Gem Canyon (West Fork)
Rarely descended fork above Muddy Creek with three short rappels, a free hanging drop through a crack, and Scorpion Falls, a 200 foot dryfall that has to be bypassed.
RopeWiki is upfront that this is early beta assembled from SummitPost writeups and could be wrong or out of date, because almost nobody descends it. Treat the day as exploratory. Finding the entry is the first problem: there is no trail from Stock Pond Trailhead, several drainages look alike, and the recommendation is to scout it the day before. The final rappel is only about 15 feet but goes over an awkward overhang and is the trickiest of the day. The pool at Scorpion Falls is grungy and semi permanent, so plan to go around it. Exits are a choice between a 65 mile shuttle to Tomsich Butte and walking up Muddy Creek to Poncho Wash for the ramp on the right; the left ramp dead ends.
Logistics
| Manager | BLM Price Field Office, San Rafael Swell |
|---|---|
| Season | Apr-Oct |
| Coordinates | 38.7226, -111.0352 |