Uploaded April 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Chop Suey Canyon - Going into a technical canyon with no beta
Always have a Plan B. That's like the first rule of surviving in the wilderness. So when we planned to do another canyon in Sedona, knowing it would snow, we should've probably agreed to a back up canyon.
In short, it snowed. We all had different ideas. It was kinda chaotic. But we settled on Chop Suey Canyon.
So some history on Chop Suey Canyon. Google it. You'll likely only find Nick's video on it. That's because as far as we know, it's been descended once by some guy he knows 10~12 years ago. No beta online. No history. Nothing to go on but a verbal description told to us second hand.
Sounded great. I've done other technical canyons in the West Clear Creek Wilderness that varied from awesome to incredibly awesome. The crew had the skills, the gear and that was enough. Off we went.
Things immediately went wrong. Four of our group of six didn't show up on time. That's not like them. After waiting around for 45 minutes, we found them about 1/10 of a mile up the road, waiting for us (no cell reception out there.) So, off to a late start.
Then Nick and Eric decided, for unknown reasons, that we would abandon our plan to use a vehicle shuttle and instead add a 2 mile, 1,600 foot elevation gain hike to the beginning of our adventure. It's not that I'm mad about that, but I'm still slightly mad about that. I'm a hiker that doesn't really like walking a foot farther than I have to, if that makes any sense. 31 miles is fine. But 31 miles with an unnecessarily added 15 feet is completely unacceptable.
But when you're in a group, you try to go with the flow, so I only complained a little bit. Maybe a lot. But off we went.
Once we got to the top, it was all grins. The hard part was over. Into the unknown.
The canyon was....not spectacular. But it was still pretty enough, and an uneventful day of canyoneering is still better than most days. The further in we got, the prettier the canyon became. Not incredible, but still a lot of fun.
But Mother Nature has a way of spicing things up. First, Kevin was downclimbing a crack and suddenly a big section of rock came loose. If he moved, the rock would break loose and pin him in the crack. I was able to hold the rock in place while he got out of the way so we could safely let it fall to the canyon floor. It doesn't look like much in the video, but I'm glad I wasn't him. It's the kind of situation that gets your blood pumping.
Then there were the clouds. A storm was heading our way, so it was time to pick up the pace. Spoiler; we didn't out run it. A canyon isn't normally somewhere you want to be in a storm, but the rain was coming from downcanyon and we knew where the drainage started, so we were really only in danger of getting wet. It still added some urgency to the trip.
We ended up getting back to the parking lot just when the skies opened up and hail started spitting down on us. The group wanted to check out El Patio, but it had been a long weekend for me and I wanted to get home. So I said I'd meet them but I was getting take out to bring back home to Tina.
And that's it. This video is a testament to how good friends and a little spice from Mother Nature can turn an otherwise mediocre canyon into a memorable experience.
Music by Epidemic Sound.
If you click on the links below - and especially if you buy from these links - I'll get compensation. So that would be cool. No, I'm not sponsored by them, but I love the products.
Filmed on:
GoPro Hero 9 Black:
amzn.to/3qAGJcv
Canon EOS R:
amzn.to/3HkhRvn
Canon 35 mm f1.8 lens
amzn.to/3neJL3S
Weebil S gimbal for your DSLR:
amzn.to/3csvBWZ
Chop Suey Canyon - Going into a technical canyon with no beta
Always have a Plan B. That's like the first rule of surviving in the wilderness. So when we planned to do another canyon in Sedona, knowing it would snow, we should've probably agreed to a back up canyon.
In short, it snowed. We all had different ideas. It was kinda chaotic. But we settled on Chop Suey Canyon.
So some history on Chop Suey Canyon. Google it. You'll likely only find Nick's video on it. That's because as far as we know, it's been descended once by some guy he knows 10~12 years ago. No beta online. No history. Nothing to go on but a verbal description told to us second hand.
Sounded great. I've done other technical canyons in the West Clear Creek Wilderness that varied from awesome to incredibly awesome. The crew had the skills, the gear and that was enough. Off we went.
Things immediately went wrong. Four of our group of six didn't show up on time. That's not like them. After waiting around for 45 minutes, we found them about 1/10 of a mile up the road, waiting for us (no cell reception out there.) So, off to a late start.
Then Nick and Eric decided, for unknown reasons, that we would abandon our plan to use a vehicle shuttle and instead add a 2 mile, 1,600 foot elevation gain hike to the beginning of our adventure. It's not that I'm mad about that, but I'm still slightly mad about that. I'm a hiker that doesn't really like walking a foot farther than I have to, if that makes any sense. 31 miles is fine. But 31 miles with an unnecessarily added 15 feet is completely unacceptable.
But when you're in a group, you try to go with the flow, so I only complained a little bit. Maybe a lot. But off we went.
Once we got to the top, it was all grins. The hard part was over. Into the unknown.
The canyon was....not spectacular. But it was still pretty enough, and an uneventful day of canyoneering is still better than most days. The further in we got, the prettier the canyon became. Not incredible, but still a lot of fun.
But Mother Nature has a way of spicing things up. First, Kevin was downclimbing a crack and suddenly a big section of rock came loose. If he moved, the rock would break loose and pin him in the crack. I was able to hold the rock in place while he got out of the way so we could safely let it fall to the canyon floor. It doesn't look like much in the video, but I'm glad I wasn't him. It's the kind of situation that gets your blood pumping.
Then there were the clouds. A storm was heading our way, so it was time to pick up the pace. Spoiler; we didn't out run it. A canyon isn't normally somewhere you want to be in a storm, but the rain was coming from downcanyon and we knew where the drainage started, so we were really only in danger of getting wet. It still added some urgency to the trip.
We ended up getting back to the parking lot just when the skies opened up and hail started spitting down on us. The group wanted to check out El Patio, but it had been a long weekend for me and I wanted to get home. So I said I'd meet them but I was getting take out to bring back home to Tina.
And that's it. This video is a testament to how good friends and a little spice from Mother Nature can turn an otherwise mediocre canyon into a memorable experience.
Music by Epidemic Sound.
If you click on the links below - and especially if you buy from these links - I'll get compensation. So that would be cool. No, I'm not sponsored by them, but I love the products.
Filmed on:
GoPro Hero 9 Black:
amzn.to/3qAGJcv
Canon EOS R:
amzn.to/3HkhRvn
Canon 35 mm f1.8 lens
amzn.to/3neJL3S
Weebil S gimbal for your DSLR:
amzn.to/3csvBWZ
