GunnIt
Adventurer
This trip began to celebrate a "big" birthday (think obsolete speed limit) with my family. We live at the base of the Vermillion Cliffs and roads in this area rarely head in any direction that is straight to where you want to go. I have flown my plane over most of this region and discovered just how close everything in this area is via air...for example it takes 5 hours via pavement to drive to Escalante, Ut., however it takes about 20 minutes in my Cessna 206 to fly there direct. So I decided to slow down, smell the sage brush, and go for a long drive with a goal of trying to cover a lot of county and see the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument while trying to stay on dirt roads or trails and off the pavement as much as we could.
The trip that I'm about to describe took 5 days, covered more than 600 miles and over 31,000-ft in elevation change. We began by driving Hwy 89A to 89 through Page, AZ to Big Water, Ut. As we were driving to Page, on top of the Shonto Plateau, looking to the north past the Vermillion Cliffs we could see our distant goal, the Aquarius Plateau which is roughly 75 miles away as the raven flies. When we arrived at Big Water we went to the GSENM Visitor Center. When I told the ranger that we were planning to travel the Smokey Mountain road from Big Water to Escalante he immediately suggested that there was a much better and quicker route via pavement. I told him that we had the proper vehicle and equipment for the trip. He started showing me the map of the road when I mentioned that we were towing a trailer, a 30-ft 5th wheel as a matter of fact, that shouldn't be a problem, should it...I got a very long pause and a roll of the eyes before I told him I was just kidding and wanted to see his reaction and trust me, I got a good one. I then told him we were towing a trailer, an AT trailer that was built to go on these kind of roads. All in all he was very helpful and informative about the conditions of the road and things to see on the way. We got a camping permit for the monument, there is no charge for this permit but one is required.
It was 1:30 in the afternoon and we headed out. Smokey Mountain Road is 78 miles long from Big Water Utah to Escalante, UT., and it transverses the Kaipariowits Plateau which is the highlands that form the backdrop of the northern horizon behind Lake Powell. The portion of road that leaves Big water travels through the Tropic geologic formation which is the remnant of an ancient inland sea. This area is rich in both marine and dinosaur fossils. As I aired down the tires on my rig my wife, Wendy and son Troy found several different types of fossilized marine mollusks.
As you can see by this photo, the beginning of the road is stark landscape and one that I would not begin to consider traveling if rain was in the forecast. The Kaipariowits Plateau is straight ahead off in the distance. Yes Dave, on the back of my rig is my brand new generation 2 Trasharoo which I think is the best invention since gore-tex waders.
As we approached the section of road that climbs the Kaipariowits Plateau known as the Kelly Grade, it was impossible to discern the route that the road would follow as it abruptly begins the 1000-ft climb to the top.
The road was in decent shape as it twisted its way through the Straight Cliffs, Wahweep, and the Kaipariowits geologic formations. One striking observation was that the road coursed through several coal seams. I remembered that one of the major controversies about this region becoming a National Monument was that there was allegedly enough coal in this area to power all the needs of the US for a couple hundred years.
As we approached the top of the grade we could see the country and the road that we had just traveled.
This is the view of the road just before we reached the top.
Once we arrived on top we located a great camp spot which was right on the plateau rim with a spectacular view of Lake Powell and all the red rock country that surrounds it. I have heard this viewpoint referred to as Powell Point, not to be confused with Powell's Point which is a vista on the Aquarius Plateau.
Lake Powell and Page AZ
We had planned to get to this spot for reasons other than the spectacular views...it was July 4th and fireworks are shot off over the lake.
The next morning we planned to transverse the Kaipariowits Plateau and arrive in Escalante before nightfall. Looking out from our camp I noticed that the morning light allowed a good view of a portion of the Kelly Grade Road. Look in the middle of the following photo.
On our way across the plateau we turned on a side road to try find a spot that I had seen from the air several years back where a coal seam is smoldering and billowing smoke, hence the name Smokey Mountain. We turned on rd #343 and followed it to a dead end with a great view but no smoking coal seam. On our way back I got out to look at a very large crack that crossed the road. the crack was in solid rock, was hundreds of feet long, one to two feet wide and appeared to continue to the center of the earth; it was very puzzling as to what geologic force had created it. A short while later I noticed a strange smell and stopped the jeep and looked at the gauges...all was good when I realized that I was smelling the burning coal somewhere up wind. A road turned off and we followed it and drove right up to the burning coal.
Don't make the same mistake that I did just to try and get a good photo. Park your vehicle well away from the billowing smoke; the smell stayed in our vehicle for the rest of the day!
Apparently this seam of coal was ignited by lightning and has been burning for thousands of years...that explained the puzzling crack that I had recently encountered...it was a burnt out coal seam.
We arrived in Escalante late in the afternoon. I would guess that the drive took about 7 hours. The road is rough but most any high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle will work. We encountered only one other vehicle on the road and it was another jeep. Don't even consider this road if there is a chance of rain...you could get stuck for days. This is a drive that we will do again.
The trip that I'm about to describe took 5 days, covered more than 600 miles and over 31,000-ft in elevation change. We began by driving Hwy 89A to 89 through Page, AZ to Big Water, Ut. As we were driving to Page, on top of the Shonto Plateau, looking to the north past the Vermillion Cliffs we could see our distant goal, the Aquarius Plateau which is roughly 75 miles away as the raven flies. When we arrived at Big Water we went to the GSENM Visitor Center. When I told the ranger that we were planning to travel the Smokey Mountain road from Big Water to Escalante he immediately suggested that there was a much better and quicker route via pavement. I told him that we had the proper vehicle and equipment for the trip. He started showing me the map of the road when I mentioned that we were towing a trailer, a 30-ft 5th wheel as a matter of fact, that shouldn't be a problem, should it...I got a very long pause and a roll of the eyes before I told him I was just kidding and wanted to see his reaction and trust me, I got a good one. I then told him we were towing a trailer, an AT trailer that was built to go on these kind of roads. All in all he was very helpful and informative about the conditions of the road and things to see on the way. We got a camping permit for the monument, there is no charge for this permit but one is required.
It was 1:30 in the afternoon and we headed out. Smokey Mountain Road is 78 miles long from Big Water Utah to Escalante, UT., and it transverses the Kaipariowits Plateau which is the highlands that form the backdrop of the northern horizon behind Lake Powell. The portion of road that leaves Big water travels through the Tropic geologic formation which is the remnant of an ancient inland sea. This area is rich in both marine and dinosaur fossils. As I aired down the tires on my rig my wife, Wendy and son Troy found several different types of fossilized marine mollusks.
As you can see by this photo, the beginning of the road is stark landscape and one that I would not begin to consider traveling if rain was in the forecast. The Kaipariowits Plateau is straight ahead off in the distance. Yes Dave, on the back of my rig is my brand new generation 2 Trasharoo which I think is the best invention since gore-tex waders.
As we approached the section of road that climbs the Kaipariowits Plateau known as the Kelly Grade, it was impossible to discern the route that the road would follow as it abruptly begins the 1000-ft climb to the top.
The road was in decent shape as it twisted its way through the Straight Cliffs, Wahweep, and the Kaipariowits geologic formations. One striking observation was that the road coursed through several coal seams. I remembered that one of the major controversies about this region becoming a National Monument was that there was allegedly enough coal in this area to power all the needs of the US for a couple hundred years.
As we approached the top of the grade we could see the country and the road that we had just traveled.
This is the view of the road just before we reached the top.
Once we arrived on top we located a great camp spot which was right on the plateau rim with a spectacular view of Lake Powell and all the red rock country that surrounds it. I have heard this viewpoint referred to as Powell Point, not to be confused with Powell's Point which is a vista on the Aquarius Plateau.
Lake Powell and Page AZ
We had planned to get to this spot for reasons other than the spectacular views...it was July 4th and fireworks are shot off over the lake.
The next morning we planned to transverse the Kaipariowits Plateau and arrive in Escalante before nightfall. Looking out from our camp I noticed that the morning light allowed a good view of a portion of the Kelly Grade Road. Look in the middle of the following photo.
On our way across the plateau we turned on a side road to try find a spot that I had seen from the air several years back where a coal seam is smoldering and billowing smoke, hence the name Smokey Mountain. We turned on rd #343 and followed it to a dead end with a great view but no smoking coal seam. On our way back I got out to look at a very large crack that crossed the road. the crack was in solid rock, was hundreds of feet long, one to two feet wide and appeared to continue to the center of the earth; it was very puzzling as to what geologic force had created it. A short while later I noticed a strange smell and stopped the jeep and looked at the gauges...all was good when I realized that I was smelling the burning coal somewhere up wind. A road turned off and we followed it and drove right up to the burning coal.
Don't make the same mistake that I did just to try and get a good photo. Park your vehicle well away from the billowing smoke; the smell stayed in our vehicle for the rest of the day!
Apparently this seam of coal was ignited by lightning and has been burning for thousands of years...that explained the puzzling crack that I had recently encountered...it was a burnt out coal seam.
We arrived in Escalante late in the afternoon. I would guess that the drive took about 7 hours. The road is rough but most any high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle will work. We encountered only one other vehicle on the road and it was another jeep. Don't even consider this road if there is a chance of rain...you could get stuck for days. This is a drive that we will do again.
