desertracer79
Observer
We took this trip in April/May 2016 and although there were more highways and developed campgrounds than I wanted to* we still had an amazing time and managed to get in some good off road trails. On the trip with me (John) were my wife Kym and dog Sierra and our buddies Emily and Tyler. We drove a Jeep Wrangler TJ and him an LJ. The plan was to spend fourteen days exploring the national parks of Utah with stops in NV and AZ along the way. We left from San Diego, CA and did a large loop spanning over 2000 miles.
*compromise with wife
We left from San Diego and stayed at my brothers house outside of Victorville, CA. First stop was at the bottle farm located on Route 66 just south of Barstow. This guy had collected desert junk for decades and has some really interesting things. If you find yourself nearby, I recommend stopping.
The next leg took us up the 15. Just over the CA/NV state line is an abandoned open pit gold mine called the Coliseum Mine. It is accessible via 4x4 road just outside the solar plant. The trail to get there was fairly easy but the wind blew hard and it was freezing cold. I could imagine on a hot day that water would be awfully tempting to swim in, not sure of the quality though.
Our stop for the night was the Red Rock Canyon SP just outside of Las Vegas. It was a great campground and the park has some excellent hikes. We were glad to have the shelter, it rained quite a bit. Turned out that would be the theme of the trip!
After a few hikes, we packed up the jeep and headed north again on the 15. Our next stop was Zion NP for the next three days to enjoy all the amazing scenery it has to offer. Unfortunately it rained the entire drive and most of our Zion stay but we still had an awesome time. Here is our spot in the Watchman Campground.
I had been stoked on the Angels landing hike ever since I had heard about it and we weren't going to let the rain stop us! For those that don't know, at the top the trail gets extremely steep and narrow requiring a steady foot and chains to hold on to.
Well, that bravado faded very quickly when I got to the actual climbing part. The slickrock and chains were VERY slick and I wasn't going risk it. It's a great excuse to make it back someday.
It turned out to be a fantastic hike and there were few other people on the hike because of the rain.
Part 2 next.
*compromise with wife
We left from San Diego and stayed at my brothers house outside of Victorville, CA. First stop was at the bottle farm located on Route 66 just south of Barstow. This guy had collected desert junk for decades and has some really interesting things. If you find yourself nearby, I recommend stopping.
The next leg took us up the 15. Just over the CA/NV state line is an abandoned open pit gold mine called the Coliseum Mine. It is accessible via 4x4 road just outside the solar plant. The trail to get there was fairly easy but the wind blew hard and it was freezing cold. I could imagine on a hot day that water would be awfully tempting to swim in, not sure of the quality though.
Our stop for the night was the Red Rock Canyon SP just outside of Las Vegas. It was a great campground and the park has some excellent hikes. We were glad to have the shelter, it rained quite a bit. Turned out that would be the theme of the trip!
After a few hikes, we packed up the jeep and headed north again on the 15. Our next stop was Zion NP for the next three days to enjoy all the amazing scenery it has to offer. Unfortunately it rained the entire drive and most of our Zion stay but we still had an awesome time. Here is our spot in the Watchman Campground.
I had been stoked on the Angels landing hike ever since I had heard about it and we weren't going to let the rain stop us! For those that don't know, at the top the trail gets extremely steep and narrow requiring a steady foot and chains to hold on to.
Well, that bravado faded very quickly when I got to the actual climbing part. The slickrock and chains were VERY slick and I wasn't going risk it. It's a great excuse to make it back someday.
It turned out to be a fantastic hike and there were few other people on the hike because of the rain.
Part 2 next.