This past Memorial Day marked a new chapter for me in my continual exploration of nature. Thanks to some great friends, I was introduced to the world of Canyoneering and am happy to report that I’m hooked. Delving downwards through ever deepening, winding canyons, while getting to see the sheer power that water can have over time is like opening up a door to a whole new part of the natural world. Flowing red curves of canyon and steep drops where water once fell coexist with the beautiful desert flora I’ve come to love in my past hikes. Essentially, canyoneering is like combining hiking with rappelling (and maybe a little climbing should be thrown in there too.) Let’s explore: Granary Canyon.
Granary Canyon is split into two sections: upper and lower Granary. Many people choose only to do the upper canyon, turning it into a loop that connects back (with a short hike) to your campsite at the top of the canyon. If you have a way to shuttle cars (as my group did), you have the opportunity to explore both upper and lower Granary Canyon and drive back to camp after the final rappel. I would highly recommend fitting lower Granary into your trip if you attempt this canyon, it takes the fun parts of the upper canyon and magnifies them 10 fold. Rappels become longer, views are greater, and the canyons narrow and grow taller.
In total there are around 9 or 10 rappels in the full Granary Canyon route, some of which are avoidable if you choose to hike around. The rappels are split evenly between the two, with upper having ~5 rappels and lower having ~5 rappels as well. Rappels in upper Granary tend to be around 60 feet, while rappels in the lower Granary grow closer to 90 feet. The final rappel back to the car is a whopping 197 feet.
Check out my video of Granary Canyon below:
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