Category: Southwest

After breakfast at our best camp of the trip, we slowly made our way to Green River UT (couple of photos in previous post) to resupply. The neighborhood looked familiar – we stopped in town on our way back to Chicago from California in 2021. We arrived at ☞ Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands NP just after noon. Small Willow Flat campground was full (Friday). We decided not to look for camping alternatives, but instead head to Moab at the end of the day (stayed at Adventure Inn). This way we had entire afternoon to check-out a few spots/overlooks: Green River Overlook, Upheaval Dome (short walk), Grand View Point (Joanna walked the rim trail, Piotr took driver’s nap), Mesa Arch (short trail). Views were beautiful but this is the most popular section of the park and the only “crowded” place on our trip. We often looked down at different sections of 100-mile White Rim Road (one rim lower) and wondered, if we could drive on it in our Subaru (?). First section down Shafer Canyon looked OK and was very tempting (next time).

Grand View Point (video clip)

Mesa Arch (video clip)

Next morning we drove around to ☞ The Needles District of Canyonlands NP – enjoyed the views on the way, but without stopping to get to the Squaw Flat campground early to reserve a good site for two nights (Saturday and Sunday, we expected many visitors for the weekend). It worked – the campground is large and there were many spots to choose from when we arrived. Our spot was spacious and nice, not too close to neighbours, so we decided to sleep in tent for a change. With campsite in the bag, we were ready for short walks: Pot Hole Trail, Big Spring Canyon Overlook, Slickrock Trail, Roadside Ruin Trail. Despite the weekend, Needles District was not too crowded, far less so than Island in the Sky the day before. It looked like more people come here for longer hikes and spread out through quite large area.

Our last full hiking day of the trip: 12-mile Chesler Park/Joint Trail loop. We drove short distance from our camp to Elephant Hill trailhead, followed easy trail up on open rocky terrain passing across some impressive looking rocks on the way. Chesler Park is a large meadow that sits on small plateau with rock “monuments” standing all around. At some point we descended a bit from the plateau (one “level ” down towards Colorado River) through a maze of slots in sandstone to dry wash only to go back up different way to close the loop and return to the trailhead. It was quite hot in Devils Kitchen. Yes, some of the standing rocks look like “needles”.

Canyonlands is vast with open vistas all the way to the horizon, the Horseshoe Canyon quite far away (north-west) on the other side of Green and Colorado Rivers. We had good sunny weather, quite warm and just a few drops of rain one night. In the short time we saw the main features (Piotr visited Canyonlands briefly years ago), perhaps could come back for backcountry hiking in Maze district or camping along White Rim Road.

We stopped at Newspaper Rock on the way out of Canyonlands, filled-up the tank and started serious driving back home. We made it to Colorado Penitente Canyon Campgroud (disappointing) on the first day, Salina KS and Chicago over the following two days. Somewhere after Colorado Springs a big storm started gathering on the horizon behind us and followed us (literally) for some 400 miles as we were driving east. We could not stop or slow down without it catching up with us quickly. Piotr did not want to waste time waiting it out and we were a bit afraid of driving in strong wind with the cargo box on the roof. Wind and heavy rain did catch up with us shortly after we checked in to Roadway Inn in Salina, but at that time severe weather and shelter in place warnings were just cancelled. Easy (boring) driving the rest of the way.

Change of focus: our main objective for the day is to explore rock art in ☞ Horseshoe Canyon – different than other sites in the Southwest as it contains mostly pictographs rather than petroglyphs. It is 7-mile hike 240 m down to the canyon floor with yellow and red rocks around, hot and desert-like (there was same water and green vegetation in the creek). The day started by quick drive on Hwy 24 past Hanksville followed by slow ride east on unpaved road to the trailhead. The road was in good condition, but the area had good remote feel. We started descending slowly into the canyon on trail which runs in part on old jeep road. There were a few signs of past human activity (water tank and remains of old rancho). As well as some dinosaur prints. Just when we started walking towards first rock art site, we met volunteer ranger on patrol. He showed us around and answered many questions – we enjoyed our private tour. We saw only one group of school children in the canyon, nobody else the whole day. We spent entire afternoon hiking, checking out the galleries with the ranger and then on our own. The Great Gallery is the most spectacular, with life-size and larger figures. Rock paintings are from different times, 2000 BC to 500 AD, but some artifacts found around were from 11000 years ago. On the way back, we stopped at Alcove Gallery. Around 7 pm we started heading north on Lower San Rafael Rd for 9 miles and then 5 miles east on dirt road to amazing wild campsite on high rim of Green River Labyrinth Canyon (found by Piotr studying maps and satellite images before the trip). Beautiful sunset, no wind, no people anywhere. Perfect end to a beautiful day. And then relaxing breakfast before heading north on Lower San Rafael Rd to Green River on the way to Canyonlands NP.

Resources

☞ Cotonwood Rd BLM map
☞ Burr Trail Wolverine Loop Rd BLM map
☞ Cottonwood Canyon Road
☞ Cottonwood Wash Narrows
☞ What’s like to drive Cottonwood Canyon Road?
☞ How to loop fold in Capitol Reef NP?
☞ Headquarters Canyon

After good night rest in Page, regrouped, resupplied and triple-washed, we are heading north towards ☞ Grand Staircase-Escalante NM and ☞ Capitol Reef NP . This 3 day section was a slow road trip on scenic byways and dirt roads. We started with a short walk to visit ☞ Toadstool Hoodoos, just off Hwy 89. We spent the rest of the day driving on ☞ Cottonwood Canyon Rd . The gravel surface was much better than we anticipated. We stopped briefly to check-out Paria River (still with some flowing water at this spot) and then stopped for 2-hour easy walk up and down Hackberry Canyon. Driving slowly we checked out possible camp sites and settled in between small trees on sandy bank of Cottonwood Creek. We wanted to be close to the ☞ Cottonwood Wash Narrows trailheads – we walked almost the entire section starting from and returning to the north trailhead next morning (3 miles), including short but quite impressive slot section. The scenery around this part of the road is very interesting. We had lunch at picnic area near Grosvenor Arch and short walk along the impresive rock formation. We were then driving on Hwy 12 past Escalante towards Boulder. We did get a few good views of Escalante and Calf Canyons, but only from the car. Viewpoint bays were horrible (bad design) and we were running out of time. After short drive on ☞ Burr Trail Rd we camped at Deer Creek campground. Piotr discovered that his credit card disappeared, decided to drive back in the morning towards Boulder until cellular signal to lock it.

The following day we continued on Burr Trail Rd, first through Long Canyon and then across plateau towards Capitol Reef. We stopped at the top end of the canyon and then for lunch at the top of Burr Trail Switchbacks. Very nice views from both places. After the switchbacks we turned south on Notom-Bullfrog Rd just for a short distance to ☞ Headquarters Canyon trailhead, our main 7-mile walking exploration of the day. Joanna practised taking “vertical panos” to capture impressive heights of narrow slot canyons. We spent the rest of the afternoon driving slowly north on Notom Rd. After a short drive into Burro Wash we just camped in the middle of nowhere, well near an old abandoned corral. It was too late to drive any further to look for wild campsite as we originally planned. We tried to help stranded motorists late in the afternoon, their van broke down and would not start. We managed to send messages asking unsuccessfully for help (non-emergency; messages were delivered but resulted in unhelpful automatic response) using Zoleo (there was no cellular signal in the area). In the end it was other motorists passing by who were able to help them after we left. Joanna prepared fancy salad for dinner and we watched another orange sunset over reddish hills.

Slot section of Headquarters Canyon (video clip)

Resources

☞ Paria Canyon – Vermilion Clifs Wilferness
☞ Paria Contact Station
☞ Buckskin Gulch and the Paria River Narrows
☞ Buckskin Gulch and Paria Canyon – the ultimate backpacking guide
☞ Buckskin Gulch
☞ The ultimate Paria Canyon backpacking guide
☞ Paria River (and Buckskin Gulch)
☞ Seeking Treasure Adventures

We started the day by meeting our ☞ shuttle driver at 6:20 am at Chevron Station in Marble Canyon (15 min drive from our lodge). We transferred our backpacks and followed him to Lees Ferry long-term parking lot where we left our car until our return. The shuttle took us 82 miles around Vermillion Cliffs mesa to Wire Pass trailhead. Quite scenic drive with the last part on a dirt road. Final prep and around 9 am we were on the trail. The Wire Pass trail follows a side wash which enters Buckskin Gulch several miles downstream of its beginning – not very deep at this point, but quite narrow – a true slot canyon. At its deepest (further downstream), Paria River cuts 750 m into the mesa. We followed mapped trail (shown on the map). Nowhere else to go in the gulch, but we took some alternative shortcut trails or simply cut across easy terrain in the wider part of Paria River valley. Altogether we walked 49 miles and crossed the river hundreds times. Blue line on the map follows mapped trail, we ocassionaly followed local alternative trails.

Sourcing water was our main concern, but we received good advice and up to date info at the lodge: conditions were dry, no water at all in Buckskin Gulch, but decent amount of clear water in Paria River fed only by springs (it is often muddy and very difficult to filter, especially after rain, but it was clear now after a long dry period). River was easy to cross (only a few times above knee-deep and only a few times “wall-to-wall”) and with some good pools for “swimming”. We started with 9 liters of water – it was good decision as it lasted until we reached the first strong wall spring in the morning of the second day. There was some slow stream water at Buckskin and Paria confluence (where we camped the first night), but also signs of human activity plus horse manure and a strong smell of horse urine in a few spots – it felt good to be carrying water than be desperate. With all the John Muir Trail experience everything else was easy. Portable (carry-out) toilets we got with our permits worked fine.

Walking down Buckskin Gulch and Paria River Canyon

Hiking day 1.

The first day was a long and incredibly beautiful walk down Buckskin Gulch, easy trail with just three small rock falls to pass. First with a ladder, second mini scrambler and last one under the rocks rather than over the top using a fixed rope (the underneath passage is sometimes blocked with flood debris). Joanna worried about this last 8 m drop we had to go through late in the day, but it turned out to be manageable with an old rope in place (we did not have to use our paracord brought in case we needed to lower our backpacks etc). It was a hot day above us, but rocks provided good “air-conditioning”. It was our first slot canyon and also the longest one in Southwest (and maybe in the world!) – we stopped constantly to admire it and take pictures. The scenery is quite stunning with colors changing from sunny and saturated to shadowy and grayish. Automatic image processing by phone camera exaggerates somewhat the extremes, but in reality the swings were also quite dramatic. We often felt like we were walking in a tunnel, as the walls seemed to close together above. They’re three dominant visual patterns: narrow passages with undulating rock walls sculpted by running water, 90° turns along major vertical cracks in huge sandstone blocks and some wider openings with sandy bottoms. We had lunch in one of the openings, the only places with enough space to sit. There were some day hikers at the beginning of the gulch, but almost nobody later on (only 20 overnight permits are issued). We have seen many photos of what it all looks like after rain (mud and muddy pools everywhere), but for us it was easy going – Joanna obviously did her homework picking the dates. Some parts of the trail are slower because of rocks, boulders and sand, but it is all flat. The first day was the longest of the entire hike (14 miles) with heaviest load (food for 5 days and water), but with all the excitement about beauty of the canyon we were not tired. We reached the first established campsite with many nice spots still quite early, but at least a dozen people already camped there. This area is the most popular. We decided to continue a bit longer to camp below the confluence (Buckskin and Paria). Nobody there, just a couple of hikers we met on the way collecting water from small river pool.

Hiking day 2.

Next morning after breakfast we walked up the Paria Canyon a bit (just a mile or so) to the Arch (large piece of rock which broke off higher above and is leaning against the wall, not real arch). The trail leading up Paria Canyon (to Whitehouse trailhead) is the the most popular option in the area and we considered it as a day hike, afterwards happy we chose multi-day backpacking. We collected our stuff on the way back and continued down the river. The canyon becomes wider from here on (not a slot canyon anymore), but the walls are even more monumental. With many side wall springs there is more and more water running, quite warm and clear. There is also more green vegetation, nice contrast against yellow/red rocks. The day was hot and sunny, but canyon walls provided good shading. The plan was to walk to the first major spring and stop for lunch there. No problem filling up all our bottles quickly. At this point water in the river looked quite usable, we preferred to take it from springs (filtered it anyway). To save fuel, Joanna developed recipes which do not require real cooking, just soaking in hot filtered water (work with cold water as well, if necessary). After lunch, we walked more and started frequently crossing what now looked like a real stream/river. Jumping on stones first and then just wading through. After 8 miles or so we found a nice camp site with nobody around. With several good spots to chose from, we could not resist a solid discussion which one is the best. It was the most relaxing day (“rest” after a long hike the day before) and best campsite on our trek. We like our tent (Seedhouse 3) and were quite happy to have it successfully repaired by Big Agnes (worn zipper and poles bent by strong wind at Whitney Portal).

Hiking day 3,

The following day we walked another 10 miles. The canyon widened, but the walls remained very steep and high most of the time. The river is shallow and flowing slowly here and still gaining volume from side springs. It is often flanked by plants, even bigger trees. Quite green. We stopped at the biggest spring along the trail for lunch break. The spring is hidden in dense bush with water dripping at good pace into muddy pool, perhaps 3 feet deep in the middle. We filled all our bottles (empty by now) standing in the pool. We continued walking on sand bars along the river or wading through shallow water avoiding muddy spots. Piotr sank about a foot stepping in one of those muddy spots, but recovered quickly. It took just 2-3 seconds. Solid bottom (probed with waking pole) was another foot deeper. There were multiple pools for good soaking. We arrived at our daily destination early enough to pitch the tent and soak for a while in whirlpools just below Shower Springs (refilled all bottles one more time). The river was running much faster here over stones and between small rocks. We could still not believe how warm the water was (comparing to mountain creeks). We saw only one hiker the whole day, but there were signs of old human activity: abandoned water pumps and pipes used to push water up to the top of the mesa (with lousy result) and what looked like a petroglyph (there suppose to be more of them at the site, but we could not find anything else).

Hiking day 4 and 5.

It was just day and a half of hiking (9 plus 6 miles). We were not in a hurry and stopped for the night at Wilson Ranch rather than making it a long day all the way to Lees Ferry (we expected the campground there to be crowded). Paria Canyon here looks more like a valley, wider and with rock walls on both sides less vertical/more eroded (still quite impressive). The valley also becomes drier and drier, and the river does not seem to gain much more volume. From a walk along the river the previous day it changed to a walk across a desert with river nearby. It was hot with no shade from canyon walls. We started walking across larger meanders, sometimes sandy and rather flat, sometimes rocky and quite steep. When it was time to cross the river we searched for a good spot to get on top of the other bank and look for a trail (there are always trails there). Then when the terrain got too difficult we crossed the river and repeated the same on the other side. At times we walked closer to or in the river. A few times we were actually quite high above the river: once when it cuts into a deeper canyon (it is the deepest point somewhere there, relative to the surrounding mesa), once walking on piles volcanic ash/cinders (when the canyon cuts deep enough to reach remnants of old volcanic activity) and then along big sand dunes with interesting orange/pink sand color. Different landscape variation comparing to the first 3 days. Joanna found a lonely tree just on the river to give us some shade for lunch break, but Piotr did not like bird droppings (all birds congregated on this lonely tree). After lunch, Joanna found a small pool big and deep enough for a swim – just a few strokes. Piotr settled for another whirlpool. We met nobody all day, but again found petroglyphs and camped near abandoned ranch. Wind gusts were getting stronger kicking up fine dust. They were strong enough to produce a mini sand storm in the afternoon. The wind died down at night, but picked up again next day. Wind-blown dust in the air made the landscape feel even more like desert. The old springs at the site were not accessible and this time we took water from the river. At the campsite near remains of a horse corral, we were watched all the time by lizards and rodents. There was an old skin shed by a decent size snake, but no snakes detected. Next morning was walking across much more open terrain, less interesting. Strong wind and dust was wearing us down a bit at the end. It was even difficult to stop for a snack rest, we ate some in the wind, but did not realize we were so close to Lonely Dell Ranch, a much better spot for lunch break. We made it to the farm earlier then anticipated. We looked around and continued to Lees Ferry to retrieve our car. We looked at Colorado River there and from a beach short distance further downstream. We drove to Page and stayed there at very good airbnb: large space with small kitchenette, well equipped and organized. Just what we needed to regroup, shower and rest. Plus laundry and dinner at Mexican restaurant nearby.