For many months this summer we held a permit to traverse the White Rim in the backcountry of Canyonlands National Park near Moab, Utah. We timed our visit for Nov. 8-10, just prior to the start of ski season.
That time of year carries significant weather risks, including rain or snow, both of which would render the double-track White Rim Road impassible. What we got, however, were cloudless skies, daytime highs in the low 60s, nighttime lows in the mid-30s, and not a breath of wind. We could not have asked for better.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX0ApMvw9w4[/youtube]
For those who may be unaware, the White Rim Road is a 100-mile-plus route (if you include the side roads to points of interest) that sits atop a sandstone shelf about halfway between the plateau at the top of Canyonlands, 1,200 feet above, and the Green and Colorado Rivers below. From one guide book:
I've long stated my disdain for the typical National Park experience. I've often said as well that Canyonlands is sufficiently vast to allow you to avoid that "typical National Park experience" -- the crowds, tour buses and busy overlooks -- quite easily. The White Rim is an easy way to enjoy a backcountry experience within Canyonlands, especially in late fall as we did. A backcountry permit is required, and travel is limited to those with high-clearance 4WD vehicles and/or mountain bikes.
Our permit included six people: Marc_C, his wife Karen, AmyZ, Telejon, Mrs. Admin and yours truly. Having just had surgery on a broken hand, AmyZ bailed at the last minute, so we were down to 5. Marc_C and I would provide the two support vehicles -- Marc in his new-to-him Jeep Rubicon and yours truly in my new-to-me Toyota Tacoma -- but now we only had one full-time biker: Telejon. I had planned to mix driving and biking, but while most of the White Rim Road is quite easy by off-roading standards, a spot of mild complexity would regularly appear every three-quarters of a mile or so, and I didn't sufficiently trust Mrs. Admin with my truck in those situations. So the only biking that I ended up doing was around camp each evening.
We chose to do the route in a counter-clockwise direction, meaning that we'd descend via the Mineral Bottom Road and ascend back to the plateau at the end via the Shafer Trail. That meant that the first part of the drive was along the Green River, which regular readers may recall that Telejon and I paddled several years ago for 100 river miles from Ruby Ranch past Mineral Bottom to the confluence with the Colorado River and Spanish Bottom just beyond.
[photosphere]https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/104320561789112490385/922fc7a1b206b002/piMM9gU88dsAAAQINi8FfA[/photosphere]
Mineral Bottom Road photo sphere
This was special, for I got to see the Green River from land this time, instead of from the cockpit of my kayak. It's a completely different experience and I feel privileged to have now seen both.
One stop that Telejon and I had made on our river trip was at Fort Bottom to see both the 19th-century "outlaw cabin" along the river and the stone Anasazi ruin top the river bluff. None of the others on this trip had previously visited the sites, and I didn't have to be convinced to return again, but this time from the White Rim Road a mile and a half away at this point after climbing Hardscrabble Hill.
From there we descended the south side of Hardscrabble Hill and passed by the edge of Holeman Spring Basin en route to our first night's camp on the sandstone overlooking the Green River at Candlestick Camp, named for the prominent Candlestick Tower overlooking the site.
[photosphere]https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/104320561789112490385/922fc7a1d74a7e42/98C1-6h8xWQAAAQINi8Feg[/photosphere]
A morning Green River photo sphere from Candlestick Camp
The following morning we passed Soda Springs Basin en route to Murphy Hogback, a ridgeline 500 feet above the White Rim that essentially marks the midway point on the drive. The road goes up and over Murphy Hogback via a steep and narrow ascent and descent on each side.
[photosphere]https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/104320561789112490385/922fc7a1592011f2/pMWzuxTxuI4AAAQINi8Few[/photosphere]
A photo sphere at Soda Springs Basin
After stopping for lunch atop a side canyon just south of the Hogback we made our way to the expansive views at the White Crack before pressing on past Monument Basin en route to our second night's camp at Gooseberry.
[photosphere]https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/104320561789112490385/56f8dfe6048177c2/M1I5asypELAAAAQJOSHivw[/photosphere]
My favorite photo sphere, a complete globe photo taken at the White Crack
Day three was spectacular, but no more or less so than the first two days. Upon leaving Gooseberry Camp we passed Buck Canyon, Washer Woman Arch, Airport Tower and Lathrop Canyon, which reaches down to the Colorado River, before stopping for lunch at Musselman Arch and a brief hike on the Walking Rocks.
[photosphere]https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/104320561789112490385/922fc7a1b40e6192/1AEYpYLeQgEAAAQINi8FfQ[/photosphere]
A photo sphere at the Colorado River Overlook, adjacent to the Walking Rocks
Mrs. Admin begged to stay longer in the sun on the Walking Rocks, but it was November and daylight was getting short. We made our way out to our exit at Shafer Trail, which switches back and forth up the seemingly impassable canyon walls to the plateau adjacent to the Island In The Sky Welcome Center of the national park.
Darkness fell as we returned to Moab. We had hoped to grab a burger at Milt's, which was unfortunately closed on Sunday evening, so we settled for dinner at Eddie McStiff's. Mrs. Admin and I topped off the fuel tank and stopped at a self-serve car wash to spray the desert dust from everything before embarking upon the 3.5-hour drive back to Salt Lake City.
That time of year carries significant weather risks, including rain or snow, both of which would render the double-track White Rim Road impassible. What we got, however, were cloudless skies, daytime highs in the low 60s, nighttime lows in the mid-30s, and not a breath of wind. We could not have asked for better.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX0ApMvw9w4[/youtube]
For those who may be unaware, the White Rim Road is a 100-mile-plus route (if you include the side roads to points of interest) that sits atop a sandstone shelf about halfway between the plateau at the top of Canyonlands, 1,200 feet above, and the Green and Colorado Rivers below. From one guide book:
I've long stated my disdain for the typical National Park experience. I've often said as well that Canyonlands is sufficiently vast to allow you to avoid that "typical National Park experience" -- the crowds, tour buses and busy overlooks -- quite easily. The White Rim is an easy way to enjoy a backcountry experience within Canyonlands, especially in late fall as we did. A backcountry permit is required, and travel is limited to those with high-clearance 4WD vehicles and/or mountain bikes.
Our permit included six people: Marc_C, his wife Karen, AmyZ, Telejon, Mrs. Admin and yours truly. Having just had surgery on a broken hand, AmyZ bailed at the last minute, so we were down to 5. Marc_C and I would provide the two support vehicles -- Marc in his new-to-him Jeep Rubicon and yours truly in my new-to-me Toyota Tacoma -- but now we only had one full-time biker: Telejon. I had planned to mix driving and biking, but while most of the White Rim Road is quite easy by off-roading standards, a spot of mild complexity would regularly appear every three-quarters of a mile or so, and I didn't sufficiently trust Mrs. Admin with my truck in those situations. So the only biking that I ended up doing was around camp each evening.
We chose to do the route in a counter-clockwise direction, meaning that we'd descend via the Mineral Bottom Road and ascend back to the plateau at the end via the Shafer Trail. That meant that the first part of the drive was along the Green River, which regular readers may recall that Telejon and I paddled several years ago for 100 river miles from Ruby Ranch past Mineral Bottom to the confluence with the Colorado River and Spanish Bottom just beyond.
[photosphere]https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/104320561789112490385/922fc7a1b206b002/piMM9gU88dsAAAQINi8FfA[/photosphere]
Mineral Bottom Road photo sphere
This was special, for I got to see the Green River from land this time, instead of from the cockpit of my kayak. It's a completely different experience and I feel privileged to have now seen both.
One stop that Telejon and I had made on our river trip was at Fort Bottom to see both the 19th-century "outlaw cabin" along the river and the stone Anasazi ruin top the river bluff. None of the others on this trip had previously visited the sites, and I didn't have to be convinced to return again, but this time from the White Rim Road a mile and a half away at this point after climbing Hardscrabble Hill.
From there we descended the south side of Hardscrabble Hill and passed by the edge of Holeman Spring Basin en route to our first night's camp on the sandstone overlooking the Green River at Candlestick Camp, named for the prominent Candlestick Tower overlooking the site.
[photosphere]https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/104320561789112490385/922fc7a1d74a7e42/98C1-6h8xWQAAAQINi8Feg[/photosphere]
A morning Green River photo sphere from Candlestick Camp
The following morning we passed Soda Springs Basin en route to Murphy Hogback, a ridgeline 500 feet above the White Rim that essentially marks the midway point on the drive. The road goes up and over Murphy Hogback via a steep and narrow ascent and descent on each side.
[photosphere]https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/104320561789112490385/922fc7a1592011f2/pMWzuxTxuI4AAAQINi8Few[/photosphere]
A photo sphere at Soda Springs Basin
After stopping for lunch atop a side canyon just south of the Hogback we made our way to the expansive views at the White Crack before pressing on past Monument Basin en route to our second night's camp at Gooseberry.
[photosphere]https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/104320561789112490385/56f8dfe6048177c2/M1I5asypELAAAAQJOSHivw[/photosphere]
My favorite photo sphere, a complete globe photo taken at the White Crack
Day three was spectacular, but no more or less so than the first two days. Upon leaving Gooseberry Camp we passed Buck Canyon, Washer Woman Arch, Airport Tower and Lathrop Canyon, which reaches down to the Colorado River, before stopping for lunch at Musselman Arch and a brief hike on the Walking Rocks.
[photosphere]https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/104320561789112490385/922fc7a1b40e6192/1AEYpYLeQgEAAAQINi8FfQ[/photosphere]
A photo sphere at the Colorado River Overlook, adjacent to the Walking Rocks
Mrs. Admin begged to stay longer in the sun on the Walking Rocks, but it was November and daylight was getting short. We made our way out to our exit at Shafer Trail, which switches back and forth up the seemingly impassable canyon walls to the plateau adjacent to the Island In The Sky Welcome Center of the national park.
Darkness fell as we returned to Moab. We had hoped to grab a burger at Milt's, which was unfortunately closed on Sunday evening, so we settled for dinner at Eddie McStiff's. Mrs. Admin and I topped off the fuel tank and stopped at a self-serve car wash to spray the desert dust from everything before embarking upon the 3.5-hour drive back to Salt Lake City.
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