Forum Discussion

crosscheck's avatar
crosscheck
Explorer II
Apr 02, 2014

Colorado Plateau ideas: A future Trip report.

Truck is idling, TC is ready to roll. Still are making plans for the 7 weeks we are away( April 20- June 10)

These are some of the places we would like to visit , maybe not in this order. We are pretty flexible when it comes to having fun in the sun.

Mountain Biking:

1) St. George/ Hurricane area. Rode there last year in 3 of the areas and had fun.
Gooseberry Mesa, Church Rocks, JEM, Hurricane Rim, Goulds Rim.

2) Fruita/Grand Junction. Rode a few places

3) Moab. Have been there before. Lots of new trails.
White Rim Trail is on our list.

4) Cortez, Durango, Salida CO. Never been there.

5) Flagstaff. Had one long ride

6) Sedona. Rode 4 trails

7) Red Canyon( near Bryce). Just Thunder Mountain.

Hiking/ Backpacking:

1) Zion Narrows. Chamberlain Ranch to shuttle.

2) South Rim: Backpack Tanner trail, Beamer trail to Little Colorado, Escalante Route, up New Hance Trail, starting May 1.

3) Grand Gulch- Bullet Canyon. Cedar Mesa

4) Slickhorn Canyon. Up 1st, down 2nd, up 3rd, down Trail Canyon. Cedar Mesa

5) Waterpocket Fold. Mulley Twist loop. Capitol Reef NP

6) Robbers Roost Canyon

7) Buckhorn-Paria Canyon. Grand Staircase NM

8) Wahweop and Rimrock Toadstools.

9) DeathHollow. Bolder Mail Trail.

10) North Rim. North Bass trail.

11) North Rim. Nankoweap Trail

Non of the hikes we have been on except New Hance on a previous day hike to Grandview.

If you have some suggestions on good things to see or some neat camping places close by or would like to add some of your favorite bike or hikes, feel free.

We are intermediate bikers and strong hikers. Almost 100% of our camping is dry or boondocking.

If you see us camping in any of these areas, come on over and enjoy a beverage and a fire and we can all trade a few lies.
It's the truck and TC and mountain bikes with BC plates that are in our blog.

Thanks

The Crosschecks
Seeking Advice
  • SteveAE's avatar
    SteveAE
    Explorer
    Apr 04, 2014
    Dave,

    You may be able to pick up the AAA map in one of the many visitor centers you will be passing. Otherwise, I see Amazon has it.

    I suspect you will form a love/hate relationship with the Kelsey book as well. The information is there, it just takes time to pull it out. And, as you may already know, some of the routes are a bit more technical than the title suggests, so it can be handy to have a 10 to 15 meter rope along for some of his "hikes". Of course, if you want technical routes, then he also offers a book for those as well. Oh-yea, what Kelsey hikes in 6 hours will take most folks 7 to 9 hours. So you may want to calibrate your hiking times to his before you take off on a longer hike...or bring a headlight (-:

    If you are going to hang out in the Paria area, then I recommend "Hiking and Exploring the Paria River", also by Kelsey.

    Other than the ClimbUtah.com link I sent you earlier, a good printed guidebook for Cedar Mesa/Comb Ridge is "A Hiking Guide to Cedar Mesa" by Peter Francis Tassoni.

    I can't recall if I already mentioned this or not, but the series of books "Photographing the Southwest" by Laurent Martres, are a great resource for finding super spots to visit in the SW. Most of his hikes are shorter (and saner) than Kelsey's and the pictures give an idea of what you are getting into. Volume 1 - Southern Utah, Volume 2 - Arizona, Volume 3 - Colorado & New Mexico.

    Steve
  • crosscheck's avatar
    crosscheck
    Explorer II
    Apr 04, 2014
    SteveAE wrote:
    Dave,

    When we go to Canada, we tend to try to "do it all" as well, so I understand.

    A few more resources for you to consider if you don't already have them:
    - The most inclusive book to hiking in the region I have found is "Non-Technical Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau" by Michael Kelsey. It lists almost everything. That said, it has so much information that it can be challenging to glean the necessary information (I often have to read the section several times and take notes....). So I both love and hate this book.
    - I assume you are familiar with the National Geographic Trails Illustrated maps. Not as good as a real topo, but better than most alternatives.
    - Speaking of "Real Topo's". I assume you are aware of the USGS site where you can download any topo in the states. Handy if you want to save a few bucks or get a older map that has historical sites which are often deleted from newer maps (for good reason).
    - A nice larger scale map road map that covers most of the region you have expressed interest in is the AAA "Indian Country Guide Map" (covering Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah). It's a road map that expressly covers the Four Corners region saving the necessity of having to switch road maps (I love paper maps) every time you change states.

    Avoiding sudden deceleration goes a long way to keeping one out of the hospital. But if you can't all together avoid it, then I guess Moab is the best place in the region to be.....as I suspect they have lots of practice dealing with this mechanism of injury.

    Steve


    Bought Kelsey,s book, use NAtional Geographic trail maps and will look for the AAA road map of the 4 corners area, Indian country guide map.

    Thanks

    Dave.
  • SteveAE's avatar
    SteveAE
    Explorer
    Apr 04, 2014
    Dave,

    When we go to Canada, we tend to try to "do it all" as well, so I understand.

    A few more resources for you to consider if you don't already have them:
    - The most inclusive book to hiking in the region I have found is "Non-Technical Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau" by Michael Kelsey. It lists almost everything. That said, it has so much information that it can be challenging to glean the necessary information (I often have to read the section several times and take notes....). So I both love and hate this book.
    - I assume you are familiar with the National Geographic Trails Illustrated maps. Not as good as a real topo, but better than most alternatives.
    - Speaking of "Real Topo's". I assume you are aware of the USGS site where you can download any topo in the states. Handy if you want to save a few bucks or get a older map that has historical sites which are often deleted from newer maps (for good reason).
    - A nice larger scale map road map that covers most of the region you have expressed interest in is the AAA "Indian Country Guide Map" (covering Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah). It's a road map that expressly covers the Four Corners region saving the necessity of having to switch road maps (I love paper maps) every time you change states.

    Avoiding sudden deceleration goes a long way to keeping one out of the hospital. But if you can't all together avoid it, then I guess Moab is the best place in the region to be.....as I suspect they have lots of practice dealing with this mechanism of injury.

    Steve
  • B_Sjulestad's avatar
    B_Sjulestad
    Explorer II
    Apr 03, 2014
    Great bucket list of things to see and do. Enjoy, safe and happy travels.
  • crosscheck's avatar
    crosscheck
    Explorer II
    Apr 03, 2014
    Steve,

    You make a good point about taking the time to experience the canyons rather than to fly by them. We have been accused, probably with just cause, of instead of taking the time to smell the roses, of eating them on the way through.

    Moab can be very busy at certain times, but there are many neat things to do around the area and a person has to stock up on stuff at some time if you have been out in the boonies for awhile. We will be there mostly for the great variety of biking and because they have a fabulous hospital for when you get trashed which I found out a few years ago.

    Thanks for the camping tips in the Cedar Mesa area. Hopefully we will bump into each other along the way.

    Dave
  • crosscheck's avatar
    crosscheck
    Explorer II
    Apr 03, 2014
    Two Pedals wrote:
    The Little Creek Mesa area has the best camping. On the Adventure Map, the area beyond Gray Knoll is public lands. The best camping is in off spur roads in the Abs Clearing area. There is camping near the trailhead but is more likely to be occupied, especially on a weekend. You can go on the road west or south of Abs Clearing for more privacy. There is an old corral at Abs Clearing. The road west of the bike trail trailhead (17) gets rough for a truck with camper. We have camped in numerous places on the mesa. There is little or no signage in the area. The bike trails are marked with small rock cairns on the slick rock and are also evident where the single track goes through the juniper. There are more trails than are shown on the Adventure Map. A trail goes out to the northern rim and follows that making a loop and is probably double the length shown of the trails shown on the adventure map. The skidmap shows the whole trail system. Its a totally different experience riding the trails one way then the opposite way the next day. The trails are probably intermediate difficulty with a few real short hike a bikes in the more difficult areas. Like Gooseberry, the Little Cr. Mesa road gets real slick when wet.

    The Guacamole trailhead (11) has limited camping, maybe a couple spots. These spots may be taken as this area is getting more popular. The trails are single track and yellow slick rock. Happy adventuring!


    This info is very helpfull. Thanks.

    If you are ever in our area( southern BC), I can point you in the right direction for some fun mountain bike rides.

    Dave
  • Two_Pedals's avatar
    Two_Pedals
    Explorer
    Apr 03, 2014
    The Little Creek Mesa area has the best camping. On the Adventure Map, the area beyond Gray Knoll is public lands. The best camping is in off spur roads in the Abs Clearing area. There is camping near the trailhead but is more likely to be occupied, especially on a weekend. You can go on the road west or south of Abs Clearing for more privacy. There is an old corral at Abs Clearing. The road west of the bike trail trailhead (17) gets rough for a truck with camper. We have camped in numerous places on the mesa. There is little or no signage in the area. The bike trails are marked with small rock cairns on the slick rock and are also evident where the single track goes through the juniper. There are more trails than are shown on the Adventure Map. A trail goes out to the northern rim and follows that making a loop and is probably double the length shown of the trails shown on the adventure map. The skidmap shows the whole trail system. Its a totally different experience riding the trails one way then the opposite way the next day. The trails are probably intermediate difficulty with a few real short hike a bikes in the more difficult areas. Like Gooseberry, the Little Cr. Mesa road gets real slick when wet.

    The Guacamole trailhead (11) has limited camping, maybe a couple spots. These spots may be taken as this area is getting more popular. The trails are single track and yellow slick rock. Happy adventuring!
  • SteveAE's avatar
    SteveAE
    Explorer
    Apr 02, 2014
    Dave,

    Looks like you have some of the best spots on your list.

    Some general thoughts and a possible meet up.
    - It seems to me that you are taking a mighty big bite for only 7 weeks. There is just so much down there that it's hard to really do it justice by running from one area to the next. My suggestion is to break it up into smaller chunks and come back next year.
    - Be prepared to be overloaded by ruins in the Cedar Mesa / Comb Ridge area. We spent two weeks there last spring, and it will take a few years before I am ready for more ruins. A handy online resource for this area is climbutah.com (too lazy to make a link). Comb Wash CG (not really a Camp Ground, more of a Boondocking area is pretty nice as a base camp. But, if you go to the North side of the road and up the wash about 1 mile, there are some really great, isolated spots that are even better.
    - Moab is popular....I mean REALLY popular. If you are like us in not carrying to be around masses of people, I suggest you just drive through. You will see the same stuff (better IMO), only without all the people, in other places. Of course, there are great restaurants there if that is important.
    - Use elevation as your environmental control. No telling with the next two months will do for weather down there, but it is likely to start getting pretty warm in about 8 weeks. As it does, move to higher ground.
    - We will be in the N. Escalante canyons (not going any further south than Neon canyon) day hiking and backpacking, for about three weeks. Mainly we will be working the area off the Burr trail, Old Sheffield Road, and Hells Backbone Road. So perhaps it will work out that we can meet up for not only comradeship (i.e.; beer) but also shuttling.

    Steve
  • crosscheck's avatar
    crosscheck
    Explorer II
    Apr 02, 2014
    Two Pedals wrote:
    If you are in the Hurricane, UT area check out the Little Creek Mesa MT bike Trails. It is just south of Gooseberry Mesa, across the Highway. Red slickrock riding and singletrack. Its my favorite riding down there. Also Guacomole is fun, just North of Gooseberry Mesa and west of Zion NP. Boondock camping available near both areas on BLM land. Trails are shown on skidmap.com Have lots of fun!


    Just checked out the Little Creek Mesa bike trails area on my Adventure Maps that I bought at the Hurricane bike store. Looks good. I owe you a beer or two.
    Lots of camping up on the mesa?

    Thanks.

    Dave
  • Two_Pedals's avatar
    Two_Pedals
    Explorer
    Apr 02, 2014
    If you are in the Hurricane, UT area check out the Little Creek Mesa MT bike Trails. It is just south of Gooseberry Mesa, across the Highway. Red slickrock riding and singletrack. Its my favorite riding down there. Also Guacomole is fun, just North of Gooseberry Mesa and west of Zion NP. Boondock camping available near both areas on BLM land. Trails are shown on skidmap.com Have lots of fun!

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