Death gully is in the worst and most dangerous conditions that I’ve ever seen it and will probably continue to deteriorate.
At some point I believe there should be a discussion about moving the entrance down the ridgeline LDC on West side and with a 2 stage rap into the bottom of the canyon.
I would rather go down the MIA at this point than go down the gully again
bnwilso
Now that you mention the single bolts are ten years old, I’m sure I have seen them before and though I’ve probably hand-lined from them, most times I’ve probably taken the bypasses. I’ll repent and do better next time. I attribute my affinity for by-passes to my desire to speedily get to the good stuff. The bolts do seem to have kept most people in the drainage as the bypasses are not as obvious and traveled as several years ago when I first descended Mystery.
I think the reason they stood out this time is the first single bolt is now two bolts with webbing and quick link, making it visible from a distance as you come down the drainage, where before, as a single bolt with no webbing, it wasn’t so obvious.
Bruce
ratagonia
Once you learn the downclimbs, they are pretty easy, and easy enough to convince others to do them. Or meat anchor. Or use the bolt, whatever.
Tom
bnwilso
I did Mystery a few days before Kody filed this report. I also thought the entrance gully was worse than my experience with it just last year. but I attributed it to the fact that we were one of the first groups in after the long shut down of Mystery because of the flow rate in the Narrows. I didn’t think the gully trail itself was eroded any more than before, but it was very slick because of leaves and other vegetation on the trail and moist loose dirt that made footing treacherous in places. I would think it won’t take long before the slick debris is trampled off the trail. With that and drier ground I think it will be pretty much like it has been for a while.
As a side note somebody placed two bolts at a short drop very early on in the drainage that has an obvious walk-around and also a single bolt at another short drop that has a walk-around which is not obvious but clear when you look at the foot traffic around the drop. Perhaps they’ve been there a long time and I just didn’t notice, but both are quite a ways before the traditional first rappel. Both are unnecessary though the second single bolt might save someone from jumping and breaking an ankle if they don’t search a little for the bypass.
Bruce
ratagonia
Thanks for the report Bruce.
The approach single bolts were placed about 10 years ago in an effort to encourage people to descend these short drops directly, thus avoiding adding to the erosion of the around-the-obstacle trails. All these drops can be downclimbed fairly easily, though several look unlikely until you start down them. Well, ALL EXCEPT THE LAST ONE, which can be downclimbed, but the hard move is at the top, so a belay is a good idea for those who want to downclimb that one.
Mystery Canyon – please stay in the watercourse in the approach section of the canyon. And yes, there are several rappels (downclimbs, handlines) before the “first rappel”.
Tom
Rapterman
On a Mystery descent years ago we were on the receiving end of rockfall generated by folks using the ‘alternate’ drop in.
Really shook me up.
Does anyone who has done the route have any insight? There is no escaping potential mayhem if you are in the narrows below…
ratagonia
What goes around comes around. Deja vu from 15 years ago.
Mostly, I have been impressed by how LITTLE the Death Gully changes. I have not been down it this year, but changes there tend to take place during the melt-off of a big year. The terrain is steep and north-facing. If the soil fully saturates, it can have debris-flows, though the remnants of them indicate they may be 50-100 years apart. (Hard to say). Otherwise, the soil has enough clay in it to be rather robust, especially to our feet, though we do seem to cut a trench.
I have been down an alternative route with raps on the right side, and it was terrible. It did follow a “watercourse”, but it was such a tiny watercourse it does not matter much. Brushy, unpleasant, loose rock. And slow, very slow. The rap was 200 feet. And to top it off, it ends and joins the regular route via the place many people choose to take a poop.
I suppose it is possible to walk all the way out the mesa to the end and work down there, above the rock narrows. That part is not too bad, but cutting back to get into Mystery at the head of the rock narrows — I have been that way from Mystery to cross over into the fork of Orderville I called “Not Worth It” (lots of bushwhacking, one 8 foot handline section) — AND the brush from the top of the rock narrows up to that pass was among the tightest most obnoxious brush I have ever pushed my way through.
We also inspected the Mystery Death Gully with a trail expert and awesome Ranger Ray O’Neil with the thought of the Park making improvements to the “trail”. It became clear that the terrain was not suitable for trail-building, but that the soil had enough clay to not erode quickly from people’s feetses.
CONCLUSION: the death gully, not so bad. I’m surprised to hear that it has changed significantly.
Tom
clangingsymbol01
It has degraded over the years. My first trip in mid 2000s wasn’t too bad. However, sometime 5-8 years ago (give or take), a large slide a short way down the trail opened a large scar (several feet deep, quite wide and long as well) with some more difficult down climbs. I will say the slide was in an area with exposed rocks and dirt and with little to no vegetation before this slide occurred. I am actually surprised the NPS has not limited the permits further or altogether closed the canyon do to the impact of human traffic. Once Death Gully starts to flatten out, the travel is much easier. There are plenty of other small slides and wash outs that could easily develop further as well.
I would be interested to know more about the alternative entrance! Is there any beta on it? I am done with my trips for this year, but there is always next year in which I could put the beta to use.
Aside from a drastically different descent, the problem will only get worse with time.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
hank moon
Any details, photos…? You talking about a specific section, or the whole thing ?
2065toyota
We all have too many pics of Mystery so didn’t take a camera.
The shale rock at the beginning is getting steeper and more crumbly. The tree roots are becoming more and more exposed with many of them dying and becoming brittle. Many rockfalls with large and small loose rocks through the downclimbs in the lower section of the gully. Many trees that have fallen off the edge into the canyon.
It is a canyoneering route, I completely understand. But Mystery is considered more of a trade route in my opinion that draws a crowd that at times is not used to dealing with it.
Just an observation and an opinion is all. I guess i just don’t see the need for the risk of erosion, injury, rescue, etc when it could be avoided with a new rap sequence to the bottom of the canyon.
I have heard of people already doing it off 2 well placed slings on trees requiring a 200′ approximate rope done in 2 stages.
I went back through my canyon log book and this was my 10th trip through Mystery. It is substantially different to my past experiences. I have made 2 trips down the gully with snow and ice that were easier and safer than the most recent.
YMMV
deathtointernet
Could always just take the Flagpole Mountain descent in. Skip the gully, skip the first couple of nuisance drops. Plus the mountain itself is pretty cool, haha!