Wet Shoes in Painted Arch Canyon

(I will be combining photos from my last trip and this trip to this canyon. My phone was in a bag to keep it dry yesterday so not many photos were taken. They will be specified by March or August)

The elusive Painted Arch, for which the canyon is named

In the El Malpais region, just off the road, hiding around the corner from a frequently visited tourist stop, lies a beautiful gem known as Painted Arch Canyon. Named after the nearby arch (Painted Arch), this canyon cuts very quickly through the sandstone layers and takes you from the mesa top down to the road. It is a short one, but the technical aspect makes it last longer and gives you a lot of bang for your buck!

(1st trip) Kristin making her way down the first short downclimb

Yesterday, I led a New Mexico Mountain Club group of three down this canyon. All of us were climbers, and two of the three I had either climbed or descended other canyons with. So it was a great group of people and it made for a fun descent!

(1st trip) Shari keeping next rappeller on fireman's belay on the 80 ft. rappel

(1st Trip) View from cave behind the bottom of the first rappel

We arrived at the parking for La Ventana Arch at roughly 8:30. The notoriously inaccurate forecast from KRQE was suggesting a 30 percent chance of storms by 10, but we were banking on the more accurate forecast from NOAA that predicted nothing above 20 percent chances and nothing until after noon. There were large ponds off the road in a couple spots from the recent rains, and the sand was still wet from the storms the day prior.

(2nd Trip) Randi and Alli making their way toward the rabbitholes

I descended this canyon earlier this year in the spring, near the end of an exceptionally severe drought period. At that point, the canyon was nice and dry, the only obstacles being the rappels themselves and a couple of rabbitholes. It is a bit of a different canyon right now.

(2nd Trip) Randi rappelling past the rabbitholes

A stroll across the top of the mesa led us to the drainage, and shortly thereafter the first rappel. The canyon begins with an 80 foot rappel right away that deposits you at the mouth of a large cave. A small arch on the west side of the mouth can be found. After setting the rope, I looked over the edge to check out the pool at the bottom, but it was smaller than I anticipated. Allie, one of the pair I had descended Big Canyon with, took the lead and did the first rap.

(1st Trip) View looking down the hallway corridor

After pulling the rope, we came down to our next obstacle. This is a spot where you can either squeeze through one of two rabbitholes to get down, or you can rig a rappel to get over the lip. Apparently the tight squeeze and subsequent chimneying beneath the squeeze were intimidating and no one else in the group wanted to use that option. Randy tried it and managed to get through the squeeze, but the slight flare of the chimney below the squeeze didn't feel good with wet shoes. It definitely was more difficult than in dry conditions.

(1st trip) Kristin and Greg below the rabbitholes

We found an anchor RDC (right down canyon) left from a recent descent party. Actually all of the rap anchors were relatively new and in good condition. We used this anchor and everyone rapped to the base. The rope managed to get twisted near the anchor and I wasn't able to pull it. Luckily I was able to just climb up the rabbithole, fix the problem and get the rope down, then climb back down the rabbithole.

(1st trip) Chris rappelling the narrowest part of the hallway

Immediately we were met with the next rappel, probably 15 feet or so down an undercut drop. Last time we just did the first 15 feet, however because of the pools found in this part (the beginning of the narrow hallway corridor), we extended the rappel to get down the next short downclimb as well. Randy and Allie both took the path of least resistance and just waded through the shin deep pools here, while Lukas and I both tested our stemming skills and made it to the next rappel dry.

(1st Trip) Andrew rappelling into the bowl after the hallway

This next spot was quite different! On my last trip, there was a ground level rabbit hole that could be squeezed through and we built the next rappel station beneath it. From this spot I found it was actually downclimbable, with a ~20 foot stem to the bottom. This trip, however, was much different. The rabbithole was clogged with mud and debris from recent flooding, so we coudn't get underneath the chockstones like before. However, the last descent party already had another rap set up from the top of the chockstone we usually get beneath. This eliminates the option of downclimbing. We rapped down into the calf-deep pools of the narrowest section and then into the knee deep water of the bowl below.

(1st trip) Christine getting off rappel in the bowl. On 2nd trip this bowl was knee deep water

Onward we went, coming across one more deeper pool that could be crossed with a full body stem. We quickly reached a downclimb. Last time, we downclimbed a RDC trending crack into the bowl above the last rappel. However, this time we had wet shoes and there was a pool of unknown depth at the base of the downclimb. Allie took one for the team and descended the handline I set up, and found that the pool was waist deep in its most shallow sections.

(1st trip) Kristin practicing her full-body stem over a mudhole

One by one we went down and through the pool. Randy made note of something all of my previous and current group had missed...Moki steps! They were present in the downclimb crack section as well as up over the water flow. They were rather worn, but definitely visible. We took a short break at the top of this last rappel, rehydrating and scarfing down a few quick calories.

(1st trip) Downclimb into bowl. Moki steps slightly visible on ramp and up dryfall

The last rappel was rigged around a boulder at ground level, and it descended an undercut 40 foot drop. There was a deep pool at the base of this, but we were lucky enough to be able to land on the edges and avoid the pool. Below this there is a small drop into another bowl. Last time, I downclimbed this drop and hiked down. However, there was another deep pool at the base of it, so we just hiked up and around, to avoid this last pool.

(2nd trip) That same downclimb. Me in the back, waist deep.

It was a good day and my first time descending a canyon with unavoidable pools. As always, the people that you do this with can make a big impact on how well the day goes and I was very lucky to have such fun and capable partners.

(1st trip) Unknown on the last rappel at 40 ft. 

(1st trip) Fox buried and pinned under these boulders. Must've been caught in a flash flood.

(1st trip) Last short downclimb. Opted around this on second trip, possibly a swimmer with water.

If you enjoy technical canyoneering, I would suggest this canyon for sure. It is very short, but it is a lot of fun, and such a surprising find out in this region of the state! But as always, don't just take my word for it...get out and find out for yourself!