Llewellyn Gulch, Escalante

[intuitive cat]

I am really anxious to do these canyons but I am definitely going to get some more downclimbing practice in beforehand.
aiming for fall when a buddy of mine comes into town for a month. may even try to stay out in that general area & do davis gulch and more - spend a week or so out at the end.
there is a water supply at a solar panel equipped well just after dropping down into the slickrock right alongside the road.

 

[Nick]

Should have also mentioned in this trip report that this was my first outing using only my new Panasonic G5 m4/3 rig. All photos taken with the Olympus 9-18mm. I quite liked the experience of packing and using the camera but was not thrilled with the auto white balance performance. Probably take a bit to get that down. Overall I'm pretty stoked about it.

 

[Artemus]

Should have also mentioned in this trip report that this was my first outing using only my new Panasonic G5 m4/3 rig. All photos taken with the Olympus 9-18mm. I quite liked the experience of packing and using the camera but was not thrilled with the auto white balance performance. Probably take a bit to get that down. Overall I'm pretty stoked about it.

Negative auto white balance performance... take a bit to get that down ??? If it is "auto" what could you learn to do better? Use the daylight/overcast settings instead? What U thinking obi wan? Did you carry it in your chest pack and was that too big? The final results are pretty spectacular.

 

[Nick]

I think I'd still leave it in auto and just get better at fixing it in post. I did carry it in my chest pack with my new 45mm 1.8 in a little pouch at the bottom. Plenty of room and not at all bothersome. I was worried about having too big of a pack with that little camera but it just made it really easy to take in and out. I would usually just zip it up and buckle one of the straps so it was still easy to access.

 

[Bill]

Entry/Exit: 37º14'18.17"N 110º56'54.19"W
This is appears to be the most common exit. watched a guide lead some clients at the top-out. didnt get any visuals on his chosen line, obscured by trees. this short, but steep up-climb, zigzags between a couple/three vegitated ledges. 3-4 (5?) moves in the 4+/5.easy range. rock is somewhat weathered and coated with windblown sand, so sandy ledges and slabs are a hazard. my experience with this is up-climb only, with kids and dog of course. a bit intense for me, but manageable, nontheless. With respect to using this as an entry for a group outing, now way, not without gear. granted i picked what i thought was the easiest line out. could be an easier one lurking, i didnt see it. there is a sand hill at the base to break a person's fall if they do tumble down the slab while on entry or exit.

Hey moose droppings, I missed this post until now.

This past Saturday we completed the South Fork of Llewellyn as an 8 mile loop and used the exit you mentioned above. There were no footprints, cairns, or anything that resembled a path and it required two 4th class climbs. The first was a narrow ledge traverse with good hand holds and about 15'+ exposure to a steep slope. We traversed south along the middle tier to the second move that was about 12' up a chossy crack to the top out. I lead both while my wife followed and declined a hand line on either. It looks fairly intimidating from the canyon floor but it was pretty simple.

Sweet narrows in the South Fork with very soft pastel colors.

 

[Artemus]

We traversed south along the middle tier to the second move that was about 12' up a chossy crack to the top out. I lead both while my wife followed and declined a hand line on either. It looks fairly intimidating from the canyon floor but it was pretty simple.

Bill, did you two ascend with overnight packs on or just daypacks?

 

[Bill]

Bill, did you two ascend with overnight packs on or just daypacks?

Day Hike.
We started at the head of Davis Gulch, hiked up to the old cattle trail and followed it south, down the south fork of Llewellyn, up the exit, cross country to the HITRR, and then road walked back to our car at Davis. It took about 5 hours to complete the route with one short break.

 

[John Morrow]

Hi Nick,
Thanks for this TR. We just got back from there. T-storms brewing forced us to change directions:
Day 1: Reflection/Powell confluence
Day 2: Cottonwood at the alcoves.
Day 3: Llewellyn-Cottonwood loop clockwise as you did but with daypacks
Day 4: out
http://www.nwhikers.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=8020512
Of note: The third drop "big slide" had a 6" clay bottom and waist deep water which prevented us from getting up and out of the downstream rim without a partner assist. I'm not a bad friction scrambler but it was impossible to clean the shoes of themuck and there are no hand holds. All three initial drops had rappel anchors already in place for those interested.
Your TR was a great inspiration. Thanks again.
John

 

[Nick]

Wild about that last drop and the sloppy exit. Really surprising that there were rappel anchors.

 

[Ross]

Lovely pics, thanks for sharing. Backpacker magazine had a report on hiking this top down, but I saw it online with no photos, so wondered what it looked like. But that "Big Slide" - it looks near vertical to me! Did you really slide down that (or turn chest to wall and find hand & footholds to downclimb)

 

[Nick]

Lovely pics, thanks for sharing. Backpacker magazine had a report on hiking this top down, but I saw it online with no photos, so wondered what it looked like. But that "Big Slide" - it looks near vertical to me! Did you really slide down that (or turn chest to wall and find hand & footholds to downclimb)

I really slid on my butt. It wasn't totally vertical and there was plenty of friction and a soft landing. Sad to hear backpacker wrote this up.