Desert Expedition II, Moab Trip Report

[skrillah]

Thank you for keeping me entertained for my lunch break! This was quite an excursion!

I'm from Indiana, planning a trip out that way within the next year or so and your report has given me good inspiration for places to see and visit.

Keep it coming! Glad to hear the wife is doing better now too.

Cheers,
Kyle

[Martinjmpr]

Day 8, Tuesday, April 24th:

It was another warm and calm night and a little bit ‘buggy’ for me (probably because of the close proximity to the San Juan river and some of its marshy verges.)

We did get to see a gorgeous sunrise over the rocks!



We were pretty spread out so each of us was pretty much on his own for breakfast. At about 7:30 we heard the sound of an approaching vehicle and were surprised to see a little Yellow Toyota minivan driving into the camp (this is not the current minivan, this is the little truck-based van that Toyota sold in the late 80’s, and it was a 4x4. It sat on the 89-94 Toyota 4x4 pickup chassis and I think most of them were powered by the venerable 22r 4 cyl engine and had a 5 speed manual tranny.) The van didn’t stop and it had commercial markings on it, making us think it must have been some kind of organized tour group. The van passed through our camp and headed out towards the ruins that were upriver from us, and came back about a half hour later. About a half hour after that, we saw it again, coming in with what appeared to be a different group of sightseers.

By 9, we had all packed up and decided we’d just walk down to the site of the ruins, since it was a nice morning and the walk was a short one. We walked about 15 minutes to reach the ruins which are called “River House.” There is a little BLM plaque that explains a little bit about the site, and a fenced in corral that I couldn’t figure out the reason for (cattle maybe? Horses?) We spent a lot of time at the cliff house, walking in and out of the rooms but careful not to disturb anything that was left there, including old corn cobs that were in some of the cooking pits







Some of the people in our group thought these were might have been left by the Anasazi, (who departed this area nearly 1,000 years ago) and I suppose that’s possible, but my guess is that even though the Anasazi were gone, subsequent peoples in the area (including the Navajo and maybe even early European explorers) had used these dwellings for temporary shelter and so the corncobs and other debris we found were probably not more than a couple of hundred years old at most.

After that we hiked back to our vehicles and took off down the steep, rocky hill and back to US 163. We crossed Comb Ridge again on pavement and then reached the turnoff for Butler Wash, which runs along the higher, Eastern side of the ridge. Scott and I both wanted to make one more run into town for ice, so the rest of the group waited at the turnoff for us while we ran into the very tiny town of Bluff for a bag of (rather overpriced!) ice. We rejoined the group and headed North along the wash, which runs further from the ridge than Comb Wash road on the other side. With Brian in the lead, we turned off the main road after a few miles and drove a short distance to a parking area that was at the edge of a cliff. We got out and hiked down a short trail (with some treacherous drops!) until we reached “Wolf Man Panel”, a set of really incredibly clear petrogylphs. The detail of these carvings was amazing – some of them were so clear they looked like they’d been put there yesterday! And the size was considerable – the people who carved these into the rock must have had ladders propped up against the rock while they worked, that seems to be the only way they could have been made.



Scott's hand gives you a size reference



What in the world could this symbolize?



I believe the human figure in the center is the "wolf man."



Another size reference:



We continued North on Butler Wash and about at the halfway point along Comb Ridge we stopped at another parking area. This was the hike to Monarch Cave. The trail was about a mile in, and pretty easy overall, with only a few places where we had to scrabble over rocks or grab a handhold on the other side. We finally got deep into the canyon and observed a truly amazing set of cliff dwellings, set high into the East-facing rock and surrounded by sandstone walls. We hiked up to the top on the North side where we then had to walk along a precarious path, perched above a downward sloping rock face that dropped off sharply, until we got to the main part of the ruins. Obviously the Anasazi who built these dwellings wanted to make them as defensible as possible and as difficult to enter as they could.





As at River House, we found corncobs, rock chips, basket shards and other evidence of more recent occupation of the dwellings.





Hand prints were common at this dwelling.



One of the interesting things about the Monarch Cave dwellings is that there were actually remains of the mud-and-branch roofs that had been put on the top of these dwellings.



Immediately beneath the cave was a large pool, which we assumed served as both a “moat” and also as their water source (at least one theory regarding the disappearance of the Anasazi is that they left because it got too dry for them to be able to grow crops. If that’s true then it’s probably reasonable to assume that this small pool was much bigger when the Anasazi built their dwellings here between 800 – 1200 AD.)



We took photos and looked around, and then hiked back to the parking area for lunch.

We got back on the road and continued North. We passed by Fish Mouth cave because it was getting late, but marked it as someplace we might want to see again someday. Finally we reached pavement at UT-95. We headed up the road a bit to a paved parking area to air up. Once we had our tires reinflated, we continued up UT-95, past the Comb Wash turnoff we’d taken the day before, and then stopped again at a well-preserved Kiva ruin (a Kiva was a communal meeting place, large and circular.)



Shortly after that, we turned off onto UT 261, the road that runs along the top of the great plateau that would be our final campsite. We drove along until we reached the turnoff for Muley Point and the Goosenecks Overlook. We drove out to the overlook and spent a good 45 minutes or so ooh-ing and aahh-ing over the view, which takes in Valley of the Gods, the Goosnecks of the San Juan River, John’s Canyon, and, way off in the distance, the renowned Monument Valley.









We then headed back up towards where we came from, hoping to find a decent campsite for the night. Scott finally located a nice area that was big enough for all of us, and far enough away from the main road that we wouldn’t get traffic coming through. We set up with gorgeous views all around, and with a commanding view to the South.

One thing that was different about this site compared to where we’d been for the past 3: Wind! Up on top of the plateau we were exposed and it was very windy! The wind rocked our vehicles and made cooking something of a PITA but it kept the bugs down and also made for a nice, cool evening.

That night, after cooking dinner, we walked around a bit and even got my binoculars out to look at the surprising number of lights in the distance. All of the territory South of the San Juan River at this point is part of “the rez” (the Navajo nation) and we weren’t sure if the lights we saw were little towns, isolated cattle ranches or other dwellings, or maybe even mines, of which there are quite a few on the reservation. From our vantage point on top of the plateau, I could even see the lights of a small city. Though I had initially thought this might be Farmington, NM (almost 60 miles away!) after checking the direction, I realized that this must be the town of Kayenta, AZ, still a respectable 38 miles from our location and on the far side of Monument Valley!

Since I wasn’t sure what time I’d be leaving, I went around to each group and got addresses and said goodbye to all of them. Although I was somewhat saddened that the trip was ending, I have to admit I was glad to be heading home to my soft bed, my indoor plumbing and of course to my wonderful wife!

Day 9, Wednesday, April 25th

As expected, between the wind and the excitement about getting home, I woke up early, while it was still dark. The wind had abated some so I was able to quickly tear down my camp and pack my gear. As I was pulling out just after 6am, I saw Scott was up and about, so I chatted with him for a few minutes and then took off.

I hit the top of Moki Dugway just as the sun was starting to light up Valley of the Gods, so I got some awesome pictures. Of course, no picture can really do it justice, but then again, you could pretty much say that about our entire trip!








At the base of the dugway, I transitioned from dirt to pavement for the last time and then headed straight out towards Mexican Hat and US 163.

From there I headed back East towards Bluff, passing by both Comb Wash and Butler Wash, and crossing Comb Ridge for the 6th time on this trip. A cup of stale coffee and two gallons of gas in Bluff would get me to Cortez, a town big enough to have (relatively!) cheap gas.

Instead of taking the most direct route to Cortez, I decided to detour a little through the Navajo reservation, leaving the main road near Aneth and making my way up towards the Ismay Trading Post. The road was delightfully winding, and dotted with small settlements at regular intervals. It was a Wednesday, so the Indian kids on the Rez were all getting off the school buses and walking into the various schools I passed. Soon the road narrowed and then, without fanfare, the surface of the road changed and I saw a “Welcome to Colorful Colorado!” sign. This was also the site of the ruins of the Ismay Trading Post.



I stopped and snapped a few pictures (the last ones I took on this trip) and then continued on in to Cortez, Durango, crossed Wolf Creek Pass into Del Norte, and took the familiar US 285 on home. All in all a great trip with a great bunch of people! Now all I can do is sort through the pictures and start thinking about next year!

Total distance traveled: About 1390 miles (per GPS)
Total fuel consumed: 75.73 gallons
Overall MPG: 18.35
Total fuel cost: ~$290.00 (average per-gallon price of $3.82.)

I'll write a supplemental report about the equipment I used and how well it did or didn't work.

Just want to say thanks again to Scott, Laura, Ted, Sib, Michael, Brian, Jim, and Greg for the great time! Can't wait to get out there again!

[ETAV8R]

Awesome report and pictures. We did WRT last October and it looks like your time spent after the WRT was pretty damn cool. Thanks for sharing.

[1911]

Nice trip and pictures; thanks for posting!

[Karma]

HI,
Great trip and great report. It appears you had a blast. I have visited Comb Bluff several times and find it to be an amazing formation. Did you find the same?

Sparky

[gwittman]

I have a couple pictures to add. I like this big colorful lizard near the area that we parked to go to the wolf man panel.

P101050 Colorful lizard.JPG

I continued on to the optional part of the trip after we all said our good byes. I had never been to the East section of Canyon De Chelly, so I decided to take the long way as I headed to Santa Fe. I did not have time to go down into the Canyon but took the overlook road to see as much as I could. The White House Ruin was my favorite.

P1010105 White House.JPG

I think it would be worth it to hire a guide and take group into the canyon sometime. When I left there I continued South West on the unmaintained dirt road that I was advised by a park official not to take. I explained I had been on some much worse roads in the past few days and my vehicle was capable. She said it went over some fairly high mountains and people get lost up there all the time. With my insistence to go on, she said well you have been warned. That gave me some concern but still wanted to go. When I got to this dirt road, I pulled over to see if my GPS showed it continuing on. While I was observing the GPS, this school bus came flying out of there at a high rate of speed. The GPS showed the road and I figured if a school bus could get through I should be able to. It was a wide road but very rutted due to being used when muddy. All I had to do was straddle the ruts and could continue at a very respectable speed. I ran through some beautiful Alpine Forrest and meadow areas. I am glad I took this route.

After Santa Fe I went on North to drive through the Rio Grande Gorge area up there. That was on pavement but was very scenic. I was so into looking at everything I forgot to take pictures. I eventually went through a large meadow area, I think is in Colorado, which has a town called Eagle Nest Lake. I think I would like to spend some time there someday. After that I headed on east toward Kansas. I could see the big thunderhead that I was driving toward and hoped it was not too serious.

P1010113 Thunderhead.JPG

The rain did come down pretty heavy when I reached it but I got no hail or severely strong wind. About 45 minutes after I got through the worst of it I got this severe weather warning on my radio about very damaging storms sighted in that area that I just went through. Apparently, I just skirted the very bad stuff.

The rest the trip to Eastern Kansas where my family lives was uneventful. On my trip back from Kansas, I decided not to take I-40 all the way home to CA. I got off onto highway 60 which runs south of I-40 through some interesting areas. My eventual goal was to enter Meteor Crater area from the south via a dirt road. I thought this dirt road would be a well maintained fairly straight smooth road. This is what I got for the first 15 miles or so.

P1010118.jpg
P1010119.jpg

I actually enjoyed this trek through Chavez Pass. My only concern was it would take so long getting through it that I would get to Meteor Crater too late to have time to fully take it in. It ended up being no problem. I got there shortly after 4:00PM and they don't close until around 6:30PM this time of year. I was not able to take advantage of the included guided tour (it stops at 2:30PM) but I was able to do everything else I wanted. From there, it was a night in Flagstaff and a smooth cruise home the next day.

[Brian1]

Nice report Martin! It was definately a fun trip!

Michael, I received your CD, thanks!

I eventually went through a large meadow area, I think is in Colorado, which has a town called Eagle Nest Lake.

Nope, still in New Mexico! The post-trip looked like fun! I did that same dirt road from Canyon DeChelly last year that you described and it was a very nice drive. I believe it is called Fluted Rock in some guide books due to the large rock towards the end of the trail.

[gwittman]

Brian, I do recall seeing some referrence to Fluted Rock on that road. On my way back from Kansas and by-passing I-40, I took the advice from your dad and it was helpful. Thank him for me.

Thanks for correcting the location of Eagle Nest Lake. That will help me find it again if I ever try to go there again.

[LaOutbackTrail]

Thanks for sharing, Id have rather seen the ruins near your camp on the San Juan than Mesa Verde.... and we nearly drove by it last time!

[hakalugi]

nice report, thanks for sharing.