muddy creek - san rafael swell?

[gloo]

who's hiked this and camped near here?

I drove up to the bottom of it (i think its the bottom) from the little wild horse canyon road last month. I have never done this hike nor camped too close to it (quite familiar with little wild horse canyon). I'm trying to figure out *where* I should start the hike and where I should camp, what I read online is not the best help on this. I have heard there are some good primitive spots near the trail head, but i'm not sure where the trail head really is - is it where I drove up to? or is it one one of those other back roads?

I'm planning on camping at muddy creek in early may to celebrate the end of the semester. I think I am just going to hike part way through the canyon and then head back instead of doing the shuttle thing.

any advice and knowledge is more than welcome :D

[asdf]

I have hiked the Grand Gorge of the Muddy Creek a few times but always from the Hidden Splendor Side. No great campsites out there but I can say that camping near the airstrip during a bright moon is pretty amazing.


Random photos I have taken in that area
http://www.flickr.com/search/show/?q=Muddy+Creek&w=97814430%40N00&s=int

[CarpeyBiggs]

hike to where? through the gorge? it's short. you can hike ramp canyon i suppose, and loop around to hidden splendor. or just base camp at hidden splendor, hike into the gorge and back, and then explore some other stuff the next few days. allen's book Canyoneering 1 covers the area.

[gloo]

well i was going to try to post links of where i thought it was, but apparently i'm not allowed to post links so yeah. help is definitely appreciated here. basically, it seems that most sources say that the trail head is at red canyon loop road. is this right?

it seems like its pretty far away from the little wild horse canyon road where I saw muddy creek. so i'm just confused lol

[gloo]

oh didn't notice peeps replied. My biggest concern is *where* it actually is haha

great shot, guess this means the trip is relatively dog friendly. My pup is a killer adventurous and she'll definitely be coming with me!


i thought the hike was really long like 15 miles? sites like http://www.utah.com/thingtodo25888.htm seem to hint that way.

is that canyoneering book a good book to get-- as in info i can't get free online? how well does it cover stuff on the swell?

[asdf]

http://www.climb-utah.com/SRS/thechute.htm

[CarpeyBiggs]

canyoneering 1 is an awesome guide book for the swell, if you plan on spending anytime out there and want decent beta.

[gloo]

cool, we'll i'll have to check the book out.

I think i'm starting to get this figured out. so summit, you've started hiking from here right (sorry for my thick headed questions): http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=38.682917,-110.989566&vps=4&sll=38.502001,-110.886426&sspn=0.015046,0.042272&gl=us&ie=UTF8

how far up do you have to go till you get to the narrows and the good stuff? I'm trying to decide if doing the shuttle all the sites say or just going up a ways and then coming back. I'm an experienced hiker, but I don't bomb through things, i like to take my time and dink around/explore/have fun.

what kind of shoes do you guys wear on this hike? I've got a pair of Salomon amphibians that i'd probably wear. i've got a pair of merrell outbounds that i never wear anymore due to the fact that i wear five fingers 99% of the time now days. but five fingers and wet sandy trails won't be a fun mix haha.

[asdf]

I have spent plenty of time at Tomsich Butte and Hidden splendor but have still yet to hike the Chute of the Muddy Creek. I have never been able to work out a shuttle and have little desire to do it as an out and back hike.

Good luck and be safe.

[gloo]

Anyone know where I can get my hands on a copy of that book - canyoneering 1? I can find 2 and 3 easily but can't find 1 at all for anything less than 75 whoppers.

[jb56chevy]

Hiked the Chute in Oct 2009. Camped at Hidden Spendor, left a bike, drove to Tomsich and left the car. Hiked in Keens and neoprene socks and a walking stick (you will want this when wading). Camped at Hidden spendor and rode the bike back to the car the next day. It was about 15 miles on double track; the climb up form Hidden Spendor is a little rough but not too bad. There is better camping at Tomsich, but better hikes from Hidden Spendor.

It is much easier to access this area by heading south from I70 than from eading west from UT24. I made it in an accord.

It is one of my favorite hikes. enjoy !

here are some links to some maps
http://www.emerycounty.com/travel/maps/motorizedvehiclemap.pdf
http://www.emerycounty.com/it/maps/other/tp2003.pdf