Apologize, but asking for more Death Hollow tips....

[Tyler]

Just a few things from my experience this past weekend. We did this hike from the boulder air strip along the mail trail into death hollow, then down death hollow to the escalante, then did the sneak route out near Micro Death Hollow to knock a little river slogging off.

Some observations:

- Definitely do do this when the temps are over 90. We started off about 10:45 in the morning and by the time we were at the top of the mountain that leads into DH, we were desperately overheating. I was most worried about my dogs (very stupid to bring them at this time of day). Start super early (it was 90 degrees by 9am) to get over this part. I will say however it was one of the most amazing feelings to feel that hot and to get into DH and literally strip down and fall into the water to cool off. Made it totally worth it.

- The route itself from the air strip was really easy to follow. I stupidly forgot my GPS in our shuttle car, so we had our topo maps, but the trail is very defined all the way in and we never had to consult the map once. The one section I was a bit un-sure of is when you get into sand creek, you have to follow the creek for a little ways (maybe 1/4 mile) before it continues up and over the large hill that leads you into death hollow. Once back on that trail, again it was very easy.

- I was amazed at how much water supplies the escalante from DH. At the confluence there was at least 3 times more of the amount of water coming out of DH as there was coming down the escalante (escalante was no more than a trickle stream).

- Only saw one couple the whole time (Fri/Sat) and they were doing the reverse route.

- Only about 3 really good campsites I found in the canyon. One is on that bench right after you drop into the canyon. Another is on an awesome mini alcove/ledge on the LH LDC about 2-3 miles from the first campsite. The last good one is in a large alcove on the right about 1/2 mile up from the confluence. There are other obvious areas to camp along the creek, but they're not as cozy (we ended up sleeping right off the trail in a grove of tall pine trees).

- BUG SPRAY is vital. Also, there were ants almost everywhere we looked, so just get used to them.

 

[intuitive cat]

Currently (as of July 1) temps in the area are hovering between 95-100 degrees. it is reaching 95 in Boulder at 6500 feet right now. There is a monument and forest service fire ban in ALL AREAS including above the rim due to Red Flag restrictions. that means no fires anywhere except in BLM or Forest Service installed fire pits.
water is running low low low right now. I just went to soak in the Escalante River a couple of days ago and was amazed at how low it was - and when i went to my water hole in Calf Creek the water was the warmest i had ever felt in that creek.
We do have 20% chance of afternoons thunderstorms for the next week. Yesterday we saw our first sprinkles of rain in almost two months. weather patterns are starting to look like early monsoon teasers. storms building on Boulder Mountain around noon daily but unpredictable in terms of rain anywhere off of the mountain.

 

[intuitive cat]

I'm packing in a few tiki torches (not the sticks, just the canisters), so we will likely use those for light. Dig a small hole, put a couple in it upright, and light them. They put off a lot of light....

no tiki torches under current restrictions. no open flames AT ALL. the only thing you can use in terms of a flame is a camping stove.
the restrictions during a drought like this are so tight that it is even illegal to smoke a cigarette in anything but an area that is at least 3 square feet of bare earth. this even includes restrictions within the townships of escalante and boulder at the moment. we cannot even cook outside right now under township restrictions. if you want to know the full details of the restrictions, check the monument website, the forest service site, or stop by the BLM office at the Anasazi State Park or the Interagency Office in Escalante.
We also have the full details of the fire ban posted at my store, Hills & Hollows, in Boulder.

 

[Tyler]

no tiki torches under current restrictions. no open flames AT ALL. the only thing you can use in terms of a flame is a camping stove.
the restrictions during a drought like this are so tight that it is even illegal to smoke a cigarette in anything but an area that is at least 3 square feet of bare earth. this even includes restrictions within the townships of escalante and boulder at the moment. we cannot even cook outside right now under township restrictions. if you want to know the full details of the restrictions, check the monument website, the forest service site, or stop by the BLM office at the Anasazi State Park or the Interagency Office in Escalante.
We also have the full details of the fire ban posted at my store, Hills & Hollows, in Boulder.

I was going to stop by Saturday night to say hi and get some ice, but you guys had already closed. Oh well. Hope you guys had fun with that relay going through town .