Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip

[RockyMtRebel]

Placing this here so we can discuss and plan a bad ass multi-day desert trip in the fall. Sept, Oct, Nov.... either is fine with me. Long remote dirt roads to amazing desert attractions is the goal, with mild to moderate wheelin' ;)

[Jim]

Interested.

[open_circuit]

Subscribed

[RockyMtRebel]

I'm thinking something from one end of this map to the other.... ish. lol. But seriously that would be awesome! Like starting up near Green River and the Goblin State Forest and work down towards Cottonwood Canyon which comes out on Hwy 89 west of Page, AZ and then we could (this is my favorite part) continue South to House Rock Valley Road (bottom left corner of map) and check out Pariah river slot canyons and there's this amazing feature I am dying to see called White Pocket. I was not able to go all the way there because the wife was wanting to get to Moab (which is about 5 hour highway drive from here).

Anyways, I'm up for something far away from everything and for 2 or 3 nights. Maybe a few of us pick a few areas we would like to go and we try to string them together???? I'll snapshot the area I'm most interested in (White Pocket) from my iPhone (Gaia map is amazing) so you can see the piece I'm definitely interested in..... but warning, it's pretty far out there (it's literally within an hour of the Grand Canyon's north rim). I'm not dead set on including this section either.... just sayin' I'm really wanting to visit (maybe camp at) White Pocket. Its in Vermillion Cliffs National Monument......Look it up!!!

[jayson44]

I'm down! that sounds like fun!

J.

[open_circuit]

That's a remote area out there. I would have to carefully plan for fuel usage. We rented a houseboat at Bullfrog marina a few years ago, and it was a long drive with few services between Green River and the marina.

[RockyMtRebel]

So I have an idea, let me know if this interests anyone!

Meet in Monticello, UT and gas up (bringing 5-10 extra gallons each, which I can help carry in my truck). Take Hwy 191 north a couple miles to 211 and take that towards Canyonlands NP and head west on Cottonwood Bridger / Beef Basin Road. This is the start of my proposed 2 night trail. This road winds west and after about 25 miles intersects at the base of Horse mountain, we head right/north and head up towards Beef Basin. After 9 miles the road intersects and multiple options and roads lead in and around Beef basin. This area is filled with petroglyphs, Anasazi ruins and other amazing sights. We could spend days exploring here but I’m thinking we explore and find our camp for the night somewhere here. Dispersed camping is allowed and this area is very remote.

The next morning we would continue exploring but eventually start heading north on the main road out of Beef basin towards Canyonlands and Elephant Hill. Bobby’s Hole is a moderate-difficult section that will take us out of Beef basin and into Canyonlands NP. This road goes straight to the Needles and joins Elephant Hill trail at its southern exit/entrance (also called Devils Lane, and is a moderate trail). It passes two Camping sites in this area. Camping here requires overnight permit so we would need to reserve it with the National Park in advance. These are not as competitive as the White rim campsites so we have a lot of options to choose from right now if we decide to). We join the Elephant hill trail here and can visit and hike the Joint trail, which is supposed to be amazing! From here will head north and have to navigate SOB hill and then take the second half of Elephant hill trail, skipping the one section that precedes the Devils Kitchen camp sites (the “squeeze”, which would give my truck some trouble). These campsites are supposed to be amazing and I’d love to reserve one of these if possible).
There is a spur that takes you to an overlook of the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers. Then the trail heads down to the one way fork and we will head up Elephant hill to the trailhead and exit Canyonlands at the main Needles outpost and park entrance (Road 211 a few miles north of where we turned in Beef basin road).

Total miles from start (211 and Cottonwood/Beef Basin rd) to end (Needles Outpost) without including exploring the Beef basin roads is 75 miles. It’s about 60 miles from Monticello to the trailhead and another 70 miles from Needles outpost to Moab although there should be gas available at Needles Outpost. With exploring I’m thinking 100 mile trail..... I probably won’t need extra gas (Truck holds 24 gallons) but I’ll bring 10 gallons just in case.

Here’s a few snapshots of my Gaia gps map showing this proposed trail - main trail in Brown and roads to potentially explore in Yellow.

Let me know if this tickles anyone’s fancy!! If it does, we would want to reserve the Canyonlands overnight permit and campsite as soon as we can. They look to be pretty available at this time......

Thoughts??

[jayson44]

I like that plan! it's not too long so we can take our time and not worry about running out of fuel. lots to see and do, and a good amount of moderate wheeling if we choose.

I'm in.

J.

[RockyMtRebel]

Yea, I took the level of ambition down a notch from when I started this thread...... 200+ mile overlanding trip would be very complicated and hard to plan and execute. 100 mile trip should be doable without extra gas but carrying some extra should ensure Jeeps have enough gas (since they have smaller tanks). My Powerwagon can probably haul an extra 5 gallon tank for each vehicle if needed.... just in case! Depending on number of vehicles of course but I anticipate 3-5 vehicles tops.

I'm thinking mid-late September time frame...... any thoughts on that? Maybe early-mid October is another option. Devils Kitchen campsites are pretty available still and the other campsites are totally available still. During the weekends the availability is questionable but during the week it's pretty wide open. Lets think about dates and check with our significant others to confirm...... I'd love to nail this down over the next week or so and then reserve and pay for the permit!!! Depending on how many decide to go, we might need 2 permits........

Thoughts? Anyone else interested yet? And keep in mind this will be 2 night of camping.... 3 if we have issues or have to turn around for any reason. We will dispersed camp the first night and we need to pack out human waste, so keep that in mind. This is a "BACKCOUNTRY" trip so plan on packing light. I bring cold-cuts and PB&J and a loaf of bread, along with snacks of course. Biggest thing to consider is you must bring 1 Gallon of water per day for each person going. For me that means I'll have 3 or 4 gallons with me since I'll likely be solo.

CAN'T WAIT!!!!!

[Java]

I'm interested, looks like a great route! Beef Basin is cool and you can go fast there, it doesn't take as long as you'd think. Bobby's Hole is downhill if you're going from Beef Basin to Elephant Hill should be relatively easy especially in your big truck. They have long rubber sheets that look like expanded steel embedded in the ground for traction, it's an experience.

The Devil's Kitchen Campground in Elephant Hill is by far the best campsite I've ever stayed at, I cannot recommend it enough. I'd reserve the whole thing regardless of party size, it's 4 sites with a nice outhouse and incredible views. the hike from there into Chesler Park is truly epic.

[RockyMtRebel]

I'm interested, looks like a great route! Beef Basin is cool and you can go fast there, it doesn't take as long as you'd think. Bobby's Hole is downhill if you're going from Beef Basin to Elephant Hill should be relatively easy especially in your big truck. They have long rubber sheets that look like expanded steel embedded in the ground for traction, it's an experience.

The Devil's Kitchen Campground in Elephant Hill is by far the best campsite I've ever stayed at, I cannot recommend it enough. I'd reserve the whole thing regardless of party size, it's 4 sites with a nice outhouse and incredible views. the hike from there into Chesler Park is truly epic.

YES, I heard Devils Kitchen campsites are amazing! I'd like to reserve them for us for this trip for sure...... and luckily I should be able to get there without issue because we'll be coming from the other side and I shouldn't have to do the "squeeze" that is supposed to be right before getting to Devils Kitchen from the main trailhead. I have never been in this area, so I am just going off internet research! Paul, lets do this!!!! Let me know if mid-late September or early-mid October works for you!

[Java]

It's too far out for me to know, but if you pick dates I can try to make them work. I think you can get through the squeeze, I remember a tour company that went back there used Ford Excursions.

[RockyMtRebel]

Yea if needed I know I can make it thru with a lot of spotting and patience (saw a video of a Powerwagon going very slow and carefully thru it). I'll have to pick the exact date we're camping at Devils Kitchen in order to reserve it and get a permit. My birthday is SEP 15th so I think this would be a cool birthday trip ;)

[open_circuit]

Yea, I took the level of ambition down a notch from when I started this thread...... 200+ mile overlanding trip would be very complicated and hard to plan and execute. 100 mile trip should be doable without extra gas but carrying some extra should ensure Jeeps have enough gas (since they have smaller tanks). My Powerwagon can probably haul an extra 5 gallon tank for each vehicle if needed.... just in case! Depending on number of vehicles of course but I anticipate 3-5 vehicles tops.

The National Park Service and rangers at Canyonlands restrict vehicle groups to no more than 3. You also need a permit for the 4wd trail, but I think the camping permit may double as your trail permit for the day as well. The rangers we spoke to when we picked up our permits last year were pretty severe in their speech about keeping group sizes down and making sure to Stay The Trail. There are very few pull outs to allow passing on the trails and long stretches between the pull outs. I don't know why the park service doesn't just cut in a couple more passing / pull out areas instead of trying to make 4wd trail users feel bad about wanting to use the trail. You may wish to check with the park service on camping and group restrictions before you aim for a group size of 5 within the park boundaries.

[RockyMtRebel]

Thanks Trent, I forgot that and you are correct. 3 vehicles per overnight camping permit (the permit is overnight camping for 4x4 road travel, all in one so to speak). Group size is also limited, I believe 7 people is the max per campsite reservation. However, if we have more people interested we are far enough in advance that we could reserve multiple permits. 2 permits should secure us 6 vehicles and 14 total people. There are 4 campsites at Devils Kitchen so plenty for what I'm thinking our group will be.

Trent, are you interested? This is right up your alley man!!!

[open_circuit]

I'm certainly interested in the idea. I was a little more enthusiastic with the earlier plan to explore somewhere new, but this plan is much easier to execute. About half of the things on this list cover what we did last year, but I'd be open to vising there again. Elephant Hill was certainly one of a kind and I'd like some more time to hike the trails next time.

100 miles of this trail should easily be in range of the Jeep. When we ran Lockhart Basin & Canyon last year, that was a ~90 mile day, if I remember correctly, and had no fuel issues. There are only a few hard 4wd sections in Needles district with much of the trip being sandy or dusty dirt roads. The easy sections don't usually cause me much fuel anxiety.

Regarding gas at Needles outpost: fuel there is an option, but not a great option. I'm very glad the fuel is available there, but beware the price will be $5-$6 / gallon and the hours are limited. The pump is an antique and only operates something like 8 to 5 or 6 pm when the owners of the outpost hold business hours at the store.

[RockyMtRebel]

Right now my birthday (Tuesday 9/15) is wide open (all campsites available) but the rest of September is pretty booked up although most campsites have a couple days during the week available. Weekends are pretty much booked out except the less desirable sites. The first two weeks of October are looking really good, not very booked out but we should nail down the night we want to spend at Devils Kitchen asap. Remember this will be our second night camping. I can plan any day of the week, but others might be more limited so let me know dates you are interested in ASAP!

[open_circuit]

My vote would be for October for better (cooler) weather, hopefully.

[jayson44]

I'm interested. mid September sounds good to me. I'm flexible as it's a ways out right now.

J.

[RockyMtRebel]

This is the campsite availability as of right now for Oct 3-Oct 9th. Pretty wide open right now!

[RockyMtRebel]

Here's mid-September right now...... I'm down for either mid-September or early October.

There are 4 Devils Kitchen sites and it appears #2 and #4 are the most popular....... Paul? You know which is best?? LOL

[GaryG]

Devil's Kitchen campsite

[open_circuit]

https://thedyrt.com/camping/utah/utah-devils-kitchen

Looks like a cool campsite.

September is probably fine as well. I was just voting my preference first. It's hard to plan anything 3 months in the future the way things are now, so my calendar is empty.

[RockyMtRebel]

I hear you and Paul about planning that far in advance...... If things change and anyone can't make it, that's fine too. The park service lets you make changes up to the day of the trip so no big deal either! Consider this a TENTATIVE plan..... not set in stone either. Even if everyone bailed, it's only $30 so not a big loss....

I'll let this sit and see who else might want to join and once we have a consensus on who is most interested and what the best dates/days are then I'll secure the permit (s).

I'm going no matter what, but I'm lucky enough to have the flexibility in my schedule to pretty much do whatever I want..... LOL..... so I promise I'll be going as long as I have at least one other vehicle to go along with ;)

[open_circuit]

I feel like I have to go just to see you try to squeeze the full size truck through the narrows.

More seriously, I expect to be able to go in Sept of Oct. The comment about schedules was more about nothing else already being on my calendar to get in the way, except for work. Usually it isn't a problem to schedule time off at work and I've not used very much time off this year, so there's a bunch of vacation time building up in my account.

[RockyMtRebel]

I feel like I have to go just to see you try to squeeze the full size truck through the narrows.

More seriously, I expect to be able to go in Sept of Oct. The comment about schedules was more about nothing else already being on my calendar to get in the way, except for work. Usually it isn't a problem to schedule time off at work and I've not used very much time off this year, so there's a bunch of vacation time building up in my account.

Hahaha, actually I think the route I have in mind skips the famous "squeeze", but if we want we could run that but would then have to run some of the trail we already did since it's a one-way trail in a few spots. I'm totally down for doing the Squeeze as long as I have spotters ;)

[RockyMtRebel]

Devil's Kitchen campsite

That looks awesome! I bet all 4 Devils Kitchen sites are pretty amazing.... Oh and I love your quote in your signature! That's how I feel and try to live my life!

[GaryG]

Here's the link to the trip that Paul, Brad, my son and I took there in Sept 2012
https://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?17763-Elephant-Hill-and-Beef-Basin (https://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?17763-Elephant-Hill-and-Beef-Basin&highlight=kitchen)

[RockyMtRebel]

So far it looks like Jay, Trent, Paul, and myself are interested. Waiting on Jim since he subscribed from the start of this thread also. If we all agree on a date, we'll need to secure 2 overnight 4x4 camping permits since each is limited to 3 vehicles (7 total people).

Right now I'm thinking either Mon Sep 14th, Tues Sep 15th (my birthday) or Wed Sept 16th or either Mon, Tues or Wed the following week (Sep 21, 22 or 23)..... I'm up for any of these but my birthday would be kind of cool ;)

[jayson44]

I'm down for a Monday, so I can head out to Moab that weekend and wheel a day on the hard trails. no preference on which weekend.

J.

[RockyMtRebel]

Remember this will be the second night camping! We will camp in Beef basin the first night..... so should we do Beef basin on Monday, Elephant hill on Tuesday? That’s what I was thinking..... I might go to Moab and wheel a little over the weekend first also.... or maybe I’ll stay a couple days afterwards and wheel Moab without the weekend crowds ;)

[RockyMtRebel]

The wife told me to do this the week after my birthday.... so what do you guys think about doing this trail on September 21-23 : Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - camping in Beef basin Monday night and at Devils Kitchen Tuesday night?

Only one of the campsites is already reserved that night right now so this would work. Let me know what you guys think about these dates and if I should reserve a permit ;)

I might decide to either go out a few days early or stay a few days after to do some more Moab area trails! I have ordered rock sliders for my truck and will have them on by then so I’ll be in pretty good shape for Moab! Some trails I’m interested in are: Poison Spyder Mesa, Sevenmile Rim and wouldn’t mind running the Dome Plateau again - that place is amazing!

[TyTheJeepGuy]

I'm interested. I have a 3-gallon spare gas tank. Am I able to join or will that mess up the number of wheelers for camping/trail permits?

[RockyMtRebel]

I'm interested. I have a 3-gallon spare gas tank. Am I able to join or will that mess up the number of wheelers for camping/trail permits?

Ty, you should be fine. I'm going to send a Private Message to everyone that said they were interested and ask about a date for camping in Canyonlands. September 22nd (Tuesday) is the day I'm proposing and if we all agree I'll get the permit for one campsite. If we have more than 3 of us that want to go one other person in the second group will need to secure the other permit. I'll be happy to make sure whoever that is understands how to do this.... its super easy actually!

So, stay tuned for a PM.... I'm going to send shortly

[RockyMtRebel]

Ok, I have reserved a permit for September 22nd for Devils Kitchen Site 4. We will need to reserve one more permit since more than 3 vehicles are planning to go. So far, Trent (Open Circuit), Jay (jayson44) and Ty (IceBox Ty) have confirmed they are in for this! I know Paul was interested but not sure about the dates since it's so far out..... and Jim said he was interested when I first posted but haven't heard from him lately. I've PM'd you all so I'll wait to hear from Jim and Paul for a day or two and then we'll need to make sure to secure another permit for Devils Kitchen site 3 or 1 (site 2 was already reserved). I think they are all pretty close and amazing!

CAN'T WAIT!

[TyTheJeepGuy]

Watching some videos for Elephant Hill, I think I can get my stock height rig through but whoever is ok with going slow is who should get paired up with me. Those who have wheeled with me before know that I go pretty slow :)

[open_circuit]

You'll be fine, Ty. We got Udi through there last year in his new 2 door JL. He did great.

[RockyMtRebel]

Yea, I'll probably be the slow rig since I'm bringing my Ram 2500 .... plus we won't be in a hurry to get home for dinner ;)

[TyTheJeepGuy]

Ok sounds good. You'll be folding the mirrors on that 2500 for the "Devils Pocket" I think they call it. It will be cool to see the 2500 in action

[RockyMtRebel]

The route I planned skips that section but I'm not opposed to running the one-way loop again in order to go thru Devils Pocket.... or the "Squeeze". Here's a video of a Powerwagon going thru it with a lot of spotter help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC6Lu0RqY70

[open_circuit]

I feel like the squeeze is one of the high points of this trail experience. I'd strongly encourage running it, if time permits.

[TyTheJeepGuy]

The route I planned skips that section but I'm not opposed to running the one-way loop again in order to go thru Devils Pocket.... or the "Squeeze". Here's a video of a Powerwagon going thru it with a lot of spotter help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC6Lu0RqY70

Save the bacon grease from that morning's breakfast! :lmao:

[open_circuit]

There are some photos of our trip through Elephant Hill and the squeeze from last year at the following link:

https://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?27752-Moab-2019-Day-2-Elephant-Hill

[RockyMtRebel]

I feel like the squeeze is one of the high points of this trail experience. I'd strongly encourage running it, if time permits.

I'm totally down for that! I wasn't sure if you ran this one Trent, good to know you have. You probably remember after Elephant hill the road splits (one-way) and you have to go left up thru Devils Pocket/Squeeze. The one-way ends there until after the spur to the Confluence, where it once again turns into a one-way road that leads to the original fork. Since we are entering the trail from the south my original plan was to go to Devils Kitchen from there and then doing the rest of the trail back to the trailhead, thereby skipping the one-way section that contains the Squeeze.

If we want to do this, we'll just have to make sure we leave enough time to do the whole loop before camping at Devils Kitchen. I think we'll have plenty of time to do this, I was just a little nervous about the size of my truck going thru..... but if you all participate in spotting me thru it, I'm down!

[open_circuit]

I'm totally down for that! I wasn't sure if you ran this one Trent, good to know you have. You probably remember after Elephant hill the road splits (one-way) and you have to go left up thru Devils Pocket/Squeeze. The one-way ends there until after the spur to the Confluence, where it once again turns into a one-way road that leads to the original fork. Since we are entering the trail from the south my original plan was to go to Devils Kitchen from there and then doing the rest of the trail back to the trailhead, thereby skipping the one-way section that contains the Squeeze.

If we want to do this, we'll just have to make sure we leave enough time to do the whole loop before camping at Devils Kitchen. I think we'll have plenty of time to do this, I was just a little nervous about the size of my truck going thru..... but if you all participate in spotting me thru it, I'm down!


We also hiked to the confluence overlook. That was a pretty nice view. I think I have a panorama from the overlook in the thread from last year (linked above).

Edit, this should be the confluence:

https://i.imgur.com/6dN2jCOh.jpg

[Java]

Looks like I can make that week work except I have a commitment for that Monday, so I'd probably not be able to get to Moab in time for Beef Basin. Have fun!

[RockyMtRebel]

If you want to join, I’m not opposed to pushing this forward a day so you can join Paul. That’s as long as Trent, Jay and Ty are cool with this. I’ll need to reserve Wednesday permit if we decide to do this. We need someone to reserve another permit anyways since our group is already too big for one permit. Still 3 permits available for Devils Kitchen on Wednesday right now.

Thoughts everyone? I won’t change my reserved permit unless everyone is cool with it and Paul says he’s in ;)

[Java]

I don't want to be the birthday spoiler and I really can't fully commit at this point, so don't plan around me. If I can manage to get to Moab that week I will and maybe we can hook up for some trails. :thumb:

[RockyMtRebel]

Fair enough, and you’ve run this same trail before too if I recall. I am planning to stay in the area the entire week so if you can make it out let’s definitely do a trail or three ;)

[open_circuit]

I'd like to see us put a stake in the ground on dates so I can figure out where I am going to stay the nights before and after the trail run. I imagine I'll get a cheap room in town for one or both days.

It would help me to plan the day before and after the trail run if we can confirm the following is the general plan:

Meet Mon Sept 21 in the morning in Monticello, UT. Travel some distance on Beef Basin Rd and camp overnight.
Tues Sept 22 - Travel into Canyonlands and explore / hike. Camp at Devil's Kitchen.
Weds Sept 23 - Explore Canyonlands some more and depart via Elephant Hill.

So the reasonable thing to do is find a place to stay Sun Sept 20 and Weds Sept 23, at a minimum. Maybe decide to stretch the trip on one or both ends and do some other trails in Moab or up near Green River.

Did I miss anything here?

[RockyMtRebel]

Those are the correct dates and plan, Trent! In fact I just PM’d IceBox Ty and asked him to reserve the second Devils Kitchen campsite on Sep 22 since he was last to jump in and is the 4th vehicle.

I have already reserved Devils Kitchen site 4 for that Tuesday, so I am committed!! I’m definitely staying the rest of the week in the Moab area & will probably head home Sat or Sun (Sep 26 or 27)

[TyTheJeepGuy]

I have the reservations for 2 vehicles (and 2 people but I think that can be changed later) for the 22nd, Devils Kitchen #1. I took the days off for it so I'm also committed :)

[RockyMtRebel]

I can’t wait!!!!

Trent did you hike the Joint trail last year? I’m excited to hike there, heard it’s amazing

https://youtu.be/V6i8Unh3Ay4

[open_circuit]

I think the Joint Trail is what we hiked around lunch time. There are some photos of a slot canyon which I think was the start of the Joint Trail, though I maybe confused. To get to that, we hiked up a narrow passage in the rocks (see photos in last year's thread). We didn't hike far but part of the group stayed behind to hike more of the trail. I think it was James and Udi that hiked while Jim and I continued on (with someone else? I can't remember who it would have been if not Crawlex).

[Java]

I can’t wait!!!!

Trent did you hike the Joint trail last year? I’m excited to hike there, heard it’s amazing

https://youtu.be/V6i8Unh3Ay4

That's me in the video, I used to be a contributor for TOR and gave them that. We actually did the 12+ mile loop through Chesler Park that trip, it is one of my all time favorite hikes. This is the longer version of it https://vimeo.com/66034258

[RockyMtRebel]

That’s crazy.... I thought you looked familiar. That place looks awesome and can not wait to be there in 84 days ;)

[RockyMtRebel]

Paul, have you run “Impossible hill”? Right near Bobby’s Hole but supposed to be much more challenging but totally possible. On my map the main road has an intersection near Bobby’s hole and west goes to Impossible hill and then on to Imperial Valley and the roads seem to connect with the Beef basin roads.

[Java]

I don't think so, I don't remember doing anything more difficult than BH there. If I had known there was a place called Impossible Hill I would have felt compelled to try it.

[jayson44]

getting excited about this trip! I gotta get my AC figured out now...

J.

[RockyMtRebel]

I found very little online about Impossible hill but I did find a trip report where a group of Land Cruisers did it and they all made it up the hill.... so it’s definitely possible. This is definitely on the list of things to check out and possibly try! I also want to check out the Gypsum canyon overlooks.... and I definitely want to hike the Joint trail!! Man, I can’t wait for this 🤓

[RockyMtRebel]

I found this link to a detailed map of the Beef Basin area.... not sure how old it is but I believe some of the roads are no longer open especially in the Dark canyon area. However, this does show the same Beef basin and Imperial valley trails my other map does except this map has little black diamonds for hard obstacles. Looks like Beef basin is mostly easy but going north into Imperial valley there are numerous black diamonds..... that sounds fun! I’m hoping the Imperial valley roads are still open so we can explore!
One thing about this map I don’t get is it says the White rim trail also and unless it used to be different I don’t understand why that’s listed in this map......
https://sanjuancounty.org/sjc-content/maps/Trails%20-%20Beef%20Basin%20and%20White%20Rim.pdf

[RockyMtRebel]

I started a “planned run” thread here: https://www.frontrange4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?28133-Beef-Basin-to-Elephant-Hill-Moab-Utah-area-trip-week-of-Sep-21&p=337670#post337670

[open_circuit]

I was thinking this weekend about the Rim Rocker trail as a route to reach the Moab area for this trip. Matt?

[RockyMtRebel]

Although that would be cool, it would require leaving a few days earlier than planned. Perhaps a modified version of it..... would be interesting for sure

[speedkills]

I'd be up for making it a little longer to do Rim Rocker. Although, let's face it, I'm up for whatever as long as I have a running vehicle that will make the trip.

[open_circuit]

Forecast is for lows in mid 40s, highs in mid 70s for the first half of next week in the Monticello area. Moab is mid 50s to mid 80s. Should be some great weather.

[TyTheJeepGuy]

Forecast is for lows in mid 40s, highs in mid 70s for the first half of next week in the Monticello area. Moab is mid 50s to mid 80s. Should be some great weather.

:woot:

[RockyMtRebel]

Yep, weather looks like it'll be great! My rock sliders apparently are showing up on Wednesday this week..... so I'll be spending time under the truck getting them installed before this trip, almost gave up that they would show up in time.

My son and I will be driving in the Ram, decided against bringing the Jeep along. See you guys in less than a week!

[open_circuit]

We should probably set a time and place for Monday morning. Have I missed this somewhere?

[RockyMtRebel]

How about we plan to meet Monday morning around 9am @ Conoco gas station @ 433 N Main St, Monticello, UT 84535

[open_circuit]

So I have an idea, let me know if this interests anyone!

Meet in Monticello, UT and gas up (bringing 5-10 extra gallons each, which I can help carry in my truck). Take Hwy 191 north a couple miles to 211 and take that towards Canyonlands NP and head west on Cottonwood Bridger / Beef Basin Road. This is the start of my proposed 2 night trail. This road winds west and after about 25 miles intersects at the base of Horse mountain, we head right/north and head up towards Beef Basin. After 9 miles the road intersects and multiple options and roads lead in and around Beef basin. This area is filled with petroglyphs, Anasazi ruins and other amazing sights. We could spend days exploring here but I’m thinking we explore and find our camp for the night somewhere here. Dispersed camping is allowed and this area is very remote.

The next morning we would continue exploring but eventually start heading north on the main road out of Beef basin towards Canyonlands and Elephant Hill. Bobby’s Hole is a moderate-difficult section that will take us out of Beef basin and into Canyonlands NP. This road goes straight to the Needles and joins Elephant Hill trail at its southern exit/entrance (also called Devils Lane, and is a moderate trail). It passes two Camping sites in this area. Camping here requires overnight permit so we would need to reserve it with the National Park in advance. These are not as competitive as the White rim campsites so we have a lot of options to choose from right now if we decide to). We join the Elephant hill trail here and can visit and hike the Joint trail, which is supposed to be amazing! From here will head north and have to navigate SOB hill and then take the second half of Elephant hill trail, skipping the one section that precedes the Devils Kitchen camp sites (the “squeeze”, which would give my truck some trouble). These campsites are supposed to be amazing and I’d love to reserve one of these if possible).
There is a spur that takes you to an overlook of the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers. Then the trail heads down to the one way fork and we will head up Elephant hill to the trailhead and exit Canyonlands at the main Needles outpost and park entrance (Road 211 a few miles north of where we turned in Beef basin road).

Total miles from start (211 and Cottonwood/Beef Basin rd) to end (Needles Outpost) without including exploring the Beef basin roads is 75 miles. It’s about 60 miles from Monticello to the trailhead and another 70 miles from Needles outpost to Moab although there should be gas available at Needles Outpost. With exploring I’m thinking 100 mile trail..... I probably won’t need extra gas (Truck holds 24 gallons) but I’ll bring 10 gallons just in case.

Here’s a few snapshots of my Gaia gps map showing this proposed trail - main trail in Brown and roads to potentially explore in Yellow.

Let me know if this tickles anyone’s fancy!! If it does, we would want to reserve the Canyonlands overnight permit and campsite as soon as we can. They look to be pretty available at this time......

Thoughts??

Is this still the plan? I was trying to find all of these on the MVUM maps to make sure I understand the route. On the calendar entry, the route is listed as Bridger Jack Mesa Rd, but that seems to be much further north when I Google it. I assume Google is only showing me the northernmost section of this road and we still plan to start on 211 near Monticello?

I'll feel better heading out this remote once I know I have maps of the area and understand the route fully.

[RockyMtRebel]

Trent I’ll send some gpx files. I have Gaia and have it all mapped out, maps downloaded....

[open_circuit]

Trent I’ll send some gpx files. I have Gaia and have it all mapped out, maps downloaded....

Thanks.

[RockyMtRebel]

Actually Trent I downloaded the trails from Jeeptheusa.com. Just download the entire folders for Blanding area main trails, access roads and minor trails..... then you’ll see all the Beef basin trails, Bear ears area, Needles district trails, etc.

[RockyMtRebel]

You can download all of the files from a zip file - that website is awesome and you sent me a link to them 6 months ago or more and I’ve used it a ton ever since ;)

[RockyMtRebel]

And to answer your question yes that’s still the plan ;)

[open_circuit]

Actually Trent I downloaded the trails from Jeeptheusa.com. Just download the entire folders for Blanding area main trails, access roads and minor trails..... then you’ll see all the Beef basin trails, Bear ears area, Needles district trails, etc.

I found the trails for the Monticello area on that website while you were responding. I have them now. I haven't been terribly successful finding MVUM / dispersed camping maps for all of the areas we will be in because I don't yet understand how the jurisdictions of the national park and BLM overlap. No worries. I see the route now and understand the plan. :thumb:

[RockyMtRebel]

The entire Beef basin area south of the Canyonlands NP border is BLM land. We will be able to camp anywhere although they encourage using existing campsites, of course. Dark Canyon and Glen Canyon borders this area but my understanding is they are all managed by the BLM (minus the National park of course)

[open_circuit]

I have high hopes for Dark Canyon area (even if we are just bordering it). With the new moon coming on the 17th, we should get some really good dark sky stargazing. I haven't been this excited for a trip in a long time.

[RockyMtRebel]

Man I’m so pumped! I’ve been studying the maps and obsessing about this trip! It’s almost here!!!!