Boulder Mail Trail Question

[mtnrunner]

I'm thinking about doing a short backpacking trip on the Boulder Mail Trail with my family. I've read trip reports that say the decent into Death Hollow is kind of sketchy. Is this going to be too much for my kids? My two youngest are 8 and 12.

[ddavis]

I've only done this once, a couple of years ago, so I don't know if I can help much. I think it looks more intimidating than it really is. It is cairned (or at least it was), and I understand they used to take mules down that route. I don't remember having to scramble or use my hands or anything.

I found this short video description of the route that says the descent into Death Hollow is an easy walk:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=4nNRej0JsMY

It's from: http://www.philarmitage.net/escalante_hikes.html

I did the through-hike to Escalante, and absolutely enjoyed it. One thing - there is poison ivy in Death Hollow, and every person in my group got nailed, some more than others. It hangs over the trail and is is pretty hard to avoid, unless you spend a lot of time in the river.

[pshey]

I just did BMT to Death Hollow last month with my 20 year old son. From the top, it DOES look intimidating, but if you take your time you should be fine. In steeper places, someone -- I don't know if it was Anasazi wielding rocks or ranchers wielding dynamite -- chipped out steps or flatter spots. The slickrock is clean -- that is, not sandy, so there is pretty good traction. With their lower center of gravity, I would not worry about your kids, and would be more worried about you! :) I just posted pics and description of my trip from BMT to Death Hollow to Escalante. We had an awesome campsite where the BMT enters Death Hollow next to the river. The next AM, we took daypacks and hiked upcanyon an hour or two -- and that was well worth it