FiftyMile Canyon Sand slide

[XID_AZ]

Even though this is sort of a trip report, I felt like it belonged in the Trip Planning section so as to help anyone planning a trip that would involve this sand slide.

I had been planning a packrafting trip that would have taken me into Davis Gulch and then I was planning on hiking out via the cattle trail exit and then cross-country over to FiftyMile Canyon, coming in via the sand slide. Due to several factors, I aborted my plans and used my time in the area to do day hikes instead. When I was originally planning the trip, one of my concerns was the potential difficulty of coming into FiftyMile via the sand slide. I searched the Internet for any information I could find, but other than a few BCP trips reports that talked about their sucess in doing the Davis to FiftyMile traverse, I couldn't find any solid info that would help me gauge the difficulty.

While day hiking FiftyMile, I decided to take some photos and attempt to hike at least a portion of the sand slide to get a better feeling for what I would have been up against had I made the trip with my full pack. Here's some information that I hope will help others who may also be interested in coming into FiftyMile via the sand slide.

Here's a Google Earth view of the area for reference.

The top of the slide is generally south.

I approached the sand slide from upcanyon (from the west) and the first thing I noticed was the west side of the slide did not look to be easily negotiable. I'm sure there are some more skilled climbers that might be able to do it, but it wasn't for me.

Here's a couple of photos taken of the west side. The big concern for me was a few drop offs, that a more skilled climber may be able to negotiate.
(1)




Walking downcanyon further, standing in the stream looking up at the slide, I was looking at a shear wall that felt like it was 75 - 100 feet tall.
(3)


Thankfully, the east side of the slide sloped down to meet the canyon floor.
This portion was much more doable with sloping slickrock and some rocky sections before you would get to the sandy portion.

Here's the mouth of the gully where the slide meets the canyon bottom.
(4)


The best way down the slide, from what I could tell, is to switchback down the sand on a steep descent at first, and then to stay closer to the east side canyon wall climbing down the rocky "gully".

This rocky section required a good bit of scrambling, and when coming down, the occasional drop down that I would have taken my pack off for and dropped it down to the next level, then hand carried and dropped again and repeat. It wasn't too bad, just more time consuming than you might expect from just looking at the Google Earth view.

Here is a series of photos as I scrambled my way partially up the slide. (Area of the red line in the overview.)




Viewing the lower portion of the slide from the side.



Looking back up the rocky "gully".








The is where I stopped climbing. You can see the faint trail on one of its switchbacked descents.


Here's the view back to the sand slide from further downcanyon.


All in all, I think the total elevation difference from the top of the slide to the bottom is 350 - 400 feet.

If anyone else has done this route and has additional information and/or photos, I would love for you to post it up so we can help others seeking more information about this route.

 

[dmbyerley]

Just found this forum. I had a hard time going down Davis solo. I bagged out, made my way over to 50 Mile, stayed there, then ascended that slide. I had zero problems with it. It was harder to find the horse down to bottom of Davis Gulch - cairns actually helped! This was three years ago. Planning a packraft trip around to Llewellen Canyon now.

 

[regehr]

thanks for the detailed look!

 

[XID_AZ]

I had a hard time going down Davis solo.

Were you coming in from the top, where it's more technical?
How was the cattle trail coming into Davis? Easy to walk or were there points of friction scrambles? Were there any points of exposure?
I hope to return and attempt my thwarted plans, this time skipping out on 40 mile and just hitting the lake via 50 mile and eventually coming into Davis and exit via 50 mile. With the water level higher than it was last year, this may save some walking.

 

[BJett]

Were you coming in from the top, where it's more technical?
How was the cattle trail coming into Davis? Easy to walk or were there points of friction scrambles? Were there any points of exposure?
I hope to return and attempt my thwarted plans, this time skipping out on 40 mile and just hitting the lake via 50 mile and eventually coming into Davis and exit via 50 mile. With the water level higher than it was last year, this may save some walking.

Both sides of the sand slide go, but yeah that left side (coming down the slide) has a tricky down climb. We went up that back in May with day packs on a Davis/Fiftymile packraft loop. I've come down it before to the right hugging the cliff like you did back in 2016 with a full pack. Id say with a full pack the cliffline option is best, that sand is steep and soft!


Coming up after the short tricky climb


My wife wondering what I've gotten us into

 

[BJett]

Just found this forum. I had a hard time going down Davis solo. I bagged out, made my way over to 50 Mile, stayed there, then ascended that slide. I had zero problems with it. It was harder to find the horse down to bottom of Davis Gulch - cairns actually helped! This was three years ago. Planning a packraft trip around to Llewellen Canyon now.

We base camped for two nights in May this year in Davis at the cattle trail route. Hiked down Davis, paddled to Fiftymile, up Fifty and back over to Davis via the sandslide and cattle trail.
Davis Gulch is a lot different now than it was when I did a similar trip in 2016. Very overgrown, a lot of thrashing. I think the lake was 100' below full pool in 2016, this year around 160' in May but rising fast.
Davis in May...










this is probably under water right now


Davis camp


A week after our trip Gregory Natural Bridge in Fiftymile was covered back up


Post a trip report of your Llewellen trip! I've been scheming of one myself.

 

[XID_AZ]

@BJett Was your route rim walking Davis from HITRR then down the cattle trail to the bottom and setup camp, the hiking to the lake, around to Fifty Mile, up the sand slide and back down the cattle trail for night 2 camp?

Tell me about that picture with your wife making her way along that exposed section. Was that a necessary route or just something you guys were doing to have fun? Trying to determine what I'd be in for if I wanted to finally complete that Davis - Fifty Mile loop.
And all that bushwacking is from your camp to the lake in Davis?

 

[BJett]

@BJett Was your route rim walking Davis from HITRR then down the cattle trail to the bottom and setup camp, the hiking to the lake, around to Fifty Mile, up the sand slide and back down the cattle trail for night 2 camp?

Yep, exactly. Great camp and water down there.

We came up the sand slide. I wanted to find a route to the right this time (from the bottom looking up), avoiding the rock scramble on the left since I did it that way coming down in 2016. There really is no easy way up that slide. I’d go up the rocks/cliffline if I did it again. My wife is halfway up, past the sketchy climbing part and slogging up the steep soft sand. We had maybe 15-20 pounds with packraft gear, a full loaded pack would be hell going up that way.

Lower Davis is a lot of brush and willow bashing. The paddles sticking up made it extra fun. Worth it though. We scouted it from camp the night before down to the big alcove so basically did it twice.

 

[jholmes01]

Upper Davis (below the narrows) was wide open and nice walking back in 2005