Advice Requested: Spring 2020 Prowling South West

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Wallowa

Double Ought
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NE Oregon
Currently trying to put together a 30 day trip to SW Spring 2020.

We have spent time in Escalante area/Waterpocket/Burr/MuleyTwist/Cottonwood/HItR/Cathedral Vly...etc...but have not gone East of Powell or into AZ/NM/Colo.

#1 Initial plan is to go Mid-March to Mid-April....comments on this timing?

#2 Our routine is to stop in a remote area, hopefully without people, for 2-3 days while going on 4-6 hour day hikes. Then moving on to the next campsite. My '05 Tundra truck/Hawk are rigged for tough off-road travel, but not "jeep only rock crawling"....

Any nuggets areas you can recommend?

All suggestions and recommendations are appreciated and feel free to PM me.

Thanks!

Phil
 
Phil-

KofA NWR in Arizona is a great place.

Cedar Mesa in Utah could provide lots of time for exploring and options for day hikes with Comb and Butler Washes to the east providing more opportunities. There will probably still be snow higher up in The Abajo's at that time of year.

We just got back from a weekend in Gila NF, NM and it was beautiful but again snow will probably be an issue but you might find some opportunities in the Big Burro part of the NF.

I think that's a bit late for most of the birds at Bosque del Apache but maybe someone else will chime in.

Also sending you a PM.

Cheers!
Bob
 
Bob,

Thanks...great info in this and PM...appreciate it. Yes, wife is a dye-in-the-wool photographer [currently in Prague on a photo trip] and she also has photo trips down there in SW that I have not been on....

Dispersed camping is the operative term....just us and the 'Yots...

What about the timing...Mid-March to Mid-April? Starting in South and working North to give snow a chance to recede?

Thanks Again...Phil
 
Phil-
We were in Butler Wash, below Cedar Mesa last Easter weekend (3rd week of April I think, and the temps were upper 80's to low 90's but that was unseasonably warm, there was still snow around the Bear's Ears buttes that weekend and up higher so we didn't venture uo that way.

KofA seems to be a great place to get away as long as you can get a bit off the beaten path, proximity to quartzite means there's lots of day trippers and a few RV's near the boundary but lots of areas further back to explore.

Cedar Mesa should be great any of the time, lots of roads to explore and canyons to hike. Get a permit to be able to drop into some of the canyons where there are a number of ruins.

Unfortunately it will be too early for the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and the South Rim is such a zoo that while beautiful it's hard to recommend, especially if you're seeking solitude.

Have you spent any time in the San Rafael Swell? Lots of places there to explore.

As for overall timing. I might try to shift it a little bit later but it becomes a crap shoot for temps and where there's been snow chances are the roads will have entered mud season in the high contry and you still won't want to be playing around on them.

Bob
 
Bob stole my answer.

Was thinking Cedar Mesa too.

Maybe look into San Rafael Swell area northwest of Moab too.

Nate
 
Bears Ears is good. Think about camping at Mule Point. Incredible views of Monument Valley. You most likely won't be the only one there but the views are great.
I also give two thumbs up to the Swell. See a link below for lots of information. Lots of area with no people unless you are there at spring break.

Information
 
Great suggestions and appreciated.

Almost hate to ask....but does anyone know when Spring Break is down there? I know it may vary...not that I dislike people; I just prefer isolated solitude...without people! :cool:

Thanks....Phil
 
Wallowa said:
Great suggestions and appreciated.

Almost hate to ask....but does anyone know when Spring Break is down there? I know it may vary...not that I dislike people; I just prefer isolated solitude...without people! :cool:

Thanks....Phil
Click to expand...
Utah public school calendar for 2019-20 can be found here. The issue with Spring Break isn't just the public schools it is the influx of college kids that also come for climbing/hiking/mtn biking and general exploration. If you really want to avoid the Spring Break circus you'll probably need to move the trip by about a month and start it in mid-April, should see the desert coming into bloom that way as well.
 
Thanks for Utah school break schedule....earliest starts March 9 and latest to April 17...kinda of squashes March and April...college breaks as noted will probably be the deal breaker and those are unknown to me but assume near Easter..and these dates are Utah only....

Will keep digging and as Bob said he had 80-90 temps third week in April in Butler Wash and again an assumption on my part but areas South of Utah will be warmer. High temps are not something that would stop us but hiking in 90s takes it out of you. If we need to choose between bumping into folks or high temps, we will "sweat it out". Obviously the crowds are during optimal conditions.

OK...lots to review and I do really appreciate the input and first-hand experiences...thanks.

Phil

Just looked up U AZ Spring break 2020 March 7-1....U NM is March 15-22
 
In 2014 I had snow mid May at Capital Reef with snow sticking to the ground. Nothing dramatic but it delayed me a day, not wanting to drive on Hwy 12 until I was sure there was no snow on the road. I suggest you plan for any weather and be flexible.

Ah.. Utah is wonderful.
 
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
 
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.
 
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
 
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.com/photos/awg_pics/albums/72157626377094340
 
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
 
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
 
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 said:
Phil, I’d check with the visitor center...

https://www.blm.gov/visit/escalante-interacgency-visitor-center
Click to expand...

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
 
Thereis a road report available for the Escalante at https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/documents/files/GSENM-Road-Condition-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.
 
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