2023 Canyonlands Maze District

[Jim]

Mike organized a Canyonlands, Maze District trip with six vehicles and eight people. It was scheduled during a new moon for hopes of good stargazing. We had a couple nights of good stars and a couple nights of partial clouds - overall - great stars, shooting stars, satellites - and if one was awake about one or two after midnight, the Milky Way was prominent.

Wednesday night we were at a dispersed campsite north of Goblin Valley S.P. - a beautiful (and large enough for our group) campsite with the "attraction" of no-see-ums (something we could do without).

Photos:
Narrow canyon on the way to the first listed campsite for the night (we changed sites)
I-70 Welcome to Utah

[Jim]

Thurs

Head in to campsites The Neck and Happy Canyon via Poison Springs Road. PSR was mostly dry and easy to navigate. One of the water pools was a bit deep but I don't recall anyone having issue with it.

The river crossing was high but not too risky. Dan forged in with water bouncing over the hood. It was recommended (J.P.??) that Isak's vehicle be pulled across in reverse to reduce the chance of water intake. I don't recall any issue with any submerged rock - the ground surface seemed firm and smooth.

Flow was right about 160CFS (measured 157CFS @ 1300 & 162CFS @ 1400 - I crossed at 1310). I'd cross that again (35" tires) w/o much concern.
https://www.cbrfc.noaa.gov/dbdata/st....html?id=DDHU1

There was some rain later in the day. This gave me some concern as to the soil conditions heading up the switchbacks. In the end, there was no issue and all of us made it up easily.

Happy Canyon, I was told, was small-ish. The Neck is a wonderful site. Yes, it's right along the road, and small, but a road that likely no other vehicle would pass. The spot I/we ended up matched the coordinates that the park service gave to us. It offers expansive views to the east as well as to the west. I'd re-visit The Neck.

Photos:
Switchbacks - Auref & J.P./Carrie
River Crossing - Dan
The Neck - view to the east
Wed night campsite
One of the difficult "dip" crossings on PSR

[Jim]

Friday

We traveled down the switchbacks and headed to Dollhouse 1 & 2. We saw one other vehicle and they were heading to Dollhouse 3. It was a fairly long day and the step obstacle slowed things a bit. I don't recall anyone reporting vehicle damage outside of an underside scrape.

The Dollhouse 1 & 2 sites did not disappoint - they are great spots.

Photos:
The step obstacle
Morning - calling the park service to change sites
The Neck - good morning
On the way to Dollhouse 1/2
Heading down the switchbacks

[Jim]

Saturday

We changed plans and changed campsites. This reduced travel miles for today and for tomorrow. The change removed 45 trail miles from the trip.

It was found that Standing Rock was an open (first come, first served) site - and it was large enough for the full group. We'll not travel to the maze overlook sites as originally planned. Isak and I headed out early-ish to stake claim to the site while the others showed up later. It was a nice down day with only 45 minutes of driving.

J.P. & Carrie showed us how to construct soft shackles! A fruitful class activity - thanks folks! We enjoyed some good star gazing that night too.

Photos:
Good Morning! - Dollhouse 1
J.P. & Carrie's Soft Shackle University - student project day
Leaving Dollhouse campsites

[Jim]

Sunday

Drive out via the south route - the Hite exit. This route ended up being fairly smooth and fast. I appreciate having traveled this route. While the Poison Springs Road offers nice, varied scenery and obstacles, the Hite route is also on the go-to list for ease and nice scenery.

Overall, no fuel concerns for each of us. Changing course and reducing trail miles by not venturing to The Maze overlook campsites and stopping at Standing Rock helped.

Thanks to all for an enjoyable trip!!

Photos - Hite / south exit to the park

[Akicita]

Excellent Summary, Jim! Carrie and I enjoyed the trip very much but enjoyed the company and camaraderie of the group even more!

[hiimmike]

Thanks for starting this Jim! I'll get some pictures and video up here too. I always look forward to your well written trip reports! I miss the GPS information with elevation gain and such though... slacking!

[Jim]

hiimmike previously posted:

[Java]

I'm glad you guys had such a great trip! Outstanding photos, Jim.

[RockyMtRebel]

Love it! Thanks for therefore and looking forward to more pics! I will always remember our Maze trip, what an amazing place it is!