Flip Flop Introduction

Introduction:

Flip Flop is a canyon that seems like it is gonna deliver the goods in a big way. It starts out with a bang and puts you deep in the rock. There are two unfortunate things about Flip Flop however. First, It is downstream from an overcrowded swimhole. Though few of the folks that frequent this hole ever make it down to the start of Flip Flop, much of their party trash does. On our decent of the canyon we collected enough flip flops to start a collection. The second is the canyon is not that sustained. It gets going with a bang and the initial technical section is a lot of fun. But, all to soon the gradient backs off and it’s a long river scramble down to the bottom.

So, why would anyone want to do Flip Flop? Well, initial technical section IS lots of fun. There are some cool mining ruins to look at in there too. Most importantly, it’s a great canyon for beginners or folks looking for a moderate half-day affair. There are enough problems and challenges to get a good feel for class C canyoneering but it never gets too wild. For a reasonably fast team, you could descend flip flop in the morning and be back at your camp for lunch. Have an afternoon nap then pick up your car spot and spend the rest of the day with a few beers. Not TOO bad.

All the water in Flip Flop flows naturally down the canyon and will ebb and flow with the course of the snow melt. In the spring and early summer the flow in Flip Flop will be far too high for a canyoneering descent. Sometime between mid-July and early August in most years the flow will subside to a point where canyoneering is possible and fun. Parties must carefully assess the flow level on the approach and be sure that it is within their abilities to descent the canyon safely. Entering Flip Flop at high flow would be very dangerous and is not recommended.

Full route descriptions with driving directions, canyon play-by-plays and more are available to Sierra Canyons members. Membership to the site is by invitation. Sierra Canyons members can invite new members or from time to time you may request an invitation from the site administrators. You may ask members for an invitation on the forums or check the sidebar for invitation requests.