DE V - Parashant Trip Report

[Hun]

Day 6 White pocket

Started the day with eggs scrambled with sausage, hash browns, and onion. Mm mm good. We broke camp and headed east out of Fire Point then north on AZ 67 to Jacob's Lake and east on Alt 89 to House Rock road where we turned north into the high desert.



We missed the first route into White Pocket and opted for the uphill sandy route at Lone Pine. Just after Paw Hole, the red sand became exceptionally soft on the uphill and with the extra weight of the trailer we came to a stop. Scott aired down a bit which was gave us enough traction to climb the sandy hill unassisted.



At White Pocket we set up camp late afternoon with time for r&r or a good hike, whichever was your pleasure. We opted for a little of both.







Storm clouds overhead threatened all afternoon but released just a few drops of rain.



We huddled under Frenchie's makeshift awning to enjoy his burritos with trail from-scratch brownies. We made up the rest of the burritos and wrapped them in foil for manifold cooking for tomorrow"'s lunch. The evening turned comfortably cool which made for a quick shower. A surprise late night visitor, a helicopter doused his flood light when passing overhead.

 

[Hun]

Day 7 From White Pocket to Grand Staircase Escalante

Blueberry pancakes and cafe mocha started the day off right. We hiked a sandy mile into White Pocket to follow dinosaur tracks over the polygonal white rocks, watch miniature horseshoe crabs swim about in shallow ponds in the the rock depressions, and view the surrounding terrain.








As the temperature came up, we hiked back, broke camp, and headed out to House Rock Road north into Utah and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.





A brief excursion east on UT89 brought us into Big Water just west of Lake Powell recreation area where we filled our gas and water tanks. The BLM Visitor Center was a scenic lunch stop where we all opened the hoods of our trucks and pulled our manifold burritos out, now warm enough for a tasty lunch. We grabbed a few maps and souvenirs at the visitor center and then crossed UT89 to find Sandy Mountain Road taking us into Grand Staircase Escalante. The terrain was unusually desolate, expansive gray flat rock in wide open plains. At the base of the mountain we climbed 1800 feet to a greener terrain with an expansive view below. Sandy Mountain Road became Smoky Mountain Road and the terrain changed seemingly around every bend.



At the Head of the Creek Road intersection of Smoky Mountain Road we found a wide open campsite at 5800 feet elevation.





Steak and potatoes dinner and then we settled around Keith to view his Alaska slideshow while munching on freshly popped popcorn. Frenchy aptly named the site Popcorn Corners. We retired under an amazing starlit sky in the cool mountain air after a refreshing shower.

 

[1leglance]

How fun to read about the same trip from different folks...and very nice to include pics as you go along. A novel idea for Frenchie I take it
Thanks for posting, some of your trip is new area to me...looks like I need to get out more

 

[Hun]

Coming soon --- the rest of the story!

 

[Hun]

How fun to read about the same trip from different folks...and very nice to include pics as you go along. A novel idea for Frenchie I take it
Thanks for posting, some of your trip is new area to me...looks like I need to get out more

I love the richness of Frenchie's experience!

As far as photos, and in Frenchie's defense, he was so busy guiding the rest of us through the passes and wash-outs he may not have had time to shoot many photos.

 

[Hun]

Day 8 Up into the Grand Staircase

Eggs scrambled with onions and corn tortillas to start the day. We broke camp and continued north on Smoky Mountain Road further into Grand Staircase Escalante.



Ran into a wash-out requiring a hefty road repair. Here we are making our way carefully over the rut.



Upon clearing to the other side, a rear side split was evident in the "Deluxe" Little Guy Trailer. which the mighty rock haulers strapped back together.





Based on the road condition, the powers that be decided to head north continuing on Smoky Mountain Road all the way to the town of Escalante instead of the short cut through the canyon fearing it would be impassable. The 4 wheeling was excellent offering curves, rocks, inclines and declines, and various obstacles along beautiful ever-changing terrain.





In Escalante we grabbed lunch at the only game in town, a hamburger and ice cream stand. We also decided to forego the 50 mile trip to Hole In the Rock due to it already being late afternoon and settled for campsite a few miles into Grand Staircase Escalante on Hole in the Rock Road. Wide open fields with distant mountains was a great backdrop for our final evening together.



Hot dogs and potato salad rounded out the day along with a 'brief' recount of Frenchie's expedition tales. The shower was especially refreshing after the hot, dusty day.

 

[Hun]

Day 9 Up and Out

Oatmeal and coffee while watching the sun rise above the mountains started our day.



Then hugs all around, group photos, and we all parted ways. Some to the east coast, some to the west and Frenchie and us south and east toward Albuquerque.



For us, it was east on UT12 to Boulder UT where we turned southeast onto Burr Trail Road winding through Circle Cliffs then into Capital Reef National Park down through the Burr Trail Switchbacks.











We came out of Capital Reef into Glen Canyon National Recreation Area to catch the ferry at Bullfrog.



Of course we saw it pulling away from the dock as we were driving up so we had lunch break overlooking Lake Powell while we awaited the ferry's return.



The day's not over -- more pictures to follow...

 

[Hun]

Day 9 ... the rest of the story

Once on the ferry, we had a breezy scenic 40 minute boat ride across the lake to Hall's Landing to continue our drive eastbound on UT276.





The terrain changed to red rock and so of course we had several photo stops. A short traverse east on UT 95 and we turned south on UT261 to Moki Dugway switchbacks overlooking Valley of the Gods and Monument Valley. This is a sight to behold - again and again.



Then drove past Shiprock into Farmington NM for a Mexican dinner at Los Hermanditos. Taco special was delicious and the honey drizzled sopapillas made for a great ending. Washed the dust off our trucks and trailer and made our way to take up Frenchie's offer of hospitality to bed down at his home for the night. The long hot showers were refreshing and the soft, big bed was especially comfortable. Covered about 500 miles this day and so begins the trip home.

 

[chicken corners]

Great report, I love Whitmore overlook.

 

[Hun]

The journey home

With 2000 miles to cover, we did some off-interstate exploring on the way home. If you ever get to Amarillo Texas, stop in at one of our all time favorite eateries - Tyler's barbecue. The food is award winning. The ribs are a must, even if you just sample them.



The Air Park at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City was a great place to stretch our legs and pay tribute to all who protect our freedoms.









One of our favorite stops was the Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum also in Oklahoma City - a real treasure chest! We could have spent a day or two going through the displays.



Onward to Memphis and a stop at one of Bass Pro's newest and most unusual stores, right on the river's edge.



Take a peak at the entranceway into the store. Who wouldn't want to come in and browse the aisles!



And then one can meander around a fully stocked pond - fish, ducks, trees, boats. It's definitely a bayou feeling - gators and all.

 

[Hun]

Home at last

And that's it for our desert expedition this year.





Until next time, be well, get outdoors, go off-road!

 

[RandyP]

Excellent adventure account. Thank you. Can't wait to go to the Arizona Strip / Parashant / Northwest side of the Grand Canyon next spring.

 

[mjmcdowell]

Yes, it truly was a grand adventure, with great people! mjmcdowell

 

[Ace Brown]

Just discovered this report; great job Scott and Laura. Y'all sure ate a lot of blueberries! Also hard to figure how your group showered so often. Was a water truck following you?

 

[Scott B.]

Just discovered this report; great job Scott and Laura. Y'all sure ate a lot of blueberries! Also hard to figure how your group showered so often. Was a water truck following you?

No - we started with 10 gallons of water. With a sprayer, you don't use that much water for each shower. And it sure was nice to go to bed clean every night.