Upper Black Box - San Rafael Swell

[Slot Machine]

Has anyone downclimbed the whole gully from top to bottom? We met some guys from Price that claim they had.

I bet they are telling the truth. It would be fun to try that downclimb.

The rock in the gully is a little loose so a slip there could be fatal. I'd recommend a belay even for the highly skilled.

Nice running in to you guys out there, @Slot Machine and @Iceaxe .

It was nice to meet you too Dennis! It was crazy that I recognized your dog from 300 feet away. He's famous!

[Scott P]

Has anyone downclimbed the whole gully from top to bottom?

Mike Kesley has upclimbed (first time doing the (Upper Black Box) and downclimbed (scouting for entry exit points when the log jam was in there) the route. It wasn't until the later editions of his book that he suggested rappelling it and using it as an entrance route.

Personally, I don't think the route should be done without a rope.

[qedcook]

I like the route suggested by AverageJoe's website. Fun side canyon, rappelling kept under 100 feet, get to see all the good stuff.

[Kuya]

There is also two hikers entrance further to the west, you probably saw the TH signs for those driving in. No rope needed when doing the hiker entrance, but it creates a long day. I'm guessing the epic @Kuya described above used one of the hiker entrances.

You are correct. the time we got stuck in the canyon overnight was because we underestimated the time it would take to hike from the hiker trail head. We didn't have headlamps and didn't feel it to be safe to try and exit the last mile in the complete dark.

[tcmault]

Just did this Saturday. Not a living soul around. We just rapped from the big juniper at the top. I saw no reason to risk a down climb when we had never done it before. Rapped down the platform saw what was going on and just kept going all the way down on rappel. Nice safe and fast. Left the rope and just came back and pulled it up when done. There was practically no flow what so ever. The water was like bath water. I would have roasted in a wetsuit of any thickness.

Way too much post holing in knee deep mud and just slogging through ankle deep muck. BUT, overall pretty fun. Going the direct route is the way to go. 6-7 hours of that without a fun rap would not have been enjoyable.