Canyonlands Needles district or Bears Ears visit over Thanksgiving

[kavm]

Originally Posted by OneDawg

Don't have to be in the maze to see stupidity.
...

You are right. I see it right here in your posts.

Did you have anything useful to contribute to this thread and query?

[OneDawg]

So, tell me - how was the trip?

[kavm]

Thanks for the interest. Unfortunately due to the weather situation over the Thanksgiving weekend, we ended up not going. The combination of Thanksgiving traffic, snow forecast meant that we'd end up getting to Moab much later. Furthermore, we weren't sure if the roads to the Needles district would be cleared up in case of heavy snowfall. And, even if they were and we could get there safely - the thought of doing log day hikes with heavy winter conditions in a less familiar area did not seem very prudent.

So, we ended up staying home but hiking about 10 miles each day from Thursday through Sunday in the Wasatch mountains near our home. Were very happy with that.

Will make another plan to go to the Needles district later this winter/spring. The maze district will remain an ambition a bit longer.

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by OneDawg

Don't have to be in the maze to see stupidity.

If you worked for the BLM as you wrote - you've seen the expert drivers on occasion.

I worked for the Canyon Country District office, located in the Moab Field office and yes, I say many people driving where they should not have driven, either from ignorance or stupidity. (Ignorance cause they didn't realize it was not permitted, stupid cause they did but didn't care.)

However, driving through Moab I saw more idiots driving on the paved roads than off-road on trails (be they slick rock, dirt, sand, gravel, etc.) So idiocy knows no particular routes.

However, the greatest majority of off-road use was by those who were having fun, driving where they were allowed by Federal/State regs and having fun doing so. Which is exactly what public lands were made for, the use of ALL THE PEOPLE. Not just hikers, bikers, bird lovers. etc.

And as for the Maze, it was a NPS managed land since it is part of Canyonlands National Park, I did hike it and that is the usual way to visit the Maze...by foot. Compared to the Moab area, there were very few actual 4x4 trails, and the few times we did go down there to view sites or to take multiple day hikes, never saw any off route traffic and never noted any tracks that would show off-road travel where not permitted. (Sand will lose tracks quickly; however, rubber on rocks will last for a couple rainfalls.)
And knowing some NPS rangers, very little complaints of that happening in that area. In fact, probably more people go to the maze to commit suicide (it happens more than you would think) than drive off-road and destroy the area.

You need to get out and see what I mean. Park your vehicle at Flint Trail Head, and take a five day hike; you will be amazed at what you will see and what you won't see. But I feel you will remain at your computer and never see this great area. But it sure IS NOT for everyone. And prefer those who do not understand areas like the Maze to stay home on their computers cause it is desolate, no emergency help is anywhere nearby, it is dangerous and even though I no longer live in that area, don't want bodies littering the area.

And when we did the hikes back when I was still in my sixties, I carried a Satellite phone for that, 'just in case' moment that can happen. But glad to say, never needed it, even if we did use it. But now at 71, I know I am never returning to the Maze; I don't want to be one of those bodies littering the area.

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by kavm

Thanks for the interest. Unfortunately due to the weather situation over the Thanksgiving weekend, we ended up not going. The combination of Thanksgiving traffic, snow forecast meant that we'd end up getting to Moab much later. Furthermore, we weren't sure if the roads to the Needles district would be cleared up in case of heavy snowfall. And, even if they were and we could get there safely - the thought of doing log day hikes with heavy winter conditions in a less familiar area did not seem very prudent.

So, we ended up staying home but hiking about 10 miles each day from Thursday through Sunday in the Wasatch mountains near our home. Were very happy with that.

Will make another plan to go to the Needles district later this winter/spring. The maze district will remain an ambition a bit longer.

If you like hiking, and not adverse to heading north to Idaho take a look at the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness Area near Stanley ID. A different type of desolation than the Maze; green vs. red/brown sand.

[kavm]

Thank you for that suggestion! We actually like that area a lot, though not familiar with this particular wilderness. Will look it up on the map.

Over the Labor Day weekend, we went to this area for the first time. Camped in the Caribou campground in the Sawtooth Wilderness - closer to Ketchum rather than Stanley [partly as we were perhaps too concerned about getting one over the Labor Day weekend]. We hiked Murdoch Creek trail, Sawtooth Lakes trail, Alice Lake trail and Horton Peak. All outstanding experiences. In short, really loved the general area and definitely plan to visit again, though likely not in winter.

So, liked this area a lot and went to Stanley a couple of times, but not towards the wilderness you mentioned. How do we get more information about this wilderness? Does one require 4x4 drive and high clearance to visit? Or, can one approach close enough in a car and hike in - preferably day hikes?

Many thanks!

[Texas Ag 93]

My husband and our 4 kids did go to Moab over Thanksgiving. We were there from Nov 24th-29th. It was my 5th trip there, but our first at that time of year. The first day (Mon the 25th), we did a 7 mile hike in the Needles. That was very tiring for my kids (ages 12 and 9), so we had planned on staying at the property where we were staying on Tues. Turns out that was a very good idea, because it started snowing on Mon night and on Tues morning, we woke up to about 8 inches of snow. Now, we were staying in a canyon a few hundred feet higher in elevation than Moab. In town, it only looked like about 1-2 inches of accumulation. On Wed, my husband blazed a trail out of where we were staying (I must say, the Dodge Ram we were in did well in the snow) and we went to Arches and just did a couple of quick walks to see points of interest. On Thanksgiving day, we did Island in the Sky and drove up Potash Road. I think that was the kids' favorite thing. All the scenery and none of the work, LOL.

We were supposed to leave Fri out of Moab, but our flight was cancelled due to weather in Denver. We ended up driving to GJ, which is where we usually fly in/out of and flying out of there on Fri via Phoenix. So, home about 24 hours late, but all things considered, a lot of other people had it worse.

We had a good time, but I think we'll go back to visiting Moab in the late spring, so as to avoid any weather issues. Or maybe Sept-Oct sometime. And we'll probably go back to just always flying to GJ and driving.

[f5fstop]

Originally Posted by kavm

Thank you for that suggestion! We actually like that area a lot, though not familiar with this particular wilderness. Will look it up on the map.

Over the Labor Day weekend, we went to this area for the first time. Camped in the Caribou campground in the Sawtooth Wilderness - closer to Ketchum rather than Stanley [partly as we were perhaps too concerned about getting one over the Labor Day weekend]. We hiked Murdoch Creek trail, Sawtooth Lakes trail, Alice Lake trail and Horton Peak. All outstanding experiences. In short, really loved the general area and definitely plan to visit again, though likely not in winter.

So, liked this area a lot and went to Stanley a couple of times, but not towards the wilderness you mentioned. How do we get more information about this wilderness? Does one require 4x4 drive and high clearance to visit? Or, can one approach close enough in a car and hike in - preferably day hikes?

Many thanks!

From the referenced document...
"Thirty-nine Forest roads provide access to 66 trailheads. The condition of the roads is highly variable. Some roads are not passable to vehicles towing trailers, while others are suitable for four-wheel drive vehicles only."

PDF document with tons of info....http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_...rdb5300616.pdf

Decent online map of the area
https://naturalatlas.com/wilderness/...return-1935844

There are black bears, and reports of Grizzlies but never heard of seen any problems with either. There are wolves but unlike TV, wolves don't bother humans. However, I would never enter an area like this without some type of self-defense protection.

An interesting article on the FBI operation held years ago to locate and free a kidnapped teenager in 2013.
https://www.news.com.au/world/fbi-sh...bdf5fe4f3f5a5b

Don't forget to it's a great place for winter trips too; and the sites are fantastic...,.,.

North of Stanley
Summer


Winter

[kavm]

Thank you so much! I will share this with my wife for future plans...