The M~D~U Report: A Thousand Miles of Dirt in Utah

[Blackdawg]

This is honestly one of my favorite trails ever. It has a bit of everything in it. Go fast sandy spots, ledges, some big rocks, switchbacks, backwards wheeling, a nice hike, killer views..what more could you want?

It was also here, that I let Devin take the wheel to get some good rock crawling under her belt.

M~D~U-28.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

This meant I could take photos of some of the cool canyon walls that you snake in and out of on the trail.

M~D~U-25.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-26.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-27.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-29.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Then we got to the big rocky hill, Mike had to do some uh...”buissness” so Devin and I got a headstart on the hill.

M~D~U-30.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

I don't have any photos of this sadly as I stayed in the truck to talk Devin through it. But she made it to the top no problem!

M~D~U-32.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Only dinged the tow hook of all things and the skid a bit haha

M~D~U-31.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-33.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

We met another couple just past the crest of the hill in a well built Jeep.

“I see we aren't the only crazy ones back here” laughed the lady.

“Heck no! Having a blast!” I said as we puttered by.

The views down here as always awesome. Its pretty confusing with all the canyons everywhere you wonder how people found their way back in the day.

M~D~U-34.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Then we came to the Devils Pocket. Which is were we caught up to the red jeep we had seen before.

For some reason he had driven his front axle up on the side and was tipping his cab within an inch of the opposite wall. His wife was telling him to stop and back up. He was screaming at her what to do next....

Stressful vacation..

Anyways, I told him to stop and listen to his spotter, he needed to just back up and keep his wheels were she told him to put them. Reluctantly he listened after I walked away. And he made it through no problems.

Much to Devins disapproval. I stayed out of the truck and let her drive through it herself.

M~D~U-35.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-36.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-37.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Not quite sure Frankenstein would fit...so maybe its good we brought Igor this time.

M~D~U-38.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Mike drove through no problems as well, just skimming his driver side mirror a touch.

M~D~U-39.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Now we were behind the jeep and had hoped he would let us by.

After passing several good spots to allow us. He finally caved and let us pass him.

M~D~U-40.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

We were almost out of the rocky parts, when Mike took a different line that was harder. No big deal I thought and directed Devin around the larger ledge.

Mike meanwhile, tried doing something out of his rigs capabilities nearly..

M~D~U-41.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

he was stuck. Hi centered on his rear diff.

M~D~U-42.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Was looking pretty damn tippy..

M~D~U-43.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

But was an easy fix.

“Lock the front!” I yelled.

Mike did and The Red Head crawled out of the situation no problem.

“Oh my God how did he not just roll over!” said Devin

“I donno” I laughed, “but he didn't!”

Thank god..

After that slightly eye opening experience, we kept on going, keen to stay ahead of the jeep.

M~D~U-44.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-45.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-46.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-47.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-48.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

 

[Blackdawg]

Which wasn't hard, especially once we hit the sand.

IMG_1909 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-49.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

It is always nice to get a break from the rock were you can fly down the road at a good clip.

IMG_1911 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-50.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-52.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
IMG_1913 by mike digirat, on Flickr
IMG_1916 by mike digirat, on Flickr

We made it to the big pull out where the short hike to the confluence overlook takes place. Perfect spot for lunch, there is even a picnic table and bathroom!

The jeeper caught up a bit later and we invited him to sit in the shaded table to eat lunch. He just walked away though and setup further down.

While we were eating another couple came down to claim the white parked jeep. They were very cheerful and very interested in our toyotas and tents as they were thinking of switching to one. We were happy to chat for awhile while eating our lunch.

With a fresh belly of food. It was time to hike to the overlook. This was a big deal for Mike. He is no spring chicken anymore but he knew he wanted to do it and had done it four years earlier. He was going to do it again.

He even brought seperate shoes for the occasion.

M~D~U-54.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-55.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Mike and his hiking shoes were going to the overlook!

M~D~U-56.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-57.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-58.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The trail isn't super long and doesn't have a major elevation change. So if you do this trail, you should really consider doing this hike. It is short and not too hard. Unless you are from sea level and no spring chicken, then it can be a tall order. But you can do it if Mike can!

M~D~U-59.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-60.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-61.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-62.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

And trust me, at the end of the hike. It is well worth it.

M~D~U-63.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-64.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
IMG_1917 by mike digirat, on Flickr

The joining of the two mighty powers at be in the area. The Green Rive and The Colorado. We had been following them and crossing them the entire trip. These two rivers are the life blood of a HUGE area. It is incredible to see what they have done to the place to get to the Gulf. Which amazingly, it never reaches anymore..

IMG_1922 by mike digirat, on Flickr
IMG_1923 by mike digirat, on Flickr

Many folks take a different trip and perspective on the rive by floating down it living on the banks.

M~D~U-66.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

I think it is just incredible how you can see the different waters combining.

M~D~U-67.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

We still had a long ways to go though to get back to Devins Lane to head out the south entrance of the park to find camping on BLM so we could not linger too long.

 

[Blackdawg]

On the walk out, we encountered a young fellow who was “not from these parts” again. He asked us if the two trucks were ours.

M~D~U-68.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
IMG_1925 by mike digirat, on Flickr

“you bet!” we replied.

He then asked if he could get a ride back to vistor center.

Crap.

He looked hot but not parched of water or near fatigue or anything. We told him we weren't going that way actually, and we didn't really have any open seats. I had pulled my rear ones to help pack and Mikes was full to the brim with gear.

He said no worries! And kept on hiking to the overlook.

We felt terrible about this though. And were talking about ways in which to help him on the way down.

M~D~U-70.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Some of the only “wildlife” we saw while in Utah.

M~D~U-71.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

We decided to leave a bottle of water for him at the table. On our way out we met a large group of hikers and told them we had left water for that young man. They said they would get it too him and we went on our way as it didn't seem like a life or death emergency to radio authorities.

I took the helm back on Igor and we drove the rest of Elephant hill rather quickly.

IMG_1927 by mike digirat, on Flickr
IMG_1930 by mike digirat, on Flickr
IMG_1932 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-73.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

gotta always get the poser shots when you can!

M~D~U-74.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-75.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Stuffed!

M~D~U-76.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-78.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Getting scruffy looking after 8 days with no shower.

M~D~U-77.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Before long, we were making our way through some wash beds back to the start of the Loop. When I spotted the red jeep stopped in the trail.

Well that's odd. Surely he can't drive that slow, I thought.

Then I saw the bikers.

The wrestling with a tube when I pulled up.

M~D~U-79.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

“Hey you got any electrical tape?!” asked the man from the jeep.

“Yes I do, whats up?” I replied.

“Guy popped his tires and used both his patches already. Hoping we can use some E tape to make it hole air for now.”

I radioed to Mike about it and he had some much easier to grab then I did. So I waited for him to catch up and he got it out.

M~D~U-80.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The biker was very thankful and we stuck around for a bit to make sure everything was going to be okay.

M~D~U-81.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-82.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Once we knew it was going be all good. Mike told the guy to keep the tape in case he needed it again. And we headed back to the Devils Pocket and to Devil Lane. This time the light was more spectacular.

M~D~U-83.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-84.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-85.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

We made good time to the Pocket and wasted no time getting to Devils Lane.

M~D~U-86.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-87.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-89.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-88.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

 

[Blackdawg]

We and turned right before to get to the Confluence overlook. Now we would go Left.

IMG_1939 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-90.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
IMG_1941 by mike digirat, on Flickr


We had never gone this way. But man oh man. I don't think i'll ever not go this way. It was AMAZING.

M~D~U-91.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-93.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
IMG_1944 by mike digirat, on Flickr
IMG_1946 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-94.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

I could not stop stopping to take photos. The lighting was great. The area was so pretty. It was perfection.

M~D~U-95.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-96.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

But when we did move. We got to move fast! The sand road made for good fun to stretch the legs out.

M~D~U-97.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Doesn't this just look like a crumbling castle of sorts? Or maybe a getaway retreat home for God himself..

M~D~U-97.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
IMG_1952 by mike digirat, on Flickr
IMG_1953 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-100.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

There is even a gateway to the castle..

IMG_1957 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-101.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-102.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
IMG_1955 by mike digirat, on Flickr

 

[Blackdawg]

We had seen some pretty spectacular areas on this trip so far. But this place. This place was a step above. It was special.

IMG_1962 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-104.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-105.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
IMG_1966 by mike digirat, on Flickr
IMG_1967 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-107.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Around here a dirt biker came flying by heading into the park further. We thought little of it as this place just got better and better.

M~D~U-108.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-109.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
IMG_1974 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-110.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-111.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The light was just too good to pass up. We were having a hay day taking it all in.

IMG_1979 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-113.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

And then this place really felt amazing. The towering walls so close together. It makes you feel small in a good way though. It was memorizing to me and calming. I could have just camped right here had we been allowed too.

M~D~U-114.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
IMG_1986 by mike digirat, on Flickr
IMG_1990 by mike digirat, on Flickr
IMG_1991 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-115.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-116.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-117.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-118.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
IMG_1996 by mike digirat, on Flickr

Just after this, we hit a group of 5. 1 jeep and 4 land cruisers all headed into the park. Some of the land crusiers looked a little ill equipped for some of the rocky sections that lay ahead. But they were confident. I'm still not sure what they had planned to do for camping as its permit only in Canyon lands. But they headed in anyways.

 

[Blackdawg]

We stopped to look back at the wondrous Needles we had just driven through.

IMG_1998 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-119.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-120.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
IMG_2000 by mike digirat, on Flickr
IMG_2003 by mike digirat, on Flickr
M~D~U-123.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Now though the sun was getting real low and we needed to get out of the Park to find a nice camp spot. Plus, we weren't sure if there would be a lot of people here looking for spots like us or not. Either way, we kept going the sun blast its last rays into our eyes.

M~D~U-124.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-125.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

A while later we hit the south boundary of the park.

M~D~U-126.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-127.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

pretty interesting really. You can come into the entire park and pay no fees if you come this way. Its a very long road though, and not a smooth one. So I can see why they haven't bothered with manning this entrance all the time.

Not even a mile after the border we found a large campsite off the road. And it was awesome.

M~D~U-128.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

Pay dirt! We even had light left to setup camp.

M~D~U-129.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-130.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
IMG_2005 by mike digirat, on Flickr

The campsite saw a lot of use we could tell. There were 7 fire ring around the massive rock in total I counted. We opted to use the rather large fire ring though.

M~U~D.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

The massive rock we were camped around was fun to explore and Devin and I did some climbing around.

M~U~D-2.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~U~D-3.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

I also took full advantage of the fading beautiful light.

M~D~U-131.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-132.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr
M~D~U-133.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

It had been a great day. Some awesome terrain had be driven. We had seen some of the best views yet. Got a nice short hike in. And helped a person or two. We were rewarded with a lovely campsite with no near by neighbors. We celebrated by making steak quesadilla with Mikes Homemade salsa and his fresh tailgate guacamole. Our visit to the Needles had been a great one but we couldn't wait for more. After all, we were only about half way done.

We went to bed under the bright beautiful stars looking forward to a good nights sleep. And the many many MANY miles left to travel in our great journey across Utah.

M~D~U-134.jpg by Monte Nickles Photos, on Flickr

To Be Continued:
Chapter 5: Miles and Miles and Miles of Dirt

 

[nwoods]

Man, you set the bar high a few years ago, and now you've raised it, considerably. Fantastic trip report. All you need to do now is publish a map highlighting your route!

 

[java]

Amazing, thanks for the update finally!

 

[Blackdawg]

Man, you set the bar high a few years ago, and now you've raised it, considerably. Fantastic trip report. All you need to do now is publish a map highlighting your route!

Haha thanks! I try to make these as fun to read as possible and documented well. Doesn't always work out, but sometimes it does!

And actually..i will be doing that at the end! A map and all the GPS data.

Amazing, thanks for the update finally!

You bet! Thanks for reading! Gonna keep working on this the next week or so. I have another one to write after this that just shows how awesome people are. Can't wait.

 

[Long Rifle]

Great report and great pictures as always. My first time up elephant hill into the Needles was in 1967 with my brother in his stock 1964 Scout with open differentials. No ranger station or permits needed. Did it myself in 1970 with a 1969 Scout with positraction on rear diff. and last time in 2009 with a modified FJ Cruiser. Hope to get back one more time in my Jeep. There is something magical about the canyon country and am so glad to have spent time in all three districts of the NP before it was developed and so crowded.

 

[Blackdawg]

Great report and great pictures as always. My first time up elephant hill into the Needles was in 1967 with my brother in his stock 1964 Scout with open differentials. No ranger station or permits needed. Did it myself in 1970 with a 1969 Scout with positraction on rear diff. and last time in 2009 with a modified FJ Cruiser. Hope to get back one more time in my Jeep. There is something magical about the canyon country and am so glad to have spent time in all three districts of the NP before it was developed and so crowded.

Wow that is cool!

I've never done with lockers. Always open diffs. Still very do able that way.

I bet it was cool to be in the Needles and Island in the Sky before the crowds. Im from Wyo right next to Yellowstone and I often am envious of the mountain men that got to see all of this country before we all came in droves. The crowds there are next level trust me.

But we did go to The Maze and it is still VERY isolated thankfully. Was so cool I went back there just 2 weeks ago.

Makes me wonder what it will all be like in twenty years too..Public land could be a thing for the history books by then..

 

[20DYNAMITE07]

Not all heroes wear capes... some take amazing photos and post them on the internet.
Wow. Just, wow.

 

[Blackdawg]

Not all heroes wear capes... some take amazing photos and post them on the internet.
Wow. Just, wow.

:victory:

It's the little things right?

 

[SmoothLC]

Blackdawg - you write some of the best TRs on Expo. And you and Mike's photos? Awesome. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Blackdawg]

Blackdawg - you write some of the best TRs on Expo. And you and Mike's photos? Awesome. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you sir! I appreciate that and so does Mike Thank you for reading and commenting.