Backroadexploration
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The White Rim Trail: Canyonlands Utah
No doubt the White Rim Trail is a bucket list trip for everyone who knows about it. Despite growing up in Utah and spending a lot of time exploring the state as a kid with family and as an adult I had never done the trail. Last fall we started planning out our adventures for 2016 and the White Rim was at the top of my list. Knowing that the trail can get fairly busy during the spring and fall, and that permits can be tough to come by we decided to hit the trail in the off-season in late February. We wanted take our time so we planned for 4 days and 3 nights. Admittedly I wish we had planned even more time. There were several hikes we were not able to do because we simply just didn't have enough time. We put together a video of our trip forgive the poor editing, all done on a free software, and footage from our cell phones.
Day 1
Our first day went smoothly, Potash road is incredible on it's own and the fact that it leads to The White Rim makes it even better. We spent a good amount of time stopping, exploring and taking pictures throughout the day. We hit the usual spots, the Colorado River Overlook, Mussleman Arch and Lathrop Canyon. The 4 mile trail to the bottom of Lathrop Canyon is well worth the trip. It would make a great day trip heading from Moab via Potash Road, drop into Lathrop Canyon and back out.
After Lathrop Canyon we set a solid pace for the coveted Whitecrack campground. We wanted to setup camp in the light and still have time to do some exploring. Whitecrack is everything it is made out to be and better. So beautiful, you could spend an entire week camping at a spot like this. I have definitely stayed places that are not nearly as cool. We spent the evening exploring the area hiking and taking a few pictures.
Day 2
We were up early excited to watch the sunrise and anxious to get back on the trail.
We knew the trail would be a lot more technical and we wanted to go over some of the really cool parts more than once. The climb up and descent down the Murphy Hogback Plateau is awesome! Very steep and a little technical with some hardened ruts. I am very glad we didn't run into anyone going up or down, making a pass along that portion of the trail would be very difficult. The descent had a small ledge and the ground was still very muddy as this portion of the trail gets a lot of shade. Mike jumped out to spot me and things went very well, I am glad in this instance we were running the trail clockwise, that ledge looks to be worse due to the soft conditions, I am glad were going down not up.
Our second camping spot was Candlestick. We knew we would be getting there earlier in the day leaving us a good amount of time to explore. We had a great time hiking around the cliffs looking over the river.
Later that evening a few other travelers came by one rig stopping to use the restroom and chat. They were headed to Potato Bottom for the night.
Day 3
We woke up to a little surprise our batter was dead. Seeing that the first people we really ran into was on our second day at the end of the day getting a jump from someone else was not going to be an option. Luckily we had a few options, we could bump start the rig if needed using a hill, but that can be exhausting if it doesn't work the first time. However we did have a small portable jumper back from Tusk. It is good for at least 5 jump starts as well as charging multiple devices. With the Jeep running we wanted to see if the battery was keeping any charge at all, so when we ran across a good hill we turned the key off and tested to see if it would fire back up, which it did! We knew we could drive it out that day but we didn't want to as that would change our plans significantly, confident we could at least start it a few more times we went back to our original plans. (Once home it looks like it was just on the tail end of life so we replaced it)
We made a few stops along the way at Potato Bottom campground and even did the Fort Bottom Trail hike, which is really fun.
The road up from Potato Bottom is absolutely incredible, and was one of my favorite parts of the trail.
Once we made it to Labyrinth our final camp spot we quickly setup and then headed towards Taylor Canyon which is a 6 mile trail that leads to the Moses and Zeus trail-head as well as a campground. I had heard of the trail but didn't know their was a campground. I wish I had booked it, the view was stunning. The trail is really fun as well and reminded me some of Lathrop Canyon where the trail intersects with a dried out wash multiple times. Once back we made dinner and reminisced about the trip.
Day 4
Our final day was going to cover a lot of ground. Mike lives in Roswell and I live about 3 hours north of Moab. We had about 40 miles left to go including the Mineral Road Switchbacks which are pretty impressive in their own right.
Once we made it back to Moab we grabbed some brunch and then headed to Monticello so we could get Mike back to his truck and on his way back to NM. I spent a good portion of my 4 hour drive from Monticello to Highland just driving in silence thinking about the incredible trip we had just been on. The views are something that can only be truly appreciated in person, not to mention the vast empty open space that seems to be timeless. I know many of you here have tackled the trip already but if you haven't or if you are just looking to do it again I can't recommend it enough!
If you are the type who loves crazy long trip reports, with loads of pictures you can read my much longer report here. http://backroadexploration.com/overlanding-white-rim-trail/
Here are a few more pictures!
No doubt the White Rim Trail is a bucket list trip for everyone who knows about it. Despite growing up in Utah and spending a lot of time exploring the state as a kid with family and as an adult I had never done the trail. Last fall we started planning out our adventures for 2016 and the White Rim was at the top of my list. Knowing that the trail can get fairly busy during the spring and fall, and that permits can be tough to come by we decided to hit the trail in the off-season in late February. We wanted take our time so we planned for 4 days and 3 nights. Admittedly I wish we had planned even more time. There were several hikes we were not able to do because we simply just didn't have enough time. We put together a video of our trip forgive the poor editing, all done on a free software, and footage from our cell phones.
Day 1
Our first day went smoothly, Potash road is incredible on it's own and the fact that it leads to The White Rim makes it even better. We spent a good amount of time stopping, exploring and taking pictures throughout the day. We hit the usual spots, the Colorado River Overlook, Mussleman Arch and Lathrop Canyon. The 4 mile trail to the bottom of Lathrop Canyon is well worth the trip. It would make a great day trip heading from Moab via Potash Road, drop into Lathrop Canyon and back out.
After Lathrop Canyon we set a solid pace for the coveted Whitecrack campground. We wanted to setup camp in the light and still have time to do some exploring. Whitecrack is everything it is made out to be and better. So beautiful, you could spend an entire week camping at a spot like this. I have definitely stayed places that are not nearly as cool. We spent the evening exploring the area hiking and taking a few pictures.
Day 2
We were up early excited to watch the sunrise and anxious to get back on the trail.
We knew the trail would be a lot more technical and we wanted to go over some of the really cool parts more than once. The climb up and descent down the Murphy Hogback Plateau is awesome! Very steep and a little technical with some hardened ruts. I am very glad we didn't run into anyone going up or down, making a pass along that portion of the trail would be very difficult. The descent had a small ledge and the ground was still very muddy as this portion of the trail gets a lot of shade. Mike jumped out to spot me and things went very well, I am glad in this instance we were running the trail clockwise, that ledge looks to be worse due to the soft conditions, I am glad were going down not up.
Our second camping spot was Candlestick. We knew we would be getting there earlier in the day leaving us a good amount of time to explore. We had a great time hiking around the cliffs looking over the river.
Later that evening a few other travelers came by one rig stopping to use the restroom and chat. They were headed to Potato Bottom for the night.
Day 3
We woke up to a little surprise our batter was dead. Seeing that the first people we really ran into was on our second day at the end of the day getting a jump from someone else was not going to be an option. Luckily we had a few options, we could bump start the rig if needed using a hill, but that can be exhausting if it doesn't work the first time. However we did have a small portable jumper back from Tusk. It is good for at least 5 jump starts as well as charging multiple devices. With the Jeep running we wanted to see if the battery was keeping any charge at all, so when we ran across a good hill we turned the key off and tested to see if it would fire back up, which it did! We knew we could drive it out that day but we didn't want to as that would change our plans significantly, confident we could at least start it a few more times we went back to our original plans. (Once home it looks like it was just on the tail end of life so we replaced it)
We made a few stops along the way at Potato Bottom campground and even did the Fort Bottom Trail hike, which is really fun.
The road up from Potato Bottom is absolutely incredible, and was one of my favorite parts of the trail.
Once we made it to Labyrinth our final camp spot we quickly setup and then headed towards Taylor Canyon which is a 6 mile trail that leads to the Moses and Zeus trail-head as well as a campground. I had heard of the trail but didn't know their was a campground. I wish I had booked it, the view was stunning. The trail is really fun as well and reminded me some of Lathrop Canyon where the trail intersects with a dried out wash multiple times. Once back we made dinner and reminisced about the trip.
Day 4
Our final day was going to cover a lot of ground. Mike lives in Roswell and I live about 3 hours north of Moab. We had about 40 miles left to go including the Mineral Road Switchbacks which are pretty impressive in their own right.
Once we made it back to Moab we grabbed some brunch and then headed to Monticello so we could get Mike back to his truck and on his way back to NM. I spent a good portion of my 4 hour drive from Monticello to Highland just driving in silence thinking about the incredible trip we had just been on. The views are something that can only be truly appreciated in person, not to mention the vast empty open space that seems to be timeless. I know many of you here have tackled the trip already but if you haven't or if you are just looking to do it again I can't recommend it enough!
If you are the type who loves crazy long trip reports, with loads of pictures you can read my much longer report here. http://backroadexploration.com/overlanding-white-rim-trail/
Here are a few more pictures!
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