Hey Joel,
I can't recall if the stream was or wasn't running. We didn't have much trouble finding water when we needed to, but also planned ahead at the streams and lakes along the way.

Matt,

Thank you for your comments and I wanted to take a moment to respond. It was with a lot of deliberation that we decided to publish this adventure and map to Outdoor Project. We agree with all of your stated concerns. However, we don’t see this as a matter of good or bad taste, but more a question of judgment, both for our members and for the general public that may want to visit this area.

Oregon Field Guide is a long time partner of ours at Outdoor Project and when they decided to air their recent episode featuring the exploration of this amazing, fragile, and dangerous area, they realized that people would want to go here and see it. In airing their episode, which will be featured on this adventure shortly, they opened the public’s eyes to this place and were very concerned for the safety of anyone who might decide to venture into the canyon. They asked us to help them build a featured guide into the top and bottom of the canyon, the sections you can reach without needing advanced canyoneering experience.

That being said, accessing this area remains very dangerous. Water levels much of the year, and for the entire year in high water years, will make reaching the Gates of Valhalla impossible. Likewise, the route to the top of the Shangri-La is the safest known route. By publishing these routes, we have an opportunity to share a lot of information on how dangerous attempting to reach Valhalla is. We also added precautionary information redundantly, and your comment and this response allows us to continue to reinforce that this is not a weekend hike, but a route that requires a lot of preparation and second thought if you choose to attempt it. Venturing into the slot canyon itself, which took a highly experienced team three days to safely navigate, is highly unadvised.

However, in a digital age, people will figure out where this is now that the episode on Oregon Field Guide has been aired, and we hope with our information it’ll convince most casual outdoors enthusiasts not to attempt the journey. For the experienced off-trail explorer, this information will help reduce the likelihood of mistaken routes and the need for rescue, injury, or worse.

Thank you again for your comment, and hopefully this additional explanation of our decision will change your opinion that what was published was in bad taste and should be removed.