Nighthawk Canyon |

Grand Wash

Canyoneering Nighthawk Canyon - Grand Wash Canyoneering Nighthawk Canyon
Grand Wash

Overview | Getting There | Route | Photos | Maps | Comments

Overview

RATING: 3 A/B
LENGTH: 4-7 hours

Sun

Mostly sunny, with a high near 37. West northwest wind 6 to 13 mph.

37 | 19

Mon

Sunny, with a high near 42.

42 | 17

Tue

Mostly sunny, with a high near 51.

51 | 24

Wed

A slight chance of snow showers before noon, then a chance of rain showers.  Mostly sunny, with a high near 52.

52 | 33

Thu

A chance of snow showers.  Mostly sunny, with a high near 46.

46 | 30

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SEASON: Spring, Summer, Fall
GEAR: Standard Technical Gear - Pothole Skills/Tools
RAPPELS: 6+ to 63 m ( 207 ft. )
WATER: Possible water in potholes. Wetsuit in cooler seasons
FLASHFLOOD: Moderate, but you can see the whole drainage and skies on the approach.

Sun

Mostly sunny, with a high near 37. West northwest wind 6 to 13 mph.

37 | 19

Mon

Sunny, with a high near 42.

42 | 17

Tue

Mostly sunny, with a high near 51.

51 | 24

Wed

A slight chance of snow showers before noon, then a chance of rain showers.  Mostly sunny, with a high near 52.

52 | 33

Thu

A chance of snow showers.  Mostly sunny, with a high near 46.

46 | 30

View Full Weather Details
The first couple of avoidable potholes in Nighthawk

The first couple of avoidable potholes in Nighthawk

The potholes from the top of rap 3.

The potholes from the top of rap 3.

This is a short canyon with a bit of spice. Each of the Shinob forks (Timpie, Na-Gah, and Nighthawk) have their own very distinct personality. With this one, Nighthawk, the personality is potholes. The meat of the canyon is a short section of many potholes leading to a final dramatic rappel into Timpie. This is a good team work canyon, offering plenty of opportunities for problem solving and partner assists.

A Note On Time: This canyon will vary greatly depending on the experience of the team. Many of the pothole entrances are downclimbs and/or require teamwork. Because of the difficulty, this is an intermediate or better canyon for people with pothole and natural anchor skills. I know several groups have taken 7+ hours to work through the canyon. Our group (5) was made up of mostly climbers with not a lot of canyon experience. Our time was 2 hours to the start of the pothole section, and just over 4 hours car-to-car. This is with a fast group that was comfortable with the downclimbs.

I would guess an average group will take about 6 hours, but many may take significantly longer if inexperienced working through pothole difficulties and partner assists. This is a canyon that can change dramatically with floods. Be sure to have solid pothole skills, they may be needed if sand washes out of some of the deeper potholes.
Teamwork getting into one of the potholes

Teamwork getting into one of the potholes

Sticking the downclimb just before the final rappel

Sticking the downclimb just before the final rappel

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