Cedar Mesa - Grand Gulch - Beta on a loop?

[hhoffdog]

Hi all! My name is Hannah. I am planning a backpacking trip at the end of the month in Grand Gulch. I'm wondering if anyone has ever done a loop in Grand Gulch, going in at government trail, hiking down to the San Juan, and then out slick horn canyon. Looks like maybe some folks have done it before and have some beta on the conditions, slash know if this loop is possible - trying to do a section of grand gulch without shuttling, hence the loop.

Alternatively, considering to doing the fish/owl loop. We are drawn to the grand gulch loop because of the archeology there and wondering if folks know how the two loops compare (I know fish/owl is much shorter). We have only 4 days so maybe the grand gulch loop would be a tight trip.
Anyway, would be grateful for any thoughts and info. Thanks so much!

 

[napatony13]

Hopefully you get some additional beta, but I believe there's a pretty gnarly pour-off down near the bottom of GG. I've seen mention of a fairly sketchy bypass that seems to change following each major rain event, but have seen nothing posted recently. Good luck!

 

[RyanP]

Yeah, here's a discussion about that pour off (see the detailed comment by maperson543): https://backcountrypost.com/threads/lower-grand-gulch-pour-off.10621/page-2.

It looks pretty sketchy to me, which is why I haven't attempted it (otherwise a loop like that sounds awesome!). If you haven't been to grand gulch, there are a lot of other trips you can do there that are awesome too. If you can manage to do the classic kane-to-bullet route when it's not crowded, that one is hard to beat. For some trips there, an old mountain bike can help you do a point-to-point hike with a single car.

Just FYI--I don't know what your experience level is, but both times I've been to that canyon, it had been a little tougher then I expected. I think conditions/difficulty can vary depending on water level and time of year, but for some reason we found both of our trips there to be tougher and more tiring than anticipated.

 

[Bob]

What is your experience?? So you have 4 days hiking and 3 nights? Have you been in GG? Have you looked into permits, recreation.gov, they are limited per day. 4 days is too short for GG / Slickhorn route and be able to see a lot. The section below Water Canyon does not have the concentration like above it. Less people tho.

Fish / Owl is a nice loop. Todie / Bullet or Todie / Government Trail will get you the most to look at (and start and end on same side of canyon for shuttle). Lookout / Slickhorn Canyon is nice (get a great walk on the San Juan). The standard, Kane to Bullet, Kane to Collins. There are others. I can get you more info, PM me.