Canyoneering Beta

Class: 4 B IV

Gear: 120′ rope, 2-100′ ropes, 50′ webbing, GPS/topo map/compass

Expected Time Commitment: 12-14 hours depending on route-finding ability and hiking pace

Technical Obstacles: Route finding, bushwhacking off-trail, possible multiple swims depending on the time of year, stuck rope on Great Falls

Non Technical Obstacles: Poison Oak, lack of water and no shade from the sun on the off-trail section

Recommended Time of Year: Fall/winter/spring and the cooler weather would be better for the hike in, summer and the hotter weather would be better for the Fox Creek section as its shaded and there are possible swims in cold water. “Pick your poison.”

Finding the Trail Head: The trailhead is the same gate/fireroad as for the Fall Creek/Classic Canyon hike. Brennen has the GPS for this location as 34 17.82′N, 118 10.20′W. I would recommend a car shuttle which will save substantial time and energy, and this Beta is based upon that. Park the 2nd vehicle at the start of the “Big Tujunga Canyon Trail” (this is the trail that is used when exiting the nearby Josephine Creek canyon trip) which is approx 1/2 mile to the west of the above gate. Traveling “up” Big Tujunga Road (From Sunland/Tujunga) to the N-NE, as you pass by the Big Tujunga Reservoir (in this case on the left hand side) there is a paved U-shaped lot which is the scenic overlook for the Big TJ Reservoir, followed immediately by a very large gravel lot; maybe 1,000 feet past this lot, right before the road starts to turn to the south (right), there is a gravel shoulder parking area on the left hand side, park here. This is where you will EXIT, trail comes out right at the small hill you are parked in front of, on the west side)

The Approach: Take plenty of water at the start of this hike, the next reliable water source (after you cross Big Tujunga Creek) is Fox Creek, 4-6 hours away. Hike the fire road down to and cross Big Tujunga Creek, and then begin climbing up the fire road as it winds around and across Fall Creek. (Last source of possible water for about 3-4 hours) After about 1 hour 15 minutes the fire road begins to follow a generally northern trajectory. At a certain point along the road, you have a view (to the west) of “Great Falls” where the Fox Cyn turns to the east. You can hear the falls, even at that great distance. At about 2 hours into your hike at 34 18.927 N, 118 10.276 W you will come to your off-trail turn-off. Take a few minutes at this point to size up the terrain to the west of the road. We proceeded on a NW trajectory from this point. As you look to the northwest, the route basically goes down into the ravine and up an over the moutain beyond the ravine. There is no trail of any kind, lots of Yucca and sharp sagebrush everywhere, with poison oak thrown in for good measure and to keep you honest. Proceed NW to the following coordinates that I will call “Roberts Gulley” (thanks Keith) 34 19.077 N 118 10.621 W. The scramble is really a “hikers choice” hike, there is no easy nor obvious way. There are small open areas between the chaparral, try to find and follows these as long as you can. Follow the GPS coordinates to Roberts Gulley and it will lead you right to a nice shaded spot next to Fox Creek. The Gulley travels S-SW to Fox Creek. There are 2 or 3 (depending on your downclimbing/rock climbing skill level) short rappels in Roberts Gulley in the 20′-25′ range. Anchors consist of small trees/rocks in the immediate area. Plan on about 6 hours to get from the trailhead to Fox Creek if walking at a leisurely pace, and taking several short breaks on the off-trail section. Speed hikers with off-trail/route finding experience could likely make it to Fox Creek via this route in 2 hours or less with no breaks. The off-trail section is only about 1 mile “as the crow flies”, but will be substantially more as you will not be taking a straight path.

The route we took (not necessarily the perfect route, we were exploring…)

You can clearly see in the above image where we left the road, the gully which led to the peak, and finally the descent down Roberts Gully into Fox Creek.

The Canyon Descent: The canyon descent is fairly straight forward and I will defer to the Brennen Beta. Heed his warning regarding the possibility of getting a stuck rope on Great Falls. We were eventually able to free our rope by standing in the pool right across from the falls where the rock is undercut, but it still took some time and effort. (And a hilarious fall backwards into the water once the 2 people working on freeing the rope got it unstuck!) From the entrance point into Fox Canyon to the first rappel is 30 minutes. From the top of the 1st Rap to the bottom of the last rap we spent 4.5 hours in the canyon. (5 people) Our pace was moderate and unhurried. There are several possible swims at the base of waterfalls in this canyon. Our trip was mid-April and the pools were 4′ deep or less so we did not encounter any swims only wades. The anchors (April 2009) were all in good shape, but you’ll have to decide that for yourself when you’re there. This canyon is quite spectacular, definitely one of the most scenic in Southern California.

Egress: From the bottom of the last rappel it is a 10 minute hike to Big Tujunga Creek where you turn left (east). From the waterfall there is a use trail on canyon right for a short time, then it crosses over Fox Creek to canyon left. Stay on the use trail on the left hand side and watch for the turn up Big TJ Creek, if you are looking down you can easily miss the turn and end up walking down Big TJ Creek, when you want to hike up it. The USGS Condor Peak Quad Topo map and GPS software map both show the water level in the Big TJ Reservoir incorrectly. The maps show the water in the reservoir starting at the intersection of Fox Creek and Big TJ Creek, it actually starts almost a 1/2 further W-SW down canyon, so don’t expect to see the reservoir water as a gauge for your turn up Big TJ Creek. The intersection of Fox Creek and Big TJ Creek has a GPS of 34 18.091 N, 118 10.598 W Proceed east up Big TJ Creek for about 15 minutes (1/4 mile), as the canyon narrows down stay to the right (south) side of the canyon. The canyon opens back up, but continue to stay to the right hand side as you travel for a short distance to the south. Note the power lines running north to south across the canyon. The closest set of lines (not the ones with the big balls on them) will lead you right to Big TJ Trail. If you stayed on the right side of the canyon look up for the lines, (Trail starts directly under them) look to the south for a group of 10-12 100′ foot tall trees, the trail starts here. (This is the end of Josephine Canyon) You will see a clear rock slide zone, (3′wide?) and about 30′ feet up you’ll see a terraced slope with green vegetation, this is the trail. From this point to your shuttle vehicle the trail takes about 20-25 minutes to ascend. The first 100 feet or so is very steep, but then the trail becomes obvious and is maintained and easy to find and hike. It does make 1 fork to the east (which leads to the last waterfall in Josephine Canyon), make sure you don’t take this fork to the left.