SWbySWesty
Fauxverland Extraodinaire
great stuff! I love it! Man, I'd romp some of those trails...
Southern Utah Wanderings
- Thread starter IntrepidXJ
- Start date
jim65wagon
Well-known member
Great photos! That looks totally cool!
IntrepidXJ
Explorer
Day 4 | Tuesday, October 6, 2009 | Starting Odometer: 144260
It was a great start to a day. The wind had finally died down overnight and I woke up to a great sunrise over Lake Powell from Alstrom Point. Since it was my mom's birthday and I had full signal up there, I gave her a call to wish her a happy birthday. I took some photos before packing up the Jeep and heading back to Big Water from some more gas.
Packing up
It was a great start to a day. The wind had finally died down overnight and I woke up to a great sunrise over Lake Powell from Alstrom Point. Since it was my mom's birthday and I had full signal up there, I gave her a call to wish her a happy birthday. I took some photos before packing up the Jeep and heading back to Big Water from some more gas.
Packing up
IntrepidXJ
Explorer
The Moon
Instead of taking the route I came by, I decided to check out the Tibbet Canyon and Nipple Creek trails which formed a loop off off the Smoky Mountain Road not too far from Alstrom Point.
Tibbet Canyon
Instead of taking the route I came by, I decided to check out the Tibbet Canyon and Nipple Creek trails which formed a loop off off the Smoky Mountain Road not too far from Alstrom Point.
Tibbet Canyon
IntrepidXJ
Explorer
Nipple Butte
Mushroom Shaped Rock along Nipple Creek
After completing the loop, I headed up the long and dusty Smoky Mountain Road over the desolate Kaiparowits Plateau to Escalante. While the scenery along this road was nice....the highlight of the road was the climb up Kelly Grade.
Along the Smoky Mountain Road in the Glen Canyon NRA
Back into the GSENM
Mushroom Shaped Rock along Nipple Creek
After completing the loop, I headed up the long and dusty Smoky Mountain Road over the desolate Kaiparowits Plateau to Escalante. While the scenery along this road was nice....the highlight of the road was the climb up Kelly Grade.
Along the Smoky Mountain Road in the Glen Canyon NRA
Back into the GSENM
IntrepidXJ
Explorer
Headed towards the Kelly Grade
Climbing the Kelly Grade
Surrounded by great colors!
Overlook at the top of the Kelly Grade
Climbing the Kelly Grade
Surrounded by great colors!
Overlook at the top of the Kelly Grade
IntrepidXJ
Explorer
Further along the Smoky Mountain Road after some high speed driving across the top 
I made it to Escalante for a late lunch at the Golden Loop Cafe to decide where I would head that evening. I ended up deciding to take the Hole in the Rock Road east of town until it got dark and that's where I would setup camp. Along the way I stopped at the Devil's Garden to explore and took a bunch of photos. It reminded me of a smaller Goblin Valley with bigger and more spread out goblins.
Metate Arch
Mano Arch
Further along I reached Dance Hall Rock as the sun was getting low in the sky. Made for some good photos.
Dance Hall Rock
I made it to Escalante for a late lunch at the Golden Loop Cafe to decide where I would head that evening. I ended up deciding to take the Hole in the Rock Road east of town until it got dark and that's where I would setup camp. Along the way I stopped at the Devil's Garden to explore and took a bunch of photos. It reminded me of a smaller Goblin Valley with bigger and more spread out goblins.
Metate Arch
Mano Arch
Further along I reached Dance Hall Rock as the sun was getting low in the sky. Made for some good photos.
Dance Hall Rock
IntrepidXJ
Explorer
Long shadows
In the end, I actually ended up reaching the Hole in the Rock just after sunset while there was still a little light left. Looks like I would be camping at the end of the trail near Lake Powell again.
Hole in the Rock, just after sunset
My campsite for the night
Ending Odometer: 144445 | Total Miles: 185
SWbySWesty
Fauxverland Extraodinaire
great photo of the colors. Really helps let you know what the desert is about!
IntrepidXJ
Explorer
great photo of the colors. Really helps let you know what the desert is about!
that's one of my favorite photos from this trip...glad I'm not the only one that likes it
IntrepidXJ
Explorer
Day 5 | Wednesday, October 7, 2009 | Starting Odometer: 144445
Since it was getting dark pretty quickly when I arrived at the Hole in the Rock the evening before, I didn't really get any good photos. When I woke up today, I grabbed my camera and started shooting away I was up before sunrise and hung out for a little while until the sun was up in the sky...well, actually behind some clouds.
Storm rolling through in the distance
Sun coming up behind some clouds over the Hole in the Rock
After taking a bunch of photos I was back on my way back to Escalante.
These markers marked the actual Mormon (Hole in the Rock) Trail. There was a rainbow in the distance when I shot this one.
Old wagon tracks carved into the slickrock
Since it was getting dark pretty quickly when I arrived at the Hole in the Rock the evening before, I didn't really get any good photos. When I woke up today, I grabbed my camera and started shooting away
I was up before sunrise and hung out for a little while until the sun was up in the sky...well, actually behind some clouds.Storm rolling through in the distance
Sun coming up behind some clouds over the Hole in the Rock
After taking a bunch of photos I was back on my way back to Escalante.
These markers marked the actual Mormon (Hole in the Rock) Trail. There was a rainbow in the distance when I shot this one.
Old wagon tracks carved into the slickrock
IntrepidXJ
Explorer
I stopped at this water carved wash for some more photos
Still a bit away from Escalante
I was originally planning on heading back the way I came, but when I reached the turnoff for Left Hand Collet, I decided to give it a try. When I was at the Visitor's Center a few days earlier, I had inquired about the condition of Left Hand Collet (it is known to wash out frequently) and was informed by the ranger that it was washed out and impassible. I don't always take the ranger's word on road conditions, since it appears to me that their main goal is to keep as many people off of the difficult roads as possible (Though, I can fully understand why they would do that, too). I knew full well there might be a chance I would not make it through and would have to turn around and come back the same way, but that was a chance I was willing to take.
Still a bit away from Escalante
I was originally planning on heading back the way I came, but when I reached the turnoff for Left Hand Collet, I decided to give it a try. When I was at the Visitor's Center a few days earlier, I had inquired about the condition of Left Hand Collet (it is known to wash out frequently) and was informed by the ranger that it was washed out and impassible. I don't always take the ranger's word on road conditions, since it appears to me that their main goal is to keep as many people off of the difficult roads as possible (Though, I can fully understand why they would do that, too). I knew full well there might be a chance I would not make it through and would have to turn around and come back the same way, but that was a chance I was willing to take.
IntrepidXJ
Explorer
It turns out that even though there were signs at both ends of Left Hand Collet warning that it is currently impassible, I found out that it is just not the case. While I certainly would not take a stock SUV through this trail because it is a bit rough, any Jeep or modified SUV would have no problems with it. I never even needed to put my Jeep in 4WD to get through it. I'm glad I ended up trying this route, because the scenery was great. I evenutally found myself back at the Smoky Mountain Road again, and continued on to Escalante again.
Yeah right....
When i finally reached Escalante, I continued north until I was in Boulder again where I stopped at the Burr Trail Grill for lunch. The burger I had there was outstanding, and I would highly recommend it. The Burr Trail Grill is located on the corner of UT 12 and the Burr Trail, which was my next road to follow. Even though this road was paved much of the way, the scenery along the way was pretty nice as well...especially the stretch through Long Canyon.
To get off the pavement for a while, I took the Wolverine Loop trail. This was a quick and easy loop.
When I reached the Wolverine hiking trail, I took a break from the Jeep and hiked a ways into the wilderness to check out an old petrified forest. There were also some narrows nearby that I want to head back an explore with Amanda sometime.
Large piece of petrified wood
IntrepidXJ
Explorer
Soon I was back the the Burr Trail which finally entered Capitol Reef National Park where it turned to gravel.
Views of the Henry Mountains and Waterpocket Fold as I entered Capitol Reef National Park again.
Another of the highlights of this entire trip was the short spur trail that lead into Upper Muley Canyon. Not only was it a very cool canyon, there were also a number of arches along the way, and the hike to the Strike Valley Overlook at the end gave me great views of the Waterpocket Fold. I took a bunch of photos along this short 3 mile trail....
Plenty of views of Peekaboo Arch as you enter Upper Muley Twist
Double Arch
Views of the Henry Mountains and Waterpocket Fold as I entered Capitol Reef National Park again.
Another of the highlights of this entire trip was the short spur trail that lead into Upper Muley Canyon. Not only was it a very cool canyon, there were also a number of arches along the way, and the hike to the Strike Valley Overlook at the end gave me great views of the Waterpocket Fold. I took a bunch of photos along this short 3 mile trail....
Plenty of views of Peekaboo Arch as you enter Upper Muley Twist
Double Arch