21 replies to this topic

[Wallowa]

Thanks for snow 'warning'..living in extreme NE corner of Oregon at 3,900 feet we have had snow on 4th of July...nothing new for us.

 

Snow does not bother me..I can adjudge conditions and compensate...driving on snow and in snow storms are old hat but what I don't have experience with but have the utmost respect for are flash floods...generated miles away on clear days and are forces to be wary of..

 

As I digest the recommendations and knowing that May can be a rain month...Mid-march to end of April seems to make the most sense...I will track weather forecasts as we get into late Winter..fortunately we have a completely flexible schedule and hit the road when it is best for us..heck might go in February and take my skis and skins!

 

Keep the ideas coming folks...great info and appreciated.  Drop names of special areas and I will go to school on them...

 

Thanks..

 

Phil

Edited by Wallowa, 17 October 2019 - 05:58 PM.

[clikrf8]

We plan on exploring Utah again during mid-April until just before Memorial Day weekend. We just returned from 47 days camping and part of that time was in Utah. We concentrated on the San Rafael Swell then made our way home west. We were in the San Rafael Swell in April a few years back and after it rained left due to road conditions. Great place for hikes and solitude and rock art! If you are into that, talk to Tiffany at Castle Dale’s Museum of the San Rafael. Free camping at the Wedge Overlook aka Utah’s Little Grand Canyon.  We mainly explored the north part both trips but plan to check out the southern areas this time. 

[Wallowa]

Thanks Clik,

 

Our trip is taking shape...leave here [taking three days to get to Moab] and first night there at Dead Horse SP Wingate CG, then 5 nights on the White Rim Trail...going South from there, Anticline, Moki, VOG, Muley, Butler Wash ruins, White Pocket, Wire Pass/Buckskin, Tuweep [if we get our reservations] then Smoky Rd Scenic Backway to Escalante, Hole-in-the.Rock [several days hiking canyons], Hell- Backbone Rd to Boulder and dinner at Hell's Backbone Grill and then to a favorite spot of our's Cathedral Valley [ if water is not too high to get across stream]...plus whatever else strikes our fancy!  Lots of movable pieces and when the wheel first turns on the journey the itinerary becomes TBA.

 

Phil

[AWG_Pics]

If you have not been off the beaten path in Death Valley, then you may be pleasantly surprised if you can work a week or so in to your itinerary. We went there on a lark about decade ago, and have gone back nearly every year, sometimes more than once a year since. If you take the roads less traveled, you can have entire canyons to yourself. 

 

Here are a few photos from our DV explorations. All have map locations. https://www.flickr.c...157626377094340

[Wallowa]

AWG,

 

Your photos were outstanding as is your advice....not this trip but soon....I grew up roaming and prowling the desert in the 50's-60's outside of Reno and love the big lonesome that your pics captured....I see more books and research in my future!

 

Thanks again this is tantalizing indeed...

 

Phil

[AWG_Pics]

Thanks Phil,

 

We are headed back there, likely around the end of Feb (with our new Hawk). Maybe sometime we will cross paths with you. It is a special thing to be a lover of the great empty places. Fun to share it now and then.

 

Tony

[Wallowa]

Following up on our planned route....has anyone recent information on the condition of "Smoky Mountain Road BackWay" from Big Water [89], starts as nps 230 then goes to 330, about 70 miles to Escalante?

 

....any and all info welcomed...planning on two days, one night at a minimum out there..

 

Thanks...Phil

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Phil, I’d check with the visitor center...

 

https://www.blm.gov/...-visitor-center

[Wallowa]

Phil, I’d check with the visitor center...

 

https://www.blm.gov/...-visitor-center

 

 

Roger that...I intend to check with them at end of February just before we leave and with the center on the other end...@ Big Water...hopefully they will have updated info then..and of course before we enter that road at Big Water I will again check in with both centers..

 

Thanks...good idea.

 

Phil

[Cayuse]

Thereis a road report available for the Escalante at https://www.blm.gov/...tion-Report.pdf It is put out by the BLM but is updated infrequently so isn't always the most reliable, the current posting is from August, almost three months old.

 

Also, the visitor centers are sometimes hesitant to give you much advice on road conditions as one persons treacherous is another's no problem.