Rockfall Canyon

An early morning start at Hole-In-the-Wall. We parked just around the corner so that we wouldn't ruin any pictures taken by other visitors:

Heading up a very small drainage that cuts to the northwest:

View of the first saddle that we reached:

There were very interesting cliffs off to our left that were similar to what is found back near where we parked:

Beyond the saddle, the wash sloped very gently downhill:

From here, we needed to turn out of the wash and head north while staying to the left of the colorful hillsides:

It is hard to tell in this picture, but the hiking got very steep from here to the mouth:

High up above us were the cliffs at the front side of the Funeral Mountains:

We found a passage that cut through these blocks of conglomerate rock:

Another small wash led us on the final portion heading to the canyon mouth:

We crossed over into the Rockfall wash and this was the view looking down it towards Hwy 190:

The canyon started just around this bend to the right:

The beginning of Rockfall Canyon starts out with a dramatic tower of rock which rises up:

First view up the canyon and what's the first thing that you notice (in the wash)?:

The first thing that we observed was that the canyon started out narrow with lots of rockfall in the form of large boulders:

Looking back down the early part of the canyon:

A picture of Steve near the beginning of Rockfall Canyon posing next to some rockfall:

The next two pictures highlight the gigantic size of the fallen boulders:

Navigating through the narrows with opposing rock walls nearly touching at the bottom:

Notice the interesting rock formations standing tall on the hillside:

The majestic peaks and cliffs also captured our attention in the early canyon:

A fantastic view of Telescope Peak from inside the canyon:

Notice how there were stretches of open canyon and narrow canyon early on:

The first mile of the canyon is very impressive and worth visiting on its own without going any farther:

Take note of the beautiful hillsides and peaks in the next two pictures:

Typical rock wall in the early part of the canyon:

These were not smooth canyon walls but the rock was jagged and had a lot of variety:

Imagine standing below this towering cliff. It was breathtaking to behold:

Morning shadows were framing the background cliffs perfectly:

The patterns of the clouds added to the beauty on display on this cold February morning:

The rocks also had patterns and continued changing regularly:

One of the features was a variety of different colors on the hillsides and canyon walls:

Hiking through the wash was quite easy for the first mile:

Up ahead, the canyon appeared to narrow down considerably:

It was almost like we were about to enter a fortress made of rock:

Sure enough, we were at the 1st major obstacle in the canyon. It starts as a narrow corridor which contains a boulder jam:

Climbing the wedged boulders was not too difficult for our group:

But then we ran into the grand finale of the 1st major obstacle-- a massive wedged boulder dry fall:

Zooming in on the two boulders which put a stop to hikers in Rockfall Canyon:

Looking back, there is a neat triangle-shaped rock pinnacle which guards entrance to this major rockfall:

Steve looking up at the boulder jam dry fall and wondering how we could ever get past it. In the meantime, I was able to confirm that there is no way to safely bypass this obstacle:

A while later, Patrick had amazed us with his great rock climbing skill and pro techniques and he lowered this rope with footholds for us to climb up:

I was the last person to go up and thanks to Patrick, it was easy with the ropes. He made it enjoyable and fun. But without his ropes, I never would have dared climb this:

A close-up of Steve taken by Charlie. You can see all of my safety ropes hooked around my climbing belt. Patrick went the extra mile to keep us all safe:

About an hour after arriving at the base of the 1st major obstacle, we were all at the top looking back down:

As we looked up canyon from this spot, a new world of discovery awaited us. We were about to explore about 3 miles of undocumented canyon:

Reminiscent of the early canyon with rockfall, narrows, and towering peaks:

Red colors permeate the canyon wall in the distance:

More rockfall in the form of large boulders blocking the wash:

A picture of Steve in middle Rockfall Canyon as the canyon really began narrowing down:

Check out this section of shallow narrows that we walked through:

Here the canyon wall turns and cuts to the left to create a constriction:

Note the jagged peaks that were high above us at this spot:

A picture of Charlie at the constriction spot we had seen from a distance a few minutes earlier:

We still had to regularly navigate around rockfall in the wash:

The next two pictures show some of the pretty patterns on the canyon walls:

The canyon transitions from the middle to the upper portion with dramatic scenery:

We were immersed in a world of shadows and narrows:

The height of the walls through this section was very impressive:

It's hard to tell from this angle, but this is a tall stand-alone rock column:

The canyon continued past the rock column through this narrow boulder-filled gorge:

Looking back down the canyon from the rock that Charlie was standing on in the previous picture:

One more look at the rock column which extends about 2/3 of the way up the picture:

This section of narrows had some boulders to navigate around:

But it was mostly just a straight wash with easy walking:

At this turn, the walls came very close together:

This picture was taken around 1pm and the shadows are still deep in the canyon:

The first of several rock arches that we found in Rockfall Canyon:

It looked like we might be approaching a dry fall in the distance:

It was a dry fall but it had a gentle slope to walk up:

A picture of Steve heading up the dry fall:

However, there was a second part to this dry fall which was much more difficult to climb with a steep angle:

This is the 2nd major obstacle in the canyon. Patrick here is seen crossing over the top of it very carefully:

I chose to look for a bypass route and here am high above the canyon looking ahead:

I eventually made it back down to the canyon floor but it wasn't easy. This is looking back down the difficult dry fall obstacle. It is probably easier to cross it instead of bypass it:

Another view down the two stages of the dry fall looking back down canyon:

A less difficult dry fall must be climbed just past the major obstacle:

This section was a rocky gorge with a number of small climbs:

Getting a picture in the midst of the gorge:

Unique rock angles and patterns make for a great photograph:

The canyon walls closed together once again. We kept waiting to run into another major obstacle which might stop our hike:

A tight passageway of narrows that we walked through:

A picture of Steve next to the 3rd major obstacle which was this dry fall:

This obstacle was the easiest of all of them and we were soon up and over it:

The scenery up on the hillsides now caught our attention with these natural rock caves and an arch seen at the top middle:

Zooming in for a closer look at this arch with a circular opening:

Rounding a bend in the canyon wondering what we would find next:

We found one of the highlights of the canyon, this massive 30 foot tall arch. Because there is no blue sky behind the arch but only dark rock, it is kind of hard to appreciate its beauty:

Another look at the 30 foot arch. Notice how the left base of the arch has several more arches within it:

A panoramic showing a junction in the canyon:

Rockfall Canyon had a lot of pointy ridge tops which would be impossible to climb:

Cactus was growing in the higher elevations of the canyon:

Sometimes the canyon would open up and give us sweeping views of the surrounding hillsides:

Other times, the canyon would narrow down so much that we didn't know if it would go through:

Note these deeply entrenched narrows that we passed through which reminded me of the best of Bighorn Gorge:

Climbing a polished chute in the midst of multi-colored rock:

Beautiful scenery in upper Rockfall Canyon:

Emerging into an area of more dirt hillsides and less solid rock:

The patterns on this rock were quite interesting to behold:

Somehow the canyon continued through an area that looked to be impassable from a distance:

It was just very steep and rugged:

Winding our way through a section of shallow narrows with quick turns:

More basic climbs which were necessary through here:

As we approached the highest regions of the canyon, snow began appearing on the hillsides:

Check out this long diagonal rockslide of gravel down into the wash:

We came across this section of canyon with vivid colors and interesting formations:

Taking a closer look at this spectacular area. The scenery never quit impressing us right to the end:

A variety of colors on display up on the hillside:

Walking on a path of snow which added to the beauty of the area:

The snow path continued through this section of canyon that seems to get little sunlight:

Just beyond, the canyon really opened up and split off in a few different directions at the head:

We took the right fork and began heading for the crossover into Slit Canyon:

Looking back down at more snow and a view of the upper canyon:

At the saddle between Rockfall Canyon and Slit Canyon, we enjoyed some very impressive views. This was our view of a snow-capped Pyramid Peak:

We also had this amazing view of Schwaub Peak:

The small peak seen here is P5980 which is close to the Amargosa Overlook:

We then dropped over the other side and began descending upper Slit Canyon. The most difficult obstacle was this dry fall we had to work around:

Tobin and Charlie walked the ridge for a while and took this picture looking down into Slit Canyon where Patrick and Steve were walking. A while later, our remarkable hike came to an end as we said goodbye to Rockfall Canyon and Slit Canyon: