Syncline
What to Expect
Safety Advisory
Route-finding through the boulder fields at the canyon bottom is genuinely tricky — cairns are sparse and can be knocked over. Download the GPX track beforehand and keep your phone charged, because a wrong turn here means scrambling over increasingly impossible terrain.
Flash flood risk is real in the canyon sections during monsoon season (July through September). Check weather forecasts carefully and skip this trail entirely if thunderstorms are in the forecast — the canyon bottom becomes a drainage channel with no escape routes.
Several sections require Class 3 scrambling over exposed rock with significant drop-offs. This is not a trail for anyone uncomfortable with using their hands to climb or with exposure on ledges.
Trail Details
Pro Tips
Hike the loop clockwise — the descent into the canyon is brutal on knees but worse going up, and the clockwise direction gives you the gentler grade on the climb out via the Upheaval Dome overlook trail.
Carry at least three liters per person and start by 7 AM in spring and fall. There is zero reliable water on this loop, and the boulder fields in the canyon bottom turn into a reflector oven by midday.
At the bottom of the syncline, look for the narrow slot section where the canyon walls close in tight — it's the most photogenic stretch on the trail and easy to rush past if you're focused on navigating the boulder field.