Big Hike Canyonlands

[Jammer]

Hey All--

I'm back from my long trek across Canyonlands. I've actually been back for a few weeks, but I've been crazy busy catching up with work and sifting through 1100+ pics and 3hrs of video. Here's my quick summary of the trip and some pics:

The plan was to traverse the region from Green River to just west of Blanding-- one of the longest stretches uninterrupted by pavement in the US.

I ended up driving all the way in to Horseshoe Canyon instead of biking because of a late start and terrible weather to begin the trip. Woke up the second day to SNOW on nearby hills! In fact the weather was quite challenging on this trip. The first few nights were below freezing-- a week later it was 100+ going through the Needles and then the final week it snowed on me again going through the Abajos! Highlights of the trip for me were:

- Horseshoe Canyon pictographs-- truly amazing
- Climbing down into the Maze-- this was QUITE the adventure as a solo hiker with a 50# pack.
- The Maze-- wow, what an amazing place. Much deeper than I had imagined.
- Route down to Colorado River: cool trail from the Dollhouse, though climbing out the other side in the mid-day heat was miserable.
- Druid and Angel Arches-- The classic icons of Canyonlands really are amazing. Both are so much bigger than they seem in pictures. Climbing up into Angel Arch was a great experience.
- Upper Salt Creek-- With all the ruins and the crazy rock formations (and solitude) there really was a pre-historic feel to this place.
- The Abajo Summits-- yeah, the elevation gain was rough and hiking through snow up to my waist at times was unexpected-- but the views from the top made it all worth while.
- Comb Ridge-- hiking the last several miles along the Comb Ridge was awesome. Ending my trek at the road-cut referenced in The Monkey Wrench Gang felt really cool.

All-in-all it was a great experience. I absolutely LOVE that area. I ended up hiking 176 miles in 15 days. Feel free to ask me questions for more detail or check out the full account at my site:

www.curbpavement.com
(sorry, no deep-links, so click on Hike #2 then Daily Journal or Photos.)

Thanks!
-Jamal

[stefan]

i was waiting to hear back from ya ... well done

hike #2 down, you must be very satisfied. it is a boat load of wonderful terrain ... and i agree upper salt creek is a wonderful place (with unnaturally large sage)

i also read your daily journal ... and thanks for sharing your photos.

did you make it into virginia park ... it's noted on your map but i didn't see it in your daily journal.

might have some other questions i'll ask later

[Wasatch]

Nice trip report and pics. I have to make it down there one of these days. Thanks again.

[tanya]

What a trip! Nice photos too!

[Alex]

Man talk about the mileage covered! The pics are great and thanks for the short TR! I think you covered more terrain than 90% of Utahns ever have.

[Jammer]

>did you make it into virginia park ... it's noted on your map but i didn't see it in your daily journal.

Nope-- I am always overly ambitious in my planning. The day I was in Elephant Canyon it was so hot I was happy just to make it to Druid Arch and then over to Lost Canyon to camp. Other side-trips which got cut included:

- the whole area north of Horseshoe Canyon (eg Moonshine, Keg, etc.)
- High Spur Slot: because of the snow/rain I went up Spur Fork instead of over the High Spur mesa area.
- Shot and Water Canyons
- Hiking out to the confluence of the Green/Colorado.
- Exploring to find a scramble route to the top of the mesa near Druid.
- Exploration of Big Pocket in Upper Salt Creek.

Hope to hit some of these as part of shorter trips. Someday.

-Jamal

[Brewhaha]

Fantastic report and trip! Living in this area, I've often thought about doing something like this. Maybe one day.

Anyway, I would have been happy to bring you up a hamburger and fries when you were on the Abajos. You probably would have welcomed them in place of those "scrambled eggs and ham".

[nosivad_bor]

this is impressive as hell.

[marc olivares]

what an amazing trip!
thanks so much for sharing

[accadacca]

SWEETNESS!!

[Cirrus2000]

Jamal, very cool trip, report and photos!

I was in the Maze area and Horseshoe Canyon about a week prior to your trip. Beautiful area!

It's funny you spent the night in the Jeep at Horseshoe Canyon. I arrived there just after dark on April 25, and stayed in the Jeep a few hours while a storm or two passed by. Finally threw out the bivy sack in the parking lot at around 1:00 AM - couldn't handle the cramped seat anymore, and the rain had stopped.

That's some pretty ambitious hiking - even without making it to all the possible spots, you covered a whole lot of ground - way to go!

[DiscGo]

Thanks

[KapitanSparrow]

Nice. When will I get a chance to do something like that?