Moab Black Sheep In October 2012

Yea I know, I'm getting the cart before the horse here but LOOK OUT, I have an idea!

In the past I have heard good things about the White Rim Trail, the long version. Hopefully some of you have some first hand knowledge of this area and can share it here with the uninformed (F5 hopefully will know something). I'm thinking a few of you might enjoy a two or three day long trail that includes some camping. I know, the hotel is much more comfortable but one of the things I really enjoy about offroading is getting back in the boonies where few normal people ever get the chance to go. I believe I heard permits are required for White Rim Trail and maybe extra fuel but a two day/one night trip is something I want to try and thought possibly some of you would too.

I explored parts of Elephant Hill in the Needles District of Canyonlands a few years ago and it was an incredible area, this would also be a candidate for an overnighter. It is about 70 miles from Moab to the start of the trail. One spot along the way was Newspaper Rock, Google it if you have not heard of it.

So, is anyone interested in something like this in October or does anyone have any more information they would share about a trip like this?

I would love to do something like that...Expedition style wheeling seems fun

it would be better in october to camp on the trail as the weather will be a little warmer?

Thomas, you trying to predict the weather 6-7 months out? Put the bottle down NOW.

I wouldn't mind doing a wheeling/camping trip over several days sometime. That is kind of what the Mojave Trail is about and I have done that one a few times.

I'd be interested in this as well.

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Silverton34 said:

Yea I know, I'm getting the cart before the horse here but LOOK OUT, I have an idea!

In the past I have heard good things about the White Rim Trail, the long version. Hopefully some of you have some first hand knowledge of this area and can share it here with the uninformed (F5 hopefully will know something). I'm thinking a few of you might enjoy a two or three day long trail that includes some camping. I know, the hotel is much more comfortable but one of the things I really enjoy about offroading is getting back in the boonies where few normal people ever get the chance to go. I believe I heard permits are required for White Rim Trail and maybe extra fuel but a two day/one night trip is something I want to try and thought possibly some of you would too.

I explored parts of Elephant Hill in the Needles District of Canyonlands a few years ago and it was an incredible area, this would also be a candidate for an overnighter. It is about 70 miles from Moab to the start of the trail. One spot along the way was Newspaper Rock, Google it if you have not heard of it.

So, is anyone interested in something like this in October or does anyone have any more information they would share about a trip like this?

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Ok, white rim is a two day trip at the most. You can actually do it in one day; Steve and I did it a few years ago in one day. A year or two later, Steve, Alec and I did it in two days and camped out overnight. It's a pretty trail, but a Chevy Corsica can do most of it...we know that for a fact. You CANNOT take pets on the white rim trail and as we found out last year when we did Lathrup canyon, the rangers do patrol the white rim (at least twice a day).

Same with Elephant hill, no dogs allowed, and not sure if H1s can fit down Elephant hill. I have heard that H3s can make it, and MAYBE h2s, but not sure if a H1 can make it down the narrow areas.

Newspaper rock is a cool place to look at indian art...however, if you guys are interested in indian art just let me know. I can find locations that are NOT adverstised. Just never thought anyone was interested in indian art.

If anyone is interested in overnight trips for two or more days, just let me know. We can go places many will not travel.

Just west of the green river is the San Radael Swell (you guys from the west past through it on I-70; and there are some places in there we can drive and camp for days. West of the Swell is Capital Reef and a great campsite with an overlook of Cathedral Valley that is to kill for. And it is a nice quiet site. Cathedral Valley overlook:


Before the campsite are the pyramids of the Sun and the Moon:


Cathedral Valley Campsite:


And a few years ago, we found a cool 4x4 trail out of the center of Capital Reef that was a lot of fun.

These are not technical trails, but are a hell of a lot of fun and since they are BLM land, or in the case of Capital Reef, we can take dogs, and have campfires.

We could also go south of Blanding/Bluff Utah and do an overnight in Valley of the Gods....

Those rock formations in the distance (through the dust) are in Monument Valley.

And for a side trip and a place to camp we could also do River House:


There are millions of acres in this area, where we could go camp for days and not see anyone but us. So if someone is interest in something like this for the Oct BS week, just let me know and I can give you some suggestions and do any planning if required.

I could also add that if we want an all day trip with no camping or to camp one night afterward, we can do the "arm busting" Lockart Basin trail again that we attempted a two years ago. If we had started really early, and there were no broken bones, we could have continued down Lockhart basin trail to Hwy 211, the gone east on Hwy 211 to Newspaper rock. And I know of places we can camp along the way home.

Thanks for all your insight and your suggestions Doug. I, for one, am interested in something along these lines. It doesn't need to be technical wheeling to make me happy, I love getting away so going out (and maybe camping overnight) where most people don't usually go is pretty darn interesting to me.

Thanks Doug for your insight and offers. I'm thinking any of those trails in October for a one nighter to start with and see where it leads us for the future. It would be a neat tradition to start that we explore one of the above mentioned places each year for a couple three days.

I'm not trying to change the flavor of the Black Sheep trip, I'm just wanting to explore a little deeper into the boonies and give one or two nights of camping a try. I haven't slept in a tent in 30 years!

New ideas is always a good thing

I drove through Monument Valley a few days ago on my way home from Tucson/Phoenix. Had never been there and it wasn't too much out of the way. I turned 50 a few weeks ago and promised myself I would find some more time away from the office. Part of this plan is to drive wherever I go if at all possible instead of flying. There's really a lot to see in this country.

Silverton34 said:

I drove through Monument Valley a few days ago on my way home from Tucson/Phoenix. Had never been there and it wasn't too much out of the way. I turned 50 a few weeks ago and promised myself I would find some more time away from the office. Part of this plan is to drive wherever I go if at all possible instead of flying. There's really a lot to see in this country.

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Let's disuss this further in a few weeks...

I woud possibly be interested, if other people would want to, as it seems like lots of fun!

Someone at work today mentioned the Henry Mountains would be a great idea for at least a two-day camping trip. Southwest of Moab, called the most desolate area in Utah (and that is a lot to say), last surveyed mountain range in the USA; home to a very large heard of American bison (which were planted there around 1941), and known to have one of the largest populations of mountain lions (thought to have been killed off 10+ years ago, but thought to have one of the largest populations in Utah).

That sounds perfect! Mountain Lions prefer lean meat, leaves me out. Besides, you guys are only afraid of bear!

Silverton34 said:

That sounds perfect! Mountain Lions prefer lean meat, leaves me out. Besides, you guys are only afraid of bear!

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Well, if you want bear. The Lasals, just down the street, are supposed to have the highest population of bear per square mile than any mountain range in Utah. Could explain why it also has the lowest deer population too.:giggle:

Hmmmm......:huh:

I thought the caves on Dome Plateau had the most bears?:giggle:

I'm certainly interested. I've been wanting to do an expedition-style wheeling event.