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Thread: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip

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    Default Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    Placing this here so we can discuss and plan a bad ass multi-day desert trip in the fall. Sept, Oct, Nov.... either is fine with me. Long remote dirt roads to amazing desert attractions is the goal, with mild to moderate wheelin'
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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    Interested.

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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    Subscribed

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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    I'm thinking something from one end of this map to the other.... ish. lol. But seriously that would be awesome! Like starting up near Green River and the Goblin State Forest and work down towards Cottonwood Canyon which comes out on Hwy 89 west of Page, AZ and then we could (this is my favorite part) continue South to House Rock Valley Road (bottom left corner of map) and check out Pariah river slot canyons and there's this amazing feature I am dying to see called White Pocket. I was not able to go all the way there because the wife was wanting to get to Moab (which is about 5 hour highway drive from here).

    Anyways, I'm up for something far away from everything and for 2 or 3 nights. Maybe a few of us pick a few areas we would like to go and we try to string them together???? I'll snapshot the area I'm most interested in (White Pocket) from my iPhone (Gaia map is amazing) so you can see the piece I'm definitely interested in..... but warning, it's pretty far out there (it's literally within an hour of the Grand Canyon's north rim). I'm not dead set on including this section either.... just sayin' I'm really wanting to visit (maybe camp at) White Pocket. Its in Vermillion Cliffs National Monument......Look it up!!!
         
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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    I'm down! that sounds like fun!

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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    That's a remote area out there. I would have to carefully plan for fuel usage. We rented a houseboat at Bullfrog marina a few years ago, and it was a long drive with few services between Green River and the marina.

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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    So I have an idea, let me know if this interests anyone!

    Meet in Monticello, UT and gas up (bringing 5-10 extra gallons each, which I can help carry in my truck). Take Hwy 191 north a couple miles to 211 and take that towards Canyonlands NP and head west on Cottonwood Bridger / Beef Basin Road. This is the start of my proposed 2 night trail. This road winds west and after about 25 miles intersects at the base of Horse mountain, we head right/north and head up towards Beef Basin. After 9 miles the road intersects and multiple options and roads lead in and around Beef basin. This area is filled with petroglyphs, Anasazi ruins and other amazing sights. We could spend days exploring here but I’m thinking we explore and find our camp for the night somewhere here. Dispersed camping is allowed and this area is very remote.

    The next morning we would continue exploring but eventually start heading north on the main road out of Beef basin towards Canyonlands and Elephant Hill. Bobby’s Hole is a moderate-difficult section that will take us out of Beef basin and into Canyonlands NP. This road goes straight to the Needles and joins Elephant Hill trail at its southern exit/entrance (also called Devils Lane, and is a moderate trail). It passes two Camping sites in this area. Camping here requires overnight permit so we would need to reserve it with the National Park in advance. These are not as competitive as the White rim campsites so we have a lot of options to choose from right now if we decide to). We join the Elephant hill trail here and can visit and hike the Joint trail, which is supposed to be amazing! From here will head north and have to navigate SOB hill and then take the second half of Elephant hill trail, skipping the one section that precedes the Devils Kitchen camp sites (the “squeeze”, which would give my truck some trouble). These campsites are supposed to be amazing and I’d love to reserve one of these if possible).
    There is a spur that takes you to an overlook of the confluence of the Green and Colorado rivers. Then the trail heads down to the one way fork and we will head up Elephant hill to the trailhead and exit Canyonlands at the main Needles outpost and park entrance (Road 211 a few miles north of where we turned in Beef basin road).

    Total miles from start (211 and Cottonwood/Beef Basin rd) to end (Needles Outpost) without including exploring the Beef basin roads is 75 miles. It’s about 60 miles from Monticello to the trailhead and another 70 miles from Needles outpost to Moab although there should be gas available at Needles Outpost. With exploring I’m thinking 100 mile trail..... I probably won’t need extra gas (Truck holds 24 gallons) but I’ll bring 10 gallons just in case.

    Here’s a few snapshots of my Gaia gps map showing this proposed trail - main trail in Brown and roads to potentially explore in Yellow.

    Let me know if this tickles anyone’s fancy!! If it does, we would want to reserve the Canyonlands overnight permit and campsite as soon as we can. They look to be pretty available at this time......

    Thoughts??
             
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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    I like that plan! it's not too long so we can take our time and not worry about running out of fuel. lots to see and do, and a good amount of moderate wheeling if we choose.

    I'm in.

    J.
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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    Yea, I took the level of ambition down a notch from when I started this thread...... 200+ mile overlanding trip would be very complicated and hard to plan and execute. 100 mile trip should be doable without extra gas but carrying some extra should ensure Jeeps have enough gas (since they have smaller tanks). My Powerwagon can probably haul an extra 5 gallon tank for each vehicle if needed.... just in case! Depending on number of vehicles of course but I anticipate 3-5 vehicles tops.

    I'm thinking mid-late September time frame...... any thoughts on that? Maybe early-mid October is another option. Devils Kitchen campsites are pretty available still and the other campsites are totally available still. During the weekends the availability is questionable but during the week it's pretty wide open. Lets think about dates and check with our significant others to confirm...... I'd love to nail this down over the next week or so and then reserve and pay for the permit!!! Depending on how many decide to go, we might need 2 permits........

    Thoughts? Anyone else interested yet? And keep in mind this will be 2 night of camping.... 3 if we have issues or have to turn around for any reason. We will dispersed camp the first night and we need to pack out human waste, so keep that in mind. This is a "BACKCOUNTRY" trip so plan on packing light. I bring cold-cuts and PB&J and a loaf of bread, along with snacks of course. Biggest thing to consider is you must bring 1 Gallon of water per day for each person going. For me that means I'll have 3 or 4 gallons with me since I'll likely be solo.

    CAN'T WAIT!!!!!
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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    I'm interested, looks like a great route! Beef Basin is cool and you can go fast there, it doesn't take as long as you'd think. Bobby's Hole is downhill if you're going from Beef Basin to Elephant Hill should be relatively easy especially in your big truck. They have long rubber sheets that look like expanded steel embedded in the ground for traction, it's an experience.

    The Devil's Kitchen Campground in Elephant Hill is by far the best campsite I've ever stayed at, I cannot recommend it enough. I'd reserve the whole thing regardless of party size, it's 4 sites with a nice outhouse and incredible views. the hike from there into Chesler Park is truly epic.

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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    Paul previously posted:
    "I'm interested, looks like a great route! Beef Basin is cool and you can go fast there, it doesn't take as long as you'd think. Bobby's Hole is downhill if you're going from Beef Basin to Elephant Hill should be relatively easy especially in your big truck. They have long rubber sheets that look like expanded steel embedded in the ground for traction, it's an experience.

    The Devil's Kitchen Campground in Elephant Hill is by far the best campsite I've ever stayed at, I cannot recommend it enough. I'd reserve the whole thing regardless of party size, it's 4 sites with a nice outhouse and incredible views. the hike from there into Chesler Park is truly epic."

    YES, I heard Devils Kitchen campsites are amazing! I'd like to reserve them for us for this trip for sure...... and luckily I should be able to get there without issue because we'll be coming from the other side and I shouldn't have to do the "squeeze" that is supposed to be right before getting to Devils Kitchen from the main trailhead. I have never been in this area, so I am just going off internet research! Paul, lets do this!!!! Let me know if mid-late September or early-mid October works for you!
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    Java (June 26th, 2020)

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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    It's too far out for me to know, but if you pick dates I can try to make them work. I think you can get through the squeeze, I remember a tour company that went back there used Ford Excursions.

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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    Yea if needed I know I can make it thru with a lot of spotting and patience (saw a video of a Powerwagon going very slow and carefully thru it). I'll have to pick the exact date we're camping at Devils Kitchen in order to reserve it and get a permit. My birthday is SEP 15th so I think this would be a cool birthday trip
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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    RockyMtRebel previously posted:
    "Yea, I took the level of ambition down a notch from when I started this thread...... 200+ mile overlanding trip would be very complicated and hard to plan and execute. 100 mile trip should be doable without extra gas but carrying some extra should ensure Jeeps have enough gas (since they have smaller tanks). My Powerwagon can probably haul an extra 5 gallon tank for each vehicle if needed.... just in case! Depending on number of vehicles of course but I anticipate 3-5 vehicles tops."

    The National Park Service and rangers at Canyonlands restrict vehicle groups to no more than 3. You also need a permit for the 4wd trail, but I think the camping permit may double as your trail permit for the day as well. The rangers we spoke to when we picked up our permits last year were pretty severe in their speech about keeping group sizes down and making sure to Stay The Trail. There are very few pull outs to allow passing on the trails and long stretches between the pull outs. I don't know why the park service doesn't just cut in a couple more passing / pull out areas instead of trying to make 4wd trail users feel bad about wanting to use the trail. You may wish to check with the park service on camping and group restrictions before you aim for a group size of 5 within the park boundaries.

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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    Thanks Trent, I forgot that and you are correct. 3 vehicles per overnight camping permit (the permit is overnight camping for 4x4 road travel, all in one so to speak). Group size is also limited, I believe 7 people is the max per campsite reservation. However, if we have more people interested we are far enough in advance that we could reserve multiple permits. 2 permits should secure us 6 vehicles and 14 total people. There are 4 campsites at Devils Kitchen so plenty for what I'm thinking our group will be.

    Trent, are you interested? This is right up your alley man!!!
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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    I'm certainly interested in the idea. I was a little more enthusiastic with the earlier plan to explore somewhere new, but this plan is much easier to execute. About half of the things on this list cover what we did last year, but I'd be open to vising there again. Elephant Hill was certainly one of a kind and I'd like some more time to hike the trails next time.

    100 miles of this trail should easily be in range of the Jeep. When we ran Lockhart Basin & Canyon last year, that was a ~90 mile day, if I remember correctly, and had no fuel issues. There are only a few hard 4wd sections in Needles district with much of the trip being sandy or dusty dirt roads. The easy sections don't usually cause me much fuel anxiety.

    Regarding gas at Needles outpost: fuel there is an option, but not a great option. I'm very glad the fuel is available there, but beware the price will be $5-$6 / gallon and the hours are limited. The pump is an antique and only operates something like 8 to 5 or 6 pm when the owners of the outpost hold business hours at the store.

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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    Right now my birthday (Tuesday 9/15) is wide open (all campsites available) but the rest of September is pretty booked up although most campsites have a couple days during the week available. Weekends are pretty much booked out except the less desirable sites. The first two weeks of October are looking really good, not very booked out but we should nail down the night we want to spend at Devils Kitchen asap. Remember this will be our second night camping. I can plan any day of the week, but others might be more limited so let me know dates you are interested in ASAP!
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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    My vote would be for October for better (cooler) weather, hopefully.

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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    I'm interested. mid September sounds good to me. I'm flexible as it's a ways out right now.

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    Default Re: Autumn multi-day Utah desert trip



    This is the campsite availability as of right now for Oct 3-Oct 9th. Pretty wide open right now!
         
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