Exploring The Chasm of Doom at Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is considered by many to be a mecca for rock climbing and bouldering, and I would have to agree. There are rock structures over a hundred feet high, with climbing routes galore scattered throughout the entire park. It is a truly unique place. But my favorite thing to do at the park is explore The Chasm of Doom.

The Chasm of Doom is a talus cave structure located in the middle of the park climbing possibly a hundred feet from the floor. While it doesn’t take any rock climbing skills, to explore the cave you do have to do a little scrambling (possibly beyond what you may be accustomed to), some crawling, some squeezing, and some overcoming of claustrophobia (if you happen to suffer from this).

The chasm starts right out on your hands and knees and with headlamps on... 

 
The beginning sections are very narrow too...
 
Then my favorite section, the "coffin"...
 
Now you just have to fit through it...
 
After squeezing through the coffin, you need to sit up and then stand within this narrow "chimney", then you just climb up...
 
Sometimes, the climbs are just big steps...
 
Then up to the patio...
 
For an incredible view...
 
Now for the home stretch...

Viola!

What a great, fun way to overcome some fears and develop some scrambling skills.

A Few Tips:

• Bring as little into the chasm as possible. Ditch the sunglasses (if you bring them, you will just be carrying them when you need both hands free, and if they are in your pocket they could get crushed). Backpacks just become something that you have to drag along or hand to your partner. Water bottle not needed, it’s cool inside.
• Temp - it’s cool inside. Much cooler than outside.
• Wear pants - the rock is very abrasive and will scrape you up whenever it gets the chance.
• Watch your head - There is a general over/under of three head bonks per exploration. Just remember to look up when you are squeezing through something.

More Resources

• Here is the full video - Exploring Joshua Tree’s The Chasm of Doom.
• Also, here's a video - How to Find The Chasm of Doom.
• Here’s a google map I created - Exploring Joshua Tree’s Chasm of Doom.
• And here’s a hard copy that you can print out - Map.

Hall Of Horrors

If you are intrigued by the Chasm of Doom, I really think you will like the Hall of Horrors as well. It is not as enclosed as the Chasm of Doom, but there are a lot more scrambling and climbing opportunities, and if being confined in small dark places is not quite your thing, then HoH is perfect. Check out my Hall of Horrors video for a better idea of what’s involved.

I hope you found this adventure recap informative and maybe I will see you at the next one.