Lower Grand Gulch Pour-off

fiber

Member
Joined
May 18, 2013
Messages
80
I found a relatively recent picture of the dreaded lower Grand Gulch pour-off. They made a note there might be a safer way around the pour-off via a steep boulder field RUC. Has anyone tried that route? It sounds like the pour-off is 30 ft. What about rappelling it? There is probably enough rocks to make an anchor.

If that doesn't go, I'm wondering if I can bypass the obstacle by going up Shangri-La Canyon and dropping into lower Slickhorn.

2021.05-Grand-Gulch-Scenery-32.jpg
 
Last edited:
That pouroff wasn't bad when I was there years ago with no trail... I'd expect a use trail now. You can get from ShangriLa to Slickhorn on top but it's rough.
 
It's gotten quite a bit worse in recent years. I spoke to some pack rafters who came up from the SJ & hiked up to KGRS. They went both up & down to check it out. You should contact KGRS or one of the rafting outfitters as they sometimes hike into Lower GG on their trips.
 
I called the Monticello Field Office last week because the KGRS isn't open yet. Monticello said that it was "basically" impassible. She said it was possible, but dangerous. Hence my thought of just rappelling it.
 
BLM or usfs quite often say things indicating stuff harder that it actually is. Not saying don't go without two options tho.
 
The image you found was taken on our trip. In my opinion, if going down Grand Gulch, bring rappel gear. Although I did not do a complete investigation, a cursory look indicated that it should be possible to do one. The drop from the rim is not more than 40 feet. There were a couple of potential anchors in the form of trees or boulders. We ascended the pour-off and and it is dangerous. We found no way to effectively protect the traverse with a rope. While the route itself is not technically difficult, it is steep, awkward, and quite loose. A fall would likely have extremely serious consequences. A trail crew could likely make significant improvements without too much difficulty, but it is unclear how long any improvements might last.

James
 
Last edited:
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
IntrepidXJ Lower Grand Gulch Backpacking 5
LarryBoy Water Sources in Lower Grand Gulch Trip Planning 15
westerner54 Lower Grand Gulch, Below the Narrows Backpacking 3
BJett Part 3 - Tour de Canyon Country. Lower Escalante Loop Hiking & Camping 0
slieb Lower Muddy Creek in Winter? Trip Planning 7
regehr water in lower muley twist? Trip Planning 0
regehr Lower Horseshoe Canyon and Big Spring Trip Planning 7
J Scrambles in the Lower Colorado River Corridor AZ/NV; Dec. 11-14, 2020 Hiking & Camping 5
Devin Ashby The Lower Gulch - Escalante (Seeking info on the route) Trip Planning 14
RyanP Lower Death Hollow next week (late May/early June), miscellaneous questions Trip Planning 16
Stephanie B Sixteen Room Ruin and Lower Butler Wash Hiking & Camping 15
Boognish Lower Death Hollow Narrows April 2018 Backpacking 17
fossana Sheep Bridge/Lower JEM trail (Virgin, UT) Conservation Project General Discussion 5
T Dark canyon - lower blm portion with pack goats?? Canyoneering 2
pstm13 Texas Pass Cirque of Towers Lower Wind River Range August 2018 Trip Planning 7
Ross West Canyon quicksand (a/one want to go lower West/Face/Labyrinth August? Trip Planning 3
Strawsome Lower Death Hollow at it's finest Backpacking 3
DiscGo Lower Watermaiden [Video] Hiking & Camping 5
RyanP Lower Death Hollow, mid-April Trip Planning 8
Outdoors24 Overnight in Lower Spring Canyon Backpacking 5
Ravialdo Lower Muley Twist water situation? Trip Planning 13
Udink Lower Horseshoe Canyon Hiking & Camping 0
Kullaberg63 Lower Dirty Devil Backpacking 7
Jackson Lower Red Castle Lake Backpacking 4
scatman Lower and Midway Geyser Basins plus Buffalo Meadows - Yellowstone National Park - June 26, 2016 Backpacking 5
BJett Lower Escalante Trifecta - Davis Gulch to Fiftymile Creek Backpacking 8
BJett Lower Escalante Trifecta - Willow Gulch to Davis Gulch Backpacking 14
mattvogt7 Lower Escalante Packraft Loop Backpacking 12
Jackson Lower Spring Canyon in Winter Backpacking 14
Nick Floating lower Cataract into Glen Canyon Trip Planning 2
mattvogt7 Lower Cataract Canyon Loop Backpacking 16
Parma Lower Salmon River - Hammer Creek to Heller Bar On The Water 7
lostlandscapes Lower Red Castle Lake -- 6/13/15 Backpacking 19
IntrepidXJ The Lower San Juan River On The Water 8
toejam Lower Sisquoc Loop Backpacking 7
ram Crash Site/Lower Hades Canyon 2-15-15 Canyoneering 1
Ben wind river range, elkhart park to lower jean lake Backpacking 13
Dave December in Lower Muley Twist Backpacking 20
Udink Lower Price River Hiking & Camping 8
IntrepidXJ Lower Calf Creek Falls Hiking & Camping 5
Scott Chandler Chimney Rock-Lower Spring Canyon, Cap Reef NP Hiking & Camping 6
Nick Lower Black Box Trip Planning 0
BJett Lower Big Creek - Great Smoky Mountains National Park On The Water 2
Nick Lower Bells Canyon Hiking & Camping 3
Udink Lower San Rafael Hiking & Camping 4
Bill Lower Brimstone Gulch - Escalante Hiking & Camping 11
Cody Halls Creek Loop via Lower Muley and Red Slide Backpacking 16
slc_dan Lower-Lower Muley Twist 4/12/2013 Backpacking 14
Nick Lower Muley Twist vs. Upper Muley Twist Trip Planning 19
slc_dan Lower Salt Creek/Paul Bunyan's Potty Backpacking 11

Similar threads

Back
Top