North Fork of Aardvark Canyon

On October 8^th, 2017, Steph, Sam G, Erik, Matt and I descended the North Fork of Aardvark Canyon.

We did the South Fork in 2016 and it was very good, so we were pretty excited to get the other fork done.  The approach was looong, almost 3 hours, but it went by quickly because of the scenery.  The views from the east side of the Wolverine Bench are simply stunning.

The long hallway at the start of the North Fork is VERY scenic.  That alone made the journey worth it for me.  If you look closely at the first photo, there is a person standing at the end of the hallway.

There are also two tall downclimbs into water toward the end of the canyon that are amazing.  At the time we were all cold and moving fast, so unfortunately we did not get any pictures in that section.

The North Fork was not quite as good as the South Fork, but it was great fun and certainly worth doing.  I’d give the NF a grade of A- and the SF a grade of B+.  Combining the two would make for a great weekend of canyoneering.

The North Fork of Aardvark was a fine way to finish our canyon trip.  Steph and I can’t wait to get out with these guys again.

Photos below by the talented Shooter McStemshot.

An aside, I read about an interesting way to combine both forks into one day.  That route skips the lower part of the SF, which is the best part of either canyon.  On your first visit to the Aardvarks, I recommend completing the entire SF because it is very good.  The combo route would be a fine way to do the NF, and if we ever do the NF again and have an extra couple of hours to spare, that is how we would approach it.