Finding the Goods! A 2 Week Journey through Utah and Colorado

[mph]

A few years ago, I looked at the map of Utah and started to read and research the Dark Canyon Wilderness. The area on the map caught my attention. Or, should I say captivated my attention. I needed to find the time. How could I get some time to really explore it? Backtrack a few months...It's the middle of April and my wife asks me if it is ok to take our daughter to visit her mother in Naples, Florida for a few weeks in June. Ahhhh....yep, that should work! Selfishly, I had my chunk of time I needed. Time to rally the troops...

I started placing calls to my friends to see if any of them could go. A few friends stated that it sounded great. But, couldn't commit. I tentatively made some plans; hoping I could get some friends to join. Now, fast forward to the beginning of June. I made some calls. Can you go? Yep, was the answer I heard most. So, driving down to southern Utah; there was seven of us. I was worried that I might not get any takers. Now, the troops were rallied and were on our way.

Finding the goods...What does that mean to you? For me, it's finding a great campsite, an undisturbed ruin, a rock art panel, an enjoyable slot canyon, or an awesome singletrack to ride fast! There was plenty of "goods" found on this trip.

The trip consisted of southern Utah for 9 days and the southwest corner of Colorado for 5 days. The weather was perfect. Fun was had by all. Yep, plenty of "goods" were found. Here's the proof!



Every trip to southern Utah starts on a dirt road. Ours was no different!



The day started with coffee and crisp, cool desert air. What were the goods for the day?







We dropped into a slot. The water was chilly! But, spirits were high! We were enjoying our find. An 80 foot rappel lead to this gorgeous slot! It was crazy nice.

Later in the day, we rallied up high. Met our remaining friends. Big ponderosas and views of canyon country. It was nice.



The following day we dropped down in the Dark...Dark Canyon that is..





We all began to hike to an old cabin that was used as a line cabin for cowboys running cattle in the area. It was neat reading log book. The grandchild of the original owner had just been there a few days earlier.





More to come...Coming out of "the Dark" next...

 

[Moody]

Yes!!

 

[SmoothLC]

. . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . . wait . . . quit making us wait and post up!







j/k

 

[mph]

Going to down the access road to get to Dark Canyon proved to be a little complicated...One, none of us had been down there before. Two, we had a wide range of vehicles. A few outfitted LC 100s, a brand new Tacoma, a Dodge Dakota, and a full size Chevy. The road becomes tight and brushy at the bottom so we piled in a few vehicles and rallied the final 6 miles to begin our hike to the cabin. Afterwards, we all new what was coming...back up and out! Barb, owner of the new tacoma, asked me what this button was for. I told her it was the magic button, a rear elocker. She was stoked. I told her to enjoy the ride up. She will crawl without a problem! We talked to everyone about our lineup in case we got in trouble. We all worried about the full size truck. Would it make it?

Everyone drove slow and steady. No one, including the full size had much trouble. We were down in the canyon bottom as afternoon turned into evening. Up we went!



Magic hour was about to begin! The evening light was fabulous in such a remote spot!





We continued to find these beautiful meadows to camp in night after night...Big pines! Big views!



Ed and Chris had to depart this evening...The full moon guided them out of the mountains!



The next day, Rich left with his full size Chevy. He left with a smile on his face knowing that he seen some "goods". There were 4 of us left...Further north we traveled.



The meadows...the grasses...crazy to think this is southern Utah too!

Our travels continued to a sign that said FREE MAPS. Well, we had to find out what this was all about...



Want some solitude? The ranger we spoke to had it...


Did I mention the meadows? Gorgeous country!



We hiked to an overlook. The view in front of us was Dark Canyon. We had been there the day before. So deep...so remote...Barb and Dave wondered where we would head next. What would we find? Wild country...Wild canyons...The "goods" were being discovered!



Continued...

 

[matthewp]

Very nice!

 

[mph]

Our days were spent like this...We would hike 5-7 miles per day and then rally to another campsite to spend the evening. The roads we encountered were relatively mellow. There were a few rough spots but it was amazing that the county graded and improved the roads way out there. We were 60 miles from the nearest paved roads.

A few rough up and downs...



As we neared the edge of each canyon rim; we would glass the canyon looking for alcoves and hidden treasures. The goods...This canyon, we saw a couple and proceeded to find a way to them. Remote and a great sense of us being small in the world.





Our hike ended with a beer and a trying to find another nice campsite. This track was a little over grown with grasses. The BLM had chained the area allowing grasses to grow for the lovely cows to feed on...



A nice campsite was found. We got the charcoal ready for tonight's meal.



Not a bad place to sleep for the night.



During our travels, we needed gas. We each brought at least 5 gallons. Shane brought 10. Fill up!



Our next day involved hiking into another canyon of the ancients. There were ruins and rock art everywhere. The valley looked pretty and a trail was somewhat established. We commented on that we were walking in the tallest sagebrush we had ever seen.



Barb searching for the goods. What would she find?



Shane (instagram.com/shaneknightgallery) found a nice set of ruins shortly after reaching the canyon bottom.



The day would follow with a ruin that caught our attention and stirred our imagination. More to come...

 

[SmoothLC]

Keep 'em coming mph.

I have been looking at exploring Dark Canyon for a year or two and it looks like you beat me to it.

Thanks for sharing the "goods"!

 

[mph]

The canyon we explored contained many Anasazi treasures. The canyon offered fresh water and places to farm. What else could be better? I still think it was a very rough life. Survival was the name of the game. Enjoyment and wonder was ours...What made the area so unique was the T shaped doorway found in one ruin. I have seen hundreds of ruins before but have only seen the T shaped down in pictures. The doorway is very common in the Chaco Area of New Mexico. We were in southern Utah!



We relaxed, photographed and enjoyed the surroundings.



There was a spring right behind where I took this picture. A natural alcove with fresh water? That's livin...Well, it 1300 it was...





Two of the logs were cut. More than likely to do some dating on the trees. I wish it could have been done better. It's hard to tell the general public to be careful and proceed with caution when I see our government (blm, forest service) quickly come in and make a noticeable difference to the dwelling by cutting the logs. The government tries to protect places; which is awesome. However, for scientific purposes; I wish they would have done a better job at getting the samples.



Ruins everywhere!


Shane and I hiked to an ancient kiva site. Not much left. A few nice ruins though...The one next to Shane was interesting because it appeared there was no way in. No door? No roof entrance? It was amazing to think that they carried water up to this vantage point to create the mortar for the dwelling.



It was time for us to rally to the next spot! We found another meadow to spend the night at...Gorgeous!



Today's activity was about going down! We were dropping in elevation and getting back into canyon country.





We ended up being corralled! It's wild to see working corrals and ranches out in the middle of nowhere!



The day concluded with Shane finding a ruin he had been searching for...More to come!

 

[mph]

The area is unreal. No people and mellow, easy to follow network of roads. The ranger that we spoke to said that summer is super slow. Hunting season is busy! If I lived in the 4 corners area; this would be my spot. For us up here in the north, unfortunately it is just too long of a drive for even a 3 day weekend.

Get after it...No one is out there

Keep 'em coming mph.

I have been looking at exploring Dark Canyon for a year or two and it looks like you beat me to it.

Thanks for sharing the "goods"!

 

[mph]

We proceded to travel north to the Beef Basin area. Yes, cow country. Grasses and water for cows to enjoy! The BLM has actually built a water cache for the cows. There was a spring in the area that was flowing pretty nicely.



Shane was in the lead and pulled into a campsite when he pointed up to the wall with excitement. This is it! What? He had been looking for this ruin for a while. Found it...



I had not been feeling well, so I hung out at camp while Shane went to shoot some photos.



Barb and I sat and ********-chatted about life, etc. As we were sitting there; we could feel a cold front coming in from the North. It inspired us to get movin...Out to explore!





There were goods everywhere! Beef Basin also has a fair share of ruins that sit up, out in the open. Towers? Unique structures.





We were all over. Enjoying the views, the ruins, and the solitude!



Barb had decided not to take her brand new Tacoma into the Needles via Bobby's Hole and out Elephant Hill. Shane and I understood.



We had a view of the road and our next destination. The Needles and Beyond...

Coming in from the south and heading North, one must descend Bobby's Hole. This road was washed out last fall. The BLM has done a nice job of fixing it and making it passable once again. Shane was about to drop in...

 

[PetitFrereArmada]

This is amazing. Would love an adventure like this.

 

[mph]

Thanks for the kind words...Yeah, it felt pretty amazing 3 or 4 days in...Not sure if it was the trip itself or that I didn't have any responsibilities for 2 weeks (wife and child were visiting grandma)...Probably a combination of both

Don't worry...it's not going anywhere. Pack up and rally

This is amazing. Would love an adventure like this.

 

[mph]

Shane and I survived Bobby's Hole. Not much too it...However, it could dramatically change after the next big rain. We proceeded to drive some dirt two-tracks until we got to the gate. There was no visitor center! There was no gift shop! Not even a Starbucks! Just the way we like it...Open the gate and enter paradise!



The beauty was all around us and the temperatures were outstanding!



The drive in the back way of Canyonlands is something! We hadn't seen people in days and it felt like we were trespassing for some reason...





As the road weaved around the rock pillars, one has to be careful. I had to get out and spot Shane a few times.



He did the same for me. My bike was tricky but not too big of a deal.



After a few hours in the trucks, we needed to stretch the legs. So, we loaded the packs headed up to the canyons. Amazing what we found!



We came across a few cairns marking the spot!



The beauty of the place was outstanding! And, we had it all to ourselves. We hiked, photographed, and listened to the desert silence! You know, the desert silence! It was crazy quiet!



Shane always looking for the shot!



Getting out...More to come...

 

[mph]

Before we left the backside of the Needles, we took another hike to a rock art panel Shane had heard about. It was quite the experience. Yes, we eventually found the rock art panels but also unintentionally cornered a mountain lion under some rocks in an alcove. No pictures, but we stood above the rocks and listened to it snarl at us. It was time to move on...

I thought this rock art panel was striking. The colors were so vibrant.



Close by there was another panel we found...Crazy amount of handprints. 200 plus handprints...What do they mean? Why were they put there? Your guess is as good as mine!



We made it back to the trucks and proceeded to head out. Now, at this time Shane became a little nervous. He drive an 06 Tundra. It has taken to and from many places. However, he was worried about Elephant Hill. The infamous trail in the Needles area of Canyonlands. Shane does not have any lockers, etc. Just 4-wheel drive! With nerves on high alert; we headed out...

Not bad at first



We saw this and knew the technical factor was increasing!



Now, my Landcruiser has front, middle, and rear lockers. I hit a few buttons and proceeded up. I was a little nervous for Shane because it was loose rubble and knew that he needed more of a solid ground in order for his rear axle not to spin out. A few tries and he got it!



We were committed...A lot of the trail is pretty mellow and scenic! I reached the camera out the window and took a pic of Shane cruising down the two track. A little blurry...



Technically parts appear here and there...



Much of the trail is slow and steady and eyeing one's surroundings! No one out except us...



Shane's truck made it without too much trouble. My Land Cruiser creeped up everything. I was totally impressed on what the truck could do! We pulled over into the shade to fill up our tires and make a few calls.



Not really having a plan to camp anywhere specific; we thought it might be nice to get up to some cooler temps. Up we went...our destination ended up being in the mountains outside Monticello. Back in the alpine and another beautiful meadow.



Colorado and the San Juans...More to come....

 

[WAND3R3R]

Thanks for sharing!
-AK