the height of the walls:
Around the next bend was another very colorful and scenic spot:
Jeremy and Jordan heading around the bend, very impressed:
The passages were small but without any major obstacles all the way through the narrows:
The reflected sunlight made things colorful in the narrows and the walls featured regular sharp turns as seen in the next seven pictures:
Check out the pretty orange streaks across this canyon wall:
Four more pictures as we headed into the upper part of the narrows:
Check out this stunning entrance into another side canyon. We explored it briefly but progress was quickly stopped:
An exclusive panoramic of the central narrows of Mormon Point Canyon (click to enlarge):
Three more pictures of the pretty streaks on the walls of the narrows:
Finally out of the lengthy narrows as we headed into the upper canyon:
Most of the way we did have a nice sandy pathway to walk on:
Looking ahead to the upper canyon split. The main canyon continues to the right:
Looking back we had a nice view of the snowy Panamint Mountains and Telescope Peak:
Steve finding a balloon which he needed to pop and pack out. Usually, I find balloons in my Owlshead Mountains hikes, but other places as well:
This 1st dry fall in the upper canyon was where we stopped and turned around. We could have bypassed it and gone further, but we were satisfied reaching this spot:
Heading back down the canyon, this huge slab with pretty streaks on it high above our heads caught our attention:
