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View Full Version : Confluence of the Green and the Colorado?



lonepeakgeek
03-03-2006, 10:18 AM
I've been looking and not finding much info on trails into this confluence. And I thought- "One of those crazy bastards on the UUTAH site has probably been there" Anybody got any info? Gracias.

Iceaxe
03-03-2006, 10:46 AM
Here is one way to do it....

The Maze - Canyonlands
Spanish Bottom
http://www.utahtrails.com/SpanishBottom.html

I visited the place by river when rafting Cateract Canyon, which is anther way to do it.

Lots of other options....

James_B_Wads2000
03-03-2006, 10:58 AM
Here is another:

http://www.utahtrails.com/Confluence.html

James

rock_ski_cowboy
03-03-2006, 11:03 AM
We do Cataract almost yearly, and if my memory doesn't fail me, Spanish bottom is a couple miles down river from the confluence. It is probably about the closest place to the confluence where there is an actual trail and where you can get down to the river and if you want to see the confluence, from river level then hike up river along the scree fields that lead down to the river from the cliffs.

If searching for Spanish Bottom doesn't turn up anything, try searching the web for info on getting to the "Doll House" in the Maze district of Canyonlands. I believe it is a long ways from anywhere and a really rough 4x4 road to get in there. We hiked up to the Doll House from the river one time and there were a couple Euros up there in Land Rovers and they said it had been a long slow nasty ride out there. How long, how slow, how nasty? :ne_nau:

If you do the hike, you'll find the doll house to be a delightful place full of lots of cool rock formations. Seeing the confluence is very probably best done from the canyon rim rather than hiking down to the river and seeing it at river level. You can *probably* route find your way to a nice confluence overlook from the Doll House if you want to take that approach. Take some maps and a compass! They don't call it the Maze for nothing.

James_B_Wads2000
03-03-2006, 01:48 PM
We do Cataract almost yearly, and if my memory doesn't fail me, Spanish bottom is a couple miles down river from the confluence. It is probably about the closest place to the confluence where there is an actual trail and where you can get down to the river and if you want to see the confluence, from river level then hike up river along the scree fields that lead down to the river from the cliffs.

If searching for Spanish Bottom doesn't turn up anything, try searching the web for info on getting to the "Doll House" in the Maze district of Canyonlands. I believe it is a long ways from anywhere and a really rough 4x4 road to get in there. We hiked up to the Doll House from the river one time and there were a couple Euros up there in Land Rovers and they said it had been a long slow nasty ride out there. How long, how slow, how nasty? :ne_nau:

If you do the hike, you'll find the doll house to be a delightful place full of lots of cool rock formations. Seeing the confluence is very probably best done from the canyon rim rather than hiking down to the river and seeing it at river level. You can *probably* route find your way to a nice confluence overlook from the Doll House if you want to take that approach. Take some maps and a compass! They don't call it the Maze for nothing.

Spanish Bottom trail is from the Maze side of the river, the Confluence Overlook is from the Needles side. Having never been to either one, I would guess the Needles side would be eaiser to get to. More paved road and that is where the hike to the Confluence Overlook is.

If getting down to the river confluence itself is you goal, it would still be eaiser from the Needles side.

James




The easiest way to get to the Colorado River is on the Lower Red Lake Canyon Trail, which descends from Cyclone Canyon 3.5 miles south of the overlook. To get there retrace your steps back to the place where the trail leaves the road in Cyclone Canyon. Then turn south and walk along the Cyclone Canyon jeep road for a distance of 2.4 miles until you see a sign marking the Lower Red Lake Canyon Trailhead on the west side of the road. It is 4.0 miles from Cyclone Canyon to the Colorado River along this trail. It is also possible to walk upstream along the Colorado River from the mouth of Lower Red Lake Canyon to the confluence, a distance of 3.6 miles.
If you want to hike to the Colorado via the Lower Red Lake Canyon Trail you had better pack for at least two days. However, if you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle you can easily visit the Colorado River and the confluence overlook in one day. A well-used jeep road from Elephant Hill to Cyclone Canyon will give you access to both the Lower Red Lake Canyon Trail and the Overlook Trail, allowing you to see everything with only about nine miles of hiking. (See page 204 for an explanation of how to get to Elephant Hill.)
The other way to reach the Colorado River involves a side trip of 2.0 miles each way from the confluence overlook trail. If you elect to follow this route, walk back to Cyclone Canyon and turn north at the point where the trail leaves the jeep road. Follow the Cyclone Canyon jeep road north for 0.5 mile. The road starts out heading almost due north, and then swings around to the east. Just after the turn to the east you will see the beginning of a drainage that heads off in a northwesterly direction towards the river. You can follow this drainage all the way to the Colorado River. The route involves about 1.5 miles of off-trail hiking, but many hikers have gone before you and the way is clearly marked by cairns. The route becomes very steep as you approach the river and some scrambling is necessary, but the danger is minimal if you are careful to follow the cairns. Once you reach the Colorado it is another 0.9 mile walk downstream to the confluence itself.

Iceaxe
03-03-2006, 02:02 PM
Actually the easiest method is to hook a ride on one of the jet boats out of Moab. You can even make arrangements for them to drop you off and pick you back up in a couple of days.

Rock_Ski..... if you had of read the Spanish Bottom route description I posted you would have noted that it accessed Spanish Bottom via the Doll House..... problem solved, except for the long 4x4 road into the Maze. Just tossing out options....

:rockon:

rock_ski_cowboy
03-03-2006, 03:14 PM
Rock_Ski..... if you had of read the Spanish Bottom route description I posted you would have noted that it accessed Spanish Bottom via the Doll House..... problem solved, except for the long 4x4 road into the Maze. Just tossing out options....

:rockon:

Yeah, I noticed the good route descriptions after I posted, but hadn't noticed it earlier. I must have been writing mine while you and James were posting yours. :five:

psl53
03-03-2006, 08:39 PM
I think I'd come in from the east by jeep, elephant Hill and hike down.
Peter

lonepeakgeek
03-05-2006, 10:50 AM
Wow! Thanks for all the info guys. The thought of floating into the conflUence hadn't occured to me- I guess I get stuck thinking about hiking everything. So- thanks for all the info.

Scott P
03-05-2006, 05:55 PM
You can hike to the confluence from all three points of the triangle. My favorite place to see it is via Island in the Sky on the far south tip. You hike down there via the White Crack Campsite on the White Rim. The route to the Maze and Needles are great too, and you have the info above.

Note that Spanish Bottom is indeed quite a bit below the confluence. From the Maze, there is a route down known as the Powell Route, beause it is where Powell climbed out. The route from the Needles is via a canyon not far north of the Confluence Overlook.

psl53
03-05-2006, 07:13 PM
Great information as always Scott. By the way, I spent Saturday hiking around your neck of the woods; Maybell.
Peter