4 days and 200 miles of Utah Trail
- Thread starter LilKJ
- Start date
Loved the pics and the memories!
Really enjoyed the pics. Back in 2003, two friends, my wife, and I spent several days in the Maze area of Canyonlands, visiting many of the same landmarks you show above, some from the same vantage point. It was the best trip of its kind that we had ever taken. We also spent time at the Great Gallery pictograph area and in Arches, going to Tower Arch.
Really enjoyed the pics. Back in 2003, two friends, my wife, and I spent several days in the Maze area of Canyonlands, visiting many of the same landmarks you show above, some from the same vantage point. It was the best trip of its kind that we had ever taken. We also spent time at the Great Gallery pictograph area and in Arches, going to Tower Arch.
Larry
Bigassgas Explorer
Man LilKJ, that is awesome. I hope to visit that area on my next UT/AZ adventure. Too bad you didn’t have a SPOT GPS tracker with you and created a SPOT Adventure page so we all could see exactly where you went. Thanks for sharing!
Here is an example of a SPOT Adventure page from one of my trips this summer.
http://www.spotadventures.com/trip/view?trip_id=172579
Here is an example of a SPOT Adventure page from one of my trips this summer.
http://www.spotadventures.com/trip/view?trip_id=172579
DrMoab
Explorer
Bingo!
A tip to anyone traveling in Eastern, South Eastern Utah. If your phone has a setting to automaticly set the clock...turn it off.
I drive truck in this region a lot and its a constant problem. I don't know if it's all carriers. I have AT&T.
maXTERRA
Adventurer
Was just down in the northern part of the swell last friday for the entire day.
Just cruising the desert roads south from Price, up to Cedar Mountain, Buckhorn area, The Wedge and around. Could have spent several more days there alone.
Really want to get a few other prople and check out the maze next year though.
A few pics of the area. Absolutely beautiful and perfect weather!!!:wings:
http://s619.photobucket.com/albums/tt280/maxterra/San Rafael Swell 10 09/?albumview=slideshow
Just cruising the desert roads south from Price, up to Cedar Mountain, Buckhorn area, The Wedge and around. Could have spent several more days there alone.
Really want to get a few other prople and check out the maze next year though.
A few pics of the area. Absolutely beautiful and perfect weather!!!:wings:
http://s619.photobucket.com/albums/tt280/maxterra/San Rafael Swell 10 09/?albumview=slideshow
LilKJ
Adventurer
Hmmmmm.... a couple specific turns on the way to the dollhouse would be awkward in a bigger truck but would certianly be do-able. You're pretty much good to go.
Mashurst
Adventurer
Thanks so much for posting your trip. I would love to follow in some of your track. Would it be possible for you to show us some kind of a map with your rout on it? One simple way to do this is to use Google maps to plot your rout and then hit the "link" link in the top right. That kind of saves your rout to the link and then we could see where you were. Thanks again
dbreid
Adventurer
Any word on how this would be in the winter? I used up a lot of my vacation doing other more rock crawling specific trips this summer (Dusy Ershim, etc), so to do this, I'd probably hae to do it over a holiday, like Christmas/New Years etc.
Do they get rain? Snow? Some of the midwest passes I have done would have been pretty soupy in the rain, but if the ground was Frozen, that wouldn't be as big a deal.
I don't care about the temperature, but I'd prefer to go to this place when I could spend time seeing things, not dealing with horrid roads/trails.
Plus, I'd prefer to drive the Suburban as opposed to the Rock Truck.
-Dan
Do they get rain? Snow? Some of the midwest passes I have done would have been pretty soupy in the rain, but if the ground was Frozen, that wouldn't be as big a deal.
I don't care about the temperature, but I'd prefer to go to this place when I could spend time seeing things, not dealing with horrid roads/trails.
Plus, I'd prefer to drive the Suburban as opposed to the Rock Truck.
-Dan
You could access the Maze through the Hite road without a major problem in the winter. The flint trail is usually closed due to snow and ice.
Unless there is some freaky snow and wind, the Maze is pretty amazing any time of year...The only down side in my opinion with the area is that you can't have a fire...Short days and no fires are a little cold.
Unless there is some freaky snow and wind, the Maze is pretty amazing any time of year...The only down side in my opinion with the area is that you can't have a fire...Short days and no fires are a little cold.
Remote
Observer
We just returned from a near identical Maze trip, so no new thread. As for the long wheelbase, we passed a full-size Dodge with a slide in pop up out near Dollhouse. Just take your time.
As for the rest, we were a little bit disappointed. We were glad we went, it's just one of those "had I known/if I did it again" things. The solitude was nice, the wheeling was fun but a tad monotonous and frankly the scenery was less spectacular than other parts of Canyonlands. Maybe we're just getting old, but it just seemed like a lot of effort for the return. Add to that, we have done most all of the rest Canyonlands. To paraphrase what LilKJ said, the SW area (mostly BLM) can be equally remote, just as scenic and far more interesting. Stuff like that dry fall with the Petrified Wood littering the ground is what does it for us. By the way, we climbed around a bit at that site and kept finding Petrified Wood the higher we went. So likely it did wash down from the bench above. Read, need to explore more.
If I were to recommend a route now, it would be to enter from Poison Spring Canyon/North Hatch Canyon, camp/explore for a day or so (all BLM so far). Then get up EARLY and do an out/back (a really long day) to the Dollhouse, only if you are not a regular to Canyonlands. Following that, explore more of the North/South Hatch and Happy Canyon area. Then exit back out Poison Spring or to Hite. Poison Spring would allow for exploring all the things you didn't on the way in, Petros/Pictos, mine sites, Lith scatters etc. All with no reservations or permits. By camping on BLM you retain the flexibility to deal with weather should it occur. The reason for entering at PSC is if the Dirty Devil River can not be crossed it will result in only a 15 mile backtrack as opposed to 65 or more. There have been numerous washouts, undercut banks and deep holes developing at that crossing this year. Hanksville BLM office or Hans Flat Ranger station frequently do not have up to date info on the crossing/area. The USGS has a gauging station at PSC/Dirty Devil and up to the day CFMs can be had online.
Also, just when you think you are getting away from it all, while checking in at Hans Flat, a voice from behind says "Hello there neighbor". It was our next to next door neighbor. A small world indeed.
As for the rest, we were a little bit disappointed. We were glad we went, it's just one of those "had I known/if I did it again" things. The solitude was nice, the wheeling was fun but a tad monotonous and frankly the scenery was less spectacular than other parts of Canyonlands. Maybe we're just getting old, but it just seemed like a lot of effort for the return. Add to that, we have done most all of the rest Canyonlands. To paraphrase what LilKJ said, the SW area (mostly BLM) can be equally remote, just as scenic and far more interesting. Stuff like that dry fall with the Petrified Wood littering the ground is what does it for us. By the way, we climbed around a bit at that site and kept finding Petrified Wood the higher we went. So likely it did wash down from the bench above. Read, need to explore more.
If I were to recommend a route now, it would be to enter from Poison Spring Canyon/North Hatch Canyon, camp/explore for a day or so (all BLM so far). Then get up EARLY and do an out/back (a really long day) to the Dollhouse, only if you are not a regular to Canyonlands. Following that, explore more of the North/South Hatch and Happy Canyon area. Then exit back out Poison Spring or to Hite. Poison Spring would allow for exploring all the things you didn't on the way in, Petros/Pictos, mine sites, Lith scatters etc. All with no reservations or permits. By camping on BLM you retain the flexibility to deal with weather should it occur. The reason for entering at PSC is if the Dirty Devil River can not be crossed it will result in only a 15 mile backtrack as opposed to 65 or more. There have been numerous washouts, undercut banks and deep holes developing at that crossing this year. Hanksville BLM office or Hans Flat Ranger station frequently do not have up to date info on the crossing/area. The USGS has a gauging station at PSC/Dirty Devil and up to the day CFMs can be had online.
Also, just when you think you are getting away from it all, while checking in at Hans Flat, a voice from behind says "Hello there neighbor". It was our next to next door neighbor. A small world indeed.
I agree with your analogy about the drive...Can be long and tiring...The key to the Maze in my opinion is all of the canyons. The hiking and solitude is ridiculous! Ruins, rock art, springs, cowoby camps, arches, overlooks, solitude, etc. is all the canyons. We got cornered once by a few big horn sheep...We watched a falcon dive-bomb us as we enjoyed lunch... My wife and I have spent 40 days or so in the Maze...We would always spend a day getting into the area and then hike/explore, etc. I would never go there just for the driving...If you want a wild experience...Try canoeing down the Green River and accessing the Maze from the river. Crazy awesome...Just my two cents...
theksmith
Explorer
great report!
we also just finished a trip to explore canyonlands maze district and nearby areas! we didn't have enough time and gas to make it to the dollhouse after all the other places, but our plan is to go back and maybe just spend 2 days at Dollhouse (to allow for hiking time) and 2 days at The Maze Overlook next time since those seem to be the most interesting places!
anyway, here was our trip thread with pics (page1) and a trip report (page2): http://www.offroadpassport.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201
we also just finished a trip to explore canyonlands maze district and nearby areas! we didn't have enough time and gas to make it to the dollhouse after all the other places, but our plan is to go back and maybe just spend 2 days at Dollhouse (to allow for hiking time) and 2 days at The Maze Overlook next time since those seem to be the most interesting places!
anyway, here was our trip thread with pics (page1) and a trip report (page2): http://www.offroadpassport.com/forum/showthread.php?t=201
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