Getting lost ascending/descending Mt Owen is easy! Here are my top tips:
1. Don't assume you remember the lay of the land from last time! The first time I climbed Mt Owen it was from from Monolith Valley, after the ascent sign, the way was clearly marked with tags. A bush bash, but no doubt you are on a travelled route. Years later I came up from the west near Trawalla Falls and have no memory of having trouble getting down to Monolith Valley.
2. I think the two guides to getting up from Trawalla falls are a) if the gorge seems impassable, it is time to backup and climb the rock face and b) if the rock face seems to steep/dangerous, backup and traverse the rock face on the level back to the gorge until you find a cairn/signs of walkers. I would think twice about going *down* this route unless you have been up it before or are confident/experienced and have plenty of time before dark.
3. So yes I got lost getting down to Monolith Valley. Shrouded Gods will have to wait. Having done it a couple of times before, I did not even have my map/GPS out. If you have come up from Monolith Valley and have a memory of the route this might not be a problem. There are some misleading cairns also noted here (
http://bushwalk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=23355#p301809) that take you to the far North East corner of Mt Owen. There are many paths that go no where. Possibly there once was a track this way, now overgrown, but as of 2019
the way down is opposite the creek coming down Mt Cole marked on the Corang 1:25000 map. There is a picture in the above link.
4. Once down into a wider gully, keep left/North East (that is, a wide gully with a gentle slope down to the south, before getting back to the main Monolith Valley track and the ascent sign). Again there are misleading signs of a path heading south that peter out. In the North East corner the path becomes more obvious where it is less rock hopping and there is more vegetation.
5. There are two paths heading roughly west, the southernmost one takes you to the top of one of the "monoliths" which has fantastic views of the valley and is worth a short climb and back. The rest of the route to Monolith Valley is slightly further North and while a scramble is quite clear.