By late afternoon we had done about 11 rappels down a variety of rock faces. All rappels were belayed. One particularly interesting one was where the water bad channeled out a huge chasm beyond the waterfall where an erosion resistant strata had blocked and turned the flow laterally. Most of the rappels were on dry f aces but on a couple we had to go through a little water. Faded rappel slings from the two previous attempts were found at several sites.
We continued to wonder about the face that had stopped Jerry in 1985 and we were down to 3,200' and late afternoon when we reached it. It looked ominous - with an overhang at the top and a canyon configuration that made it look deep. There was a short piece of broken non-climbing rope hanging over the side and we wondered about the story behind its possible use.
Everyone was tired and it was getting late. We were quietly contemplating the chasm before us and wondering if we should make camp or go on. We decided to determine its height so Steve belayed Ron out to the edge and he threw a 165' rope over the side. Surprisingly, it was not as high as it appeared since there was about 15' of rope lying at the bottom of the face. Setting up the rappel, Jerry volunteered to go first. This was the point where the helicopter had rescued he and Bruce six years earlier and now it was time to finish the trip. The straight 145' rappel went great and we had everyone down as the sun set. We decided to go on in the dark and only make camp if we encountered another rappel. For three more hours we worked our way down through the boulders and loose rock in the canyon and at 10:00pm reached the mouth of the canyon. Jerry and Bruce would have succeeded in completing they canyon in 1985 if only they had carried one longer rope to complete that one final, high rappel near the bottom.
It was a short walk to where the vehicles were parked on the Snowflake Talc mine road where all eight participants had a happy celebration. It had been a memorable trip - interesting rappels, terrific scenery, exploring and inventorying the known resources of a proposed wilderness, and great camaraderie as we all helped each other in getting down the canyon. We had left behind 150 feet of sling material, at least 15 pitons and a chock at our anchor points. This was a great
way to experience and enjoy the desert.P.S. Steve and Ron took the helicopter Thursday early am up to Dry Mtn (our easiest ascent even) and left a large container of emergency supplies and food on top for climbers in trouble on that peak.