The Fiery Furnace

[fouristhenewone]

my wife and I are headed to Moab in a couple of weeks and I'm hoping for some honest answers regarding the Fiery Furnace. Is it as difficult to navigate on your own as everyone - including Climb Utah, :), makes it seem? I'm not a desert newb, I've spent plenty of time navigating through slots, across open desert, etc.

The reason I ask is because I would really like to hike it while I'm down there, but a ranger-led hike is not exactly something I'd be excited to do.

What's your experience been?

[Sombeech]

It's possible to get lost, but you probably wouldn't. There are a few cool features to see in there that you would want directions to.

Here's our trip report:
http://uutah.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3900

Rockgremlin was kind enough to be our guide.

Oh, and you've got to pull this prank that we did. Get your permit at the main office, and then when you get to the F.F. parking lot, if there's a group there with a Ranger, just start walking in.

They'll ask if you have a permit. Say yes, and just point to your general park pass, and keep walking. Try to video it.

Let me see if I can dig that one up....

[Sombeech]

OK, I reposted it to YouTube, because my Sombeech account was *ahem* terminated.

So give it a little bit, and it will be up.

[Bad Karma]

That

[accadacca]

CLASSIC!!!

I will wait for the experts to chime in. I have only been in there once on this "prank" trip.

[CarpeyBiggs]

I'm hoping for some honest answers regarding the Fiery Furnace. Is it as difficult to navigate on your own as everyone - including Climb Utah, :), makes it seem?

Honest answers? Do people give dishonest answers about this type of stuff?

My take is that this is the type of place that is much better to be shown than to be told about. Have you had a chance to look at the topo? Looks like a kid pulled out a crayon and went to town for an afternoon. The fins are a convoluted mess of sandstone, and GPS coordinates don't work, because the canyons are too deep, and the different drainages may only be 100 yards apart, so the way points tend to mislead, even when fairly accurate.

There are a couple of options for your first time. You can do the ranger guided tour, which will give you a pretty good foundation to do your own explorations afterward, or you can just go wander and see what you see. You won't get so lost that you won't get back out, but depending on what you are looking to experience, it could be a frustrating day. Or it could be really fun. Depends on what you are aiming to experience. Or you could just watch the orientation video and call it a day, 'cause that video is pretty friggin' exciting...

[Sombeech]

Or you could just watch the orientation video and call it a day, 'cause that video is pretty friggin' exciting...

The whole time I was watching that video, I felt like they were saying "You're so damned lucky we decided to let you come here, because you'll probably screw stuff up anyways."

[Mtnman1830]

I took the ranger guided tour this summer. We told him we planned on coming back and going thru ourselves. He showed us where to see some cool stuff..... If only I could remember.....

What I would do next time is go thru the ranger hike, then turn around and do it again. Be sure to ask where some stuff is.

[Alex]

That place is so walked through that you could easily just follow the footsteps and go through the whole "guided" tour on your own. You can also go during the busy season, then you can always hear the cars on the road and have a point of orientation or just carry a compass. GPS doesn't work on the ground, you could climb on fins to get a GPS reading.

I don't think it's as bad as people say it is. I have been through it probably 4 times now and one time we actually tried to get lost/disoriented to add some fun to the hike. We sure did get lost and managed to find our way back to the road within 2 hours of climbing around.

[Jaxx]

I did the ranger guided tour in March and then took my family through in early May. I got lost a couple times and had to turn around because I didn't recognize where we were. We did find some cool things that we didn't see on the tour. I almost missed the surprise arch area. We kept passing the guided tour and then when we didn't know where to go we would take a break and follow them. You could always do that. At the very beginning you turn right to start. If you go straight you go backwards, which might be fun too. If you aren't worried about time and like exploring I would say give it a try your only out $3 a person. The guided tour I actually found kindof cool. I enjoy learning about the geology and history of the places.

[Iceaxe]

It's not like you will get lost and die if you do the Fiery Furnace on your own.... but you will miss most of the cool stuff. Your first time through really needs to be with someone who knows their way around (ranger, friend, whatever). Once you know where the ranger trail goes and what it visits it's pretty easy to expand and explore on your own. But if you just jump in on your own you will spend most the day wandering and you will miss most of the highlights.

My 2 cents....

[slickrocker]

In Jan. there will be very few or no fresh footprints to follow in the sand, which can really make things confusing. There will be no tours until mid-March so don't count on following anybody. I've been through it dozens of times but it took me at least four times on my own to learn the trail without having to backtrack.

You'll probably get turned around and maybe confused but, keep an eye out for the worn sandstone and ranger steps and footholds, etc.

The biggest danger, IMO, in the FF for a firstimer on their own is that many of the false trails lead right into or near poison ivy. Be able to identify the deciduous desert poison ivy stalks that grow around here, they don't have to be green and leafy to be potent. I hate to think what some of those wandering tourists went through once they got back home to Peoria.

[neilether]

I have been in the fiery furnace about 4-5 times and have loved it every time. The very first time I went on the Ranger guided tour with a school group. Since then I have been going in on my own. In doing so, it makes the hike different for me every time. I don't go often enough to memorize any routes we just pick a slot and start hiking. This involves some backtracking and retracing your steps at times. Our goal is to get out the top at the sagebrush flat, then pick a new slot to go back down to the bottom. Good times! hiking, bouldering, route finding, team-work. The Fiery furnace has a bit of everything. I would suggest that if you do have some slot canyon , bouldering experience, you will have more fun on your own.

[snatch]

just go ask the kind folks @ desert highlights, they're always happy to share their beta. as you're heading north down main street, take a left on center street. you'll see them on your right.

[mroy]

I've been through there at least 20 times...yea. If you're trying to follow where the ranger tour goes, then you'd have a tough time trying to follow that route. There are a few parts where it's not obvious where you should go to get into entirely different sections. If you're just in it to explore all day, then have at it. I don't think it's a problem to get back out if you pay attention to where you are and come out the same way you went in. The rangers come at nightfall to see if there are any cars left in the parking lot, and if there are, they come in looking for ya. Even when there are ranger tours, it's hard to follow the footprints because just as many deviate from the standard course up dead end washes as there are that stick to the route. I think it's just fun to explore around there, and make connections to places that are familiar - but not on the same level you're at. That place is awesome in the dead of summer when the temps are in the 100's cause it's always nice and cool inside the furnace.

I think it's easier to find your way in if you head North from the Parking lot instead of East & then South. There are very obvious markings of a trail to the North, handrails, stairs carved in the rock & made out of rock. Keep heading straight and you hit Surprise Arch. Then head South and keep making left's into new areas, heading north a little bit when you're cliffed out, but still generally South and you'll wind up in the heart of it. Skull Arch is my fave...if you can find it.

And remember, watch out for the crypto! That damn video will make a desert tree hugger out of us all.

Some people drop cheetos to mark their way out if they need to backtrack... ...you may notice this. I recommend sour skittles cause hardly anyone ever does that, and you can see them from far away.