San Rafael Swell during Jeep Safari Week

[boulderrr]

Hello all!

My girlfriend and I had a trip planned to camp out of my truck near the Needles District of Canyonlands Easter weekend. We found out that Jeep Safari will be going on in Moab at the time so we've changed our plans to the San Rafael Swell, since it is a bit further away from Moab. Is the San Rafael Swell far enough away that we won't have to worry about Jeep crowds all weekend? We were thinking about camping either down Temple Mt Rd or Wild Horse Rd and exploring some of the slot canyons in the area. Thanks in advance for your help!

[IntrepidXJ]

Most people at EJS don't venture to The Needles unless they are doing the Elephant Hill trail....I doubt you would have run into much of a 4x4 crowd there.....but the Swell is fun, too :)

[ibenick]

Like Randy said, the two places are so far apart there would be no effect. But that area of the Swell will be mighty busy that time of year. Especially if the weather is nice. But I guess that would be just as true of The Needles without a Jeep fest.

[Udink]

I think you'll definitely miss the Jeep crowds, but the Swell is usually a zoo in its own right during Easter weekend. Campsites can be difficult to come by--there'll be camp trailers everywhere off the main roads. The Temple Mountain area will probably be packed 'cause it's so easily accessible with a trailer, but you might have better luck finding a place on one of the small side roads off the Little Wild Horse Road.

Seriously, Easter weekend is the only time I've ever seen sheriff deputies pulling people over on dirt roads in the Swell. I guess it's easy pickin' with that many people in the area.

[asdf]

90% of all traffic in the swell is centered around Temple Mountain (yes I just made the statistic up but it feels right) Lots of other great places in the swell to explore with no crowds even on busy holiday weekends.

[boulderrr]

Thanks for everyone's help! Any suggestions for a good place to camp near the Swell that may not be as crowded over Easter weekend? (Feel free to PM me) I have a 4X4 Dakota so can access some places that RVs can't. We aren't set on Temple Mt Rd and are really just looking for a private spot with respectable scenery.

Down near the Needles, we were planning on heading down Beef Basin Rd prior to the entrance to find a spot. The only reason we changed our plan to the Swell was because of the expected crowds from Jeep Safari. I took my girlfriend to the Fiery Furnace in Arches for the first time last month and she loved it. I figured that the Needles District would offer similar scenery and exploring. Now that I hear that the Needles area shouldn't be too overrun, maybe we'll reconsider again!

We had an awesome time exploring some of the Escalante slot canyons last year so I'm sure we'd have a swell time at the Swell as well (sorry) .

This is turning out to be a difficult decision. I guess it's a good problem to have! I'd say our main concern is making sure we aren't camped right next to other people. We're planning on rolling in sometime Friday morning so hopefully we can find a good spot prior to the arrival of the Friday evening camp crowd, regardless of where we go.

Thanks again for everyone's help and I look forward to your suggestions!

[Udink]

There are a couple of side roads leading off the Little Wild Horse Road that have some nice primitive campsites. Each of these roads probably has half a dozen or more places to camp along them (clink the links for a Google Map):

[URL="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=N+38%C2%B0+34 .656%27+W+110%C2%B0+46.040%27&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.572881,86.572266&ie=UTF8&ll=38.5 77779,-110.76695&spn=0.004043,0.010568&t=h&z=17"]N 38

[boulderrr]

Thanks so much everyone for your help! We're excited to leave tomorrow. I have a couple more quick questions. We are planning on doing a few of the slot canyons in the area Friday-Sunday. We aren't looking to do any technical ones as we don't have the equipment or know-how, but we are also not looking for a Sunday stroll. Any suggestions for some good ones? We were planning on doing Ding & Dang, and thinking about Crack Canyon or Little Wild Horse/Bell Canyon.

And the most important question: Looking at the NWS forecast, there is a slight chance of showers (~20%) on both Saturday and Sunday. There is no mention of any thunderstorms in the state and it looks to be a very light rain shower event, if any falls at all. In light showers, with no thunderstorms or heavy showers anywhere nearby, are we safe to go in the above-mentioned slot canyons?

I assume we are safe as it takes more than just some drizzle to get those things going. I do understand that they can flood from heavy rain or storms miles away, but none are forecast for the period that we're there.

Thanks again everyone for all your help!

[uintahiker]

I have a couple more quick questions. We are planning on doing a few of the slot canyons in the area Friday-Sunday. We aren't looking to do any technical ones as we don't have the equipment or know-how, but we are also not looking for a Sunday stroll. Any suggestions for some good ones? We were planning on doing Ding & Dang, and thinking about Crack Canyon or Little Wild Horse/Bell Canyon.

Ding/Dang is pretty fun & non-tech. It does have a short downclimb that has a little exposure.

LWH is fun but can get crowded. I don't recommend the LWH-Bell loop. Bell is rather uh vanilla and the top leg of the triangle isn't anything great either.

Crack was fun.

You could do all 3 in one day without straining yourselves. You might want to look at a bigger area than immediately around Temple Mtn/Goblin Valley.

[boulderrr]

You might want to look at a bigger area than immediately around Temple Mtn/Goblin Valley.

Thanks for the advice! Any suggestions? We wouldn't mind driving a bit to do something more remote on Saturday while the weekend crowds are out and about. We could check out those slot canyons before the weekend begins and perhaps do something a bit deeper on Saturday. We're planning on camping off Wild Horse Road and would rather not move camp so something we can drive to and back that day would be perfect.

[boulderrr]

Also just came across Moonshine Wash and Horseshoe Canyon in the Robbers Roost area. I imagine this weekend would be a cold one to wade through water so kind of hoping to avoid that. Should I assume we'll have to get wet if we try out Moonshine? That one looks pretty awesome...

[uintahiker]

High Spur would be a drive. If you look at some pictures you might decide it's worth it. Some of it is technical though, but there's good stuff there if you're out & back.

The Chute of Muddy Creek is another idea.

Moonshine might work too.

[boulderrr]

A lot of sites give directions to Moonshine Wash from Green River and have you take a dirt road from there. I saw on Google Maps that there is a road that goes east toward Moonshine Wash from 24 about 2 miles north of the Temple Mt Rd junction. Any idea if this road is passable and if that's a good route to Moonshine? Where exactly is the starting point for the Moonshine Wash hike? I see pictures on G-maps so know where the wash is but can't quite figure out where to start from. Would it be from Moonshine Springs Rd? Wish I could link references, but it won't let me. :)

Edit: Actually, I think I found it - If you type this into Google maps:
"38.684717 -110.170122 (UTM: 12S 572179m E 4282117m N)"

Still wondering if it is accessible driving east from US 24 though as opposed to going through Green River.

Thanks all!

[boulderrr]

Anyone know if we'd be able to get to Moonshine Wash via this road (or even the one just north of it from 24) and about how long it would take? It looks like it is about 31 miles. Sorry for so many questions. We're leaving tomorrow and I'm a procrastinator. :)



I was thinking we could do some of the more popular canyons near GVSP on Friday before the crowds really start showing up then head to Moonshine Wash Saturday so we're not dodging as many people.

[asdf]

Before the crowds really start showing up then head to Moonshine Wash Saturday so we're not dodging as many people.

What trail head and crowds? I dont think you will find either out there, just be safe and dont break down or get lost.

Still wondering if it is accessible driving east from US 24 though as opposed to going through Green River.

Yes, but driving from Green River is much faster. Check out this map of the SanRafael Desert Loop http://www.discovermoab.com/pdf/sanrafaelauto.pdf

I see pictures on G-maps so know where the wash is but can't quite figure out where to start from.

most of those are mine

Where exactly is the starting point for the Moonshine Wash hike?

I added photos to some of the points on this map so make sure you click them.

See how to embed Google Maps in your posts

Viewing on a mobile device? Click this link to open the map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=h&msa=0&msid=211280729721609525387.00044b953d4fef07259e4&ll=38.710831,-110.150471&spn=0.075681,0.181789&z=13

[boulderrr]

Dude, you rock. Thank you so much... and your pictures are awesome.