There's only so many places in the world where you truly feel small and insignificant. To us, Utah is one of them. Specifically, a certain 100 mile stretch of back country named White Rim trail in Canyonlands National Park. Originally the road was built for the government to stockpile Uranium for atomic weapons back in the 50's. I can only imagine the bulldozer drivers of yesterday thinking in their heads, "you want me to make a road go where"?
WR trail is one of the many places that has been on our bucket list for quite some time. We've seen travelers driving it and reporting about it on the web, print and on television. The problem was, the permit for the back country camping was an extremely far out process and could take a year to obtain. One day earlier this year i had the wild idea to just go for it and try and get a permit for the "off season" Fall and Winter months. With my determination and talking with the Ranger station quite a bit, the golden ticket in the Willy Wonka bar was found. It was time to head to Utah once again!
We had a permit for 3 vehicles and the ranger station included a trailer as a vehicle. So as the nice people we are, we opted to leave the trailer at home so that another friend could take their vehicle with us and experience this amazing place.
Upon arrival just west of Moab into Canyonlands NP you need to visit the Island in the Sky Ranger Station to pick up your credentials, have them take down license plate numbers and give them a persons list of who's traveling with you. They also will go over all the rules and regulations so that you're aware of what you can and cannot do.
After getting our paperwork we proceeded to enter the back country, air down and drop down the mesa via Shafer Trail. This section of trail is not for the faint of heart or for people afraid of heights.
The trail descends 1,000 feet in just 4 miles. Although it doesn't appear safe, it has plenty of room for vehicles, as well as some turn outs. On our particular trip there was a stock Tacoma coming up the switchbacks as we were going down. Also, it was raining a bit so you had to pay attention more than normal to slippery road conditions. It's not recommended in the snow and as a matter of fact when we finished the WR trail later in this report, Shafer actually was closed due to weather conditions.
Shafer takes you down to the Potash turn off which takes you into Moab. We continued onto the WR trail and the Colorado River overlook. The views were stunning and the photos do not do the area justice whatsoever.
In the photo below you can see why they call this the "White Rim". The edge of the cliffs are a bright white from the sand that was blown up on the beach when this area was under water ages or eons ago. The areas are breaking away as hundreds of years go by as travelers take in the truly breath taking scenery at every point. The spires and buttes stand in full force as the landscape changes through the ages.
After driving 20 or so miles into the trail, we made camp for the day at Airport D. One of the many campsites developed by the BLM that are spread out upon the route almost equally to allow refuge for back country travelers. Your permit designates which sites you have throughout your journey as there could be other campers in the area at the same time.
We absolutely were aware of the nasty weather heading our way and planned accordingly even before leaving Sunny Southern California. The anticipated cold front was on it's way bringing 50 mph winds through the night.
The cold front nearing camp in the photo below. From this point on, the weather would be questionable as to how far we'd make it through the trail the next day and where we'd make camp.
We woke to the Sun rising with blue skies over the Airport Tower. We had made it through one of the many storms over night while sleeping comfy in our -20 degree bags.
After a quick and simple warm breakfast to get our bodies up and running, we broke camp and the group headed across the vast wilderness.
Canyonlands NP is the largest park in the state of Utah, it boggles your mind how big it is. We took our time and enjoyed the sites as we past Lathrop Canyon and Gooseberry Trail.
The rainfall left the landscape damp which transformed the area into a moonscape type environment. Absolutely epic and we were happy to have experienced it.
Crossing through one of the many sections where the trail runs on the edge of the canyon walls. It's amazing how large these cliffs really are, they make the vehicles look like Toys.
Yoshi bundled up and enjoying every minute but at the same time missing Dixie dearly. You see, this is the first time we've ever left the pup behind. She was back at a Doggy Camp in Moab because Canyonlands does not allow any dogs in the back country. Not even in vehicles. It was bitter sweet and we thought about her the entire time.
After breaking for lunch, we continued on and rounded Junction Butte. Our plan for the night was to camp at White Crack, but there was a massive storm rolling in so we kept on pushing onward.
We climbed over Murphy Hogback while blizzard conditions ensued. I had a sense of urgency as i wanted to get through the rough climbs before the trail became slippery and unstable.
The snowfall finally stopped and the clouds hung around a bit after making for some jaw dropping views. The terrain was sprinkled with a white dusting everywhere you looked. It was magnificent.
The slick rock was definitely living up to it's name as well. Pocketed with ice cold water, you had to be careful if you were going to get out and walk near the edge.
It was time for a decision. We had been driving most of the day and it was getting dark and very cold. Overnight lows would drop into the twenties, so we made camp at Candlestick. After camp was setup for the night, Yosh proceeded to make some warm soup and macaroni & cheese. Nothing fancy, but when it's this cold anything warm tastes wonderful!
We awoke to snow and ice on our tents as we welcomed the final day on the trail. The wildlife was one step ahead of us.
It was cold getting going, but we were excited to see what the day would bring. The weather had cleared up and the storm had past as we prepped to head out.
We were now nearing the Green River and paralleling it for a bit of miles. Some sections were a bit tight with rock cropping overhands and i wondered to myself how cab-over campers made it through before us without shaving the fiberglass off their roofs.
The entire area was a winter wonderland and again, we were thankful we had the opportunity to see the area this way as many never do.
First ones out, except for some deer tracks. It was a great way to end the trail.
The two trucks are just north of the Green River in this shot. Hardly visible if you look closely, just goes to show you the scale of the area.
Approaching the Mineral Bottom switchbacks to head up and back on top of the Island in the Sky ending the route. This would prove to be the nerve racking point as there was snow in the shadows and we were indeed the first vehicles through.
The switchbacks were larger than life. Can you spot the Sportsmobile in this photo?
Or how about the Landcruiser in this shot?
We had two things going for us. Momentum and going uphill. There was ice in the turns and fresh snow in the shadows. Needless to say we didn't really stop much, as it wasn't something we wanted to dilly dally on. I don't know if i'd want to come down it in the snow, that's for sure.
After cresting the top of Mineral Bottom road we were relieved to have made it and not slipped off the edge. The above photo doesn't really show the snow sections but believe me when i say, they were there. After getting up on top we made our way back out to the highway to air up and get back into Moab for some warm food and pick up Dixie.
After Moab, we headed south taking our time and heading through the Moki Dugway, Valley of the Gods, and a quick stop at Goosenecks during the sunset. We just couldn't resist as to us Southern Utah is just one of the most beautiful areas on the planet.
As the sun slowly dropped we past through Monument Valley and onward home with a stop over in Flagstaff Arizona. Again, Utah had gave us another great trip and we are always looking forward to returning. I want to thank everyone again for reading our trip reports and we want you to know we really do appreciate you visiting our site.
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Take care and Happy Holidays everyone from the Duo.
