Bogley

Scott P · Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 2328 Location: Craig, CO

Justin Kuhn and I did the entire Eye of the Whale loop yesterday. Contrary to what the NPS told us last November and yesterday it has not washed out enough so that a stock truck or SUV can't pass. You can still do the full loop.

The section between Balanced Rock, Eye of the Whale and Tower Arch Junction is in good condition for a stock SUV. The section between the Salt Wash Road and Tower Arch Cuttoff is rougher, but not much rougher than it always has been everytime I've been there before.

We did the full loop in a stock GMC 2500 and with careful spotting only scraped bottom once and briefly. Shorter wheel based SUV's or compact trucks should be just fine with a spotter. Just be careful and go slow. I'll add some photos later.

oldno7 · Joined: 16 May 2007 Posts: 1402

Sounds great Scott, looking forward to your pictures. Maybe a map for us unfamiliar?

Scott P · Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 2328 Location: Craig, CO

Here is a map.

Scott P · Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 2328 Location: Craig, CO

Here are some photos. I may have compressed them a little too much.

We didn't take any photos of the roughest section since I was busy spotting.

Hatchcanyon · Joined: 24 Oct 2008 Posts: 58 Location: Germany

Did you travel from north to south or vice versa?

moab mark · Joined: 23 Sep 2007 Posts: 935 Location: Kaysville, Utah

Looks like you had a good time.
I am confused, the park service closed the eye of the whale trail due to that massive rain they had in Oct a couple of years ago. They felt is was easier to just close it then to push some sand back into the area that got washed out. They put up a fence across the road at the intersection on the north end to stop travel. :frustrated: Was the fence gone?
Eye of whale is a fun trail, doing it in a pickup was probably quite an adventure :2thumbs:

I'll attach a few pics of the rain storm I happened to be in town and it was unbelievable. These pics are from long canyon, what was left of the road.
Mark

Scott P · Joined: 14 Dec 2005 Posts: 2328 Location: Craig, CO

Quote: Did you travel from north to south or vice versa?

South to north since we wanted to head straight to I-70 from Salt Valley instead of backtracking back to Moab.

The NPS recommends north to south because of the sand, but it really doesn't matter in winter that much since the sand has moisture in it. In all seasons other than winter, north to south is much better.

Quote: I am confused, the park service closed the eye of the whale trail due to that massive rain they had in Oct a couple of years ago. They felt is was easier to just close it then to push some sand back into the area that got washed out. They put up a fence across the road at the intersection on the north end to stop travel. Was the fence gone?

There was no fence. We would not have driven the road if it was closed or fenced. The NPS told us the road was open, but it would be impassible to stock 4wds and that we would need 28" of ground clearance to negotiate it. How many vehicles have 28" of ground clearance?

I guess I can see why the NPS does warn people from going into remote areas though and can understand the fear of liability.

Quote: I'll attach a few pics of the rain storm I happened to be in town and it was unbelievable. These pics are from long canyon, what was left of the road.

I was in the area too. We started out in Davis Canyon in Canyonlands National Park when the rain started. We drove to Moab that late afternoon in the rain and since it was raining so hard we spent the night in the hostel in town.

The next morning there were rivers running all over the place. We drove through Hanksville seeing the flooding and drove to Capitol Reef arriving just in time since only an hour or so later the highway washed out. There were huge waterfalls spilling all over all the massive cliffs and the campground washed out. All three of us then slept in the back of a crowded Ford Ranger. We asked if we could help anyone with the possible flooding of their homes or anyone stranded, but we were told no.

The next morning the weather was nice, but we were told that all the roads in the park were washed out and several people were stranded on the backroads. We went to hike Upper Spring Canyon since it was wide and we thought it to be the only option. The weather forecast was good for the next five days so we planned a three day backpack. Even though we left with a good weather forecast for three days another massive flood hit the area on our third day. Luckily we were in a wide canyon and out of danger, but hiking out was still not easy.

Here are the photos from that trip during the periods of good weather:

http://www.summitpost.org/album/249036/Davis-Canyon-Canyonlands-National-Park-.html

http://www.summitpost.org/album/263699/spring-canyon-capitol-reef-national-park-october-2006.html