AJ
03-31-2008, 08:58 AM
Just got back from a weekend in North Wash. The canyons were all extremely dry over the weekend. We ended up doing Arscenic, Slideanide, Constrychnine, Lucky Charms, Monkey Business, All of the Leprechauns, and Adobe Swale. All of them were quite dry; the only small spots with water were easily avoidable.
However, on Sunday, the wind had gusts up to 40mph, and we did run into patches of rain; some pretty hard. Don't know how much came down, so that might have changed the dryness of the canyons.
The mountains were getting hammered on the way back to Colorado. We made it through (in one of the worst driving conditions I have ever done) just about a half hour prior to them closing Vail pass.
The roads to the Poison Springs canyons were fine; could be made in a passenger car. Easy with higher clearance. The Monkey Business road was in decent shape, with a few spots that would require slow travel or possible reconstruction for a passenger car. Decent with high clearance. The Leps and Lucky charms are obviously easy for any vehicle. Adobe Swale had a few rougher spots, but was similar to the Monkey Business road. (slow with passenger, decent with high clearance.) If you are driving to the lower trailhead for a car shuttle, higher clearance is recommended (or not caring about the underside of your vehicle as there is some overgrown brush; but the road is in decent shape.)
TR and pics to come later.
Hope that helps,
A.J.
However, on Sunday, the wind had gusts up to 40mph, and we did run into patches of rain; some pretty hard. Don't know how much came down, so that might have changed the dryness of the canyons.
The mountains were getting hammered on the way back to Colorado. We made it through (in one of the worst driving conditions I have ever done) just about a half hour prior to them closing Vail pass.
The roads to the Poison Springs canyons were fine; could be made in a passenger car. Easy with higher clearance. The Monkey Business road was in decent shape, with a few spots that would require slow travel or possible reconstruction for a passenger car. Decent with high clearance. The Leps and Lucky charms are obviously easy for any vehicle. Adobe Swale had a few rougher spots, but was similar to the Monkey Business road. (slow with passenger, decent with high clearance.) If you are driving to the lower trailhead for a car shuttle, higher clearance is recommended (or not caring about the underside of your vehicle as there is some overgrown brush; but the road is in decent shape.)
TR and pics to come later.
Hope that helps,
A.J.