5 days in Utah, where do i go and what do i need

[womacje]

Hi gang,

i need some help. Looking for suggestions of places to go in utah for a solo truck expedition drive. i'll be starting in Arches and then going to canyonlands for the white rim trail, thanks Photogod for the suggestion.

1) Any suggestions would be great. i live in a city and really hope to do a good point to point trip with as few human sitings as possible. i will end the trip in Park City so i don't mind driving out of Southern utah, if its worth it. But i do only 5 days and i would like to travel as opposed to explore every inch of a park, ps. i don't hike and neither does my co-pilot.

2) any suggestions on necessities for utah back-country aside from the basic camping gear. I will have 40 gallons of fuel range. I will have a fridge, thanks to photogod and an off road trailer! Other than what's in my signature, anything else?

Thanks for the help.

Jeremy

 

[DesertRun]

So much to do. I have spent dozens of days in that area. You have to decide if you want to do national parks or do you want to be alone. If it is the parks then stick to your plan and do Arches and Canyonlands. White Rim is great. If you want a haul you could head south from Moab and through blanding UT and then cut over west to page, then southwest to Jacob lake AZ and hit the North rim of the Grand Caynon. The North rim is at 8,000 ft and totally different from Canyonlands. Very few peole do this and it is still my favorite place on earth. From the north rim you can then head to Kanab, UT. From there you can drive up to Long Valley Junction and then over to Cedar City and I-15. If you have time you could shoot up to Bryce Canyon for a quick drive through Bryce in 2-4 hours, then back to Long Valley and over to the 15 at cedar City. this plan is lots of driving but no one around. Be careful of snow if you do it before May 1st. If you need a few good spots for dry camping with great views on the North Rim PM me and I will send you a spot or two.

 

[womacje]

Desertrun,
that sounds about perfect! How much was off road? Did you take trails like hurrah pass? Water crossings? Is this achievable in 5 days?

I'd love some camping suggestions. Thanks.

 

[mpho]

I didn't notice your dates...when are you going?

 

[womacje]

I'm leaving the this saturday! It looks like I'll start off with lockhart basin and go south from there till I get to the north rim. Then make my way back up till I'm out of time. Any suggestions on overland routes from Moab to the n. rim would be great or from n. rim towards salt lake.

 

[coax]

If you have time I highly recommend Escalante National Monument. Some great hikes and canyons down there. Depending on road conditions, You can drive most of the way down to Hole in the rock down to lake powell.

Glen Canyon National Recreation Area - Driving the Hole-in-the-Rock Road (U.S. National Park Service)

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument

Edit: as for what to take, I'm not sure if UT has been getting snow like colorado in the last week, but if so a set of tire chains might not be a bad idea incase the roads turn to nice desert mud while you are back in someplace. This time of year i'd be prepared for the range of weather, sun, snow, rain, etc. Been to UT many times during spring break and had it snow.

 

[urbanmtb]

I actually just got back from Moab this last sunday. Of course I had to do it this time in my jeep cherokee as my fj60 is out of commission for the moment.

as far as what to take the main suggestion is water. always want to have enough for 1 gallon a day per person, and it's always better to have too much than not enough. also the nights are still plenty cold this time of year. we had a jug of water freeze into big ice chunks on saturday night which means it was quite frigid in my tent. be sure to have essentially any clothing and gear that are needed for temperatures of 100F down to 0F as you might get both. plenty of sunscreen, maybe a nice hat and you should be good to go.

good luck on the trip, I didn't want to leave. let me know if for some reason you find out a company down there is looking for a welder starting in the summer

 

[stonemasoncruiser]

Make sure to post some pics when you return!! Good luck on the trip, I'm jealous.

 

[liljlandon]

I just got back on Saturday from a week of mountain biking... i would for sure hike arches, either wheel or hike slickrock... if your looking for a camp site, might i recommend goose island campground. its about 1.5 miles on 128 outside of moab. ive heard mixed rumors about matrimony springs, some say its radioactive, others say its not... so choose your water source carefully. there is a water spicket with clean water by the construction site on the corner of the 128/191(?) intersection.

 

[urbanmtb]

I got water from matrimony when I was just in Moab and didn't get sick so I think you'll be fine. There has apparently been some bacteria showing up in tests though that could cause digestive problems. they had actually welded a pipe last year to the spigot that used to be there to divert it all to the colorado, but somebody ripped it all apart so right now it comes out of the rock and trickles down with a funneling catch pan that you can use to collect the water. if you're not a super germaphobe and worst case you're willing to build up some antibodies I say it's worth the risk.

as far as Moab camping is concerned I like Sand Flats recreation area. 10 bucks a night per car but they have some great sites. my favorite is one back in the G site grouping. Plus if you camp there it comes with access to some great four wheeling trails like fins and things and the slick rock trail if you're into biking. the trails are probably too much for most expedition styled vehicles though, need some good ground clearance and maneuverability.

 

[womacje]

Guys thanks for the tips. The trip was awesome! After 22hrs of straight driving, Nate and I stopped off at fisher towers to ring in the trip. Then to Moab. Grabbed water for 2 bucks from the second rv park on your right as you enter Moab from the north. After gassing up the cans and the tank we hit Kane creek road to hurrah pass to chickens corner, found a great camp site and spent the night on a cliff overlooking the Colorado. Next day we went back to the start of chickens corners which is also the start of lockhart basin, anfter finding the right wash to drive up we started the long 1mi climb. 2hrs, a dented leaky exhaust, scratched armor, and an adrenaline rush later we started the "easy" section. Not real hard but fun. What I had estimated 1 day for took 2. The views were great of the other side of the white rim trail except we didn't see people for a full day. Then it was off to goosebeck park on some tarmack the through monument valley to Jacob lake on the N. Rim of the grand canyon. Ps. The N. Rim doesn't open til sometime in may, Doh! But camping in the snow and out of the 40-50mph winds was worth driving up there. Tuen it was offroad through Cottonwood canyon stopping to hike into the slot canyon of Buckskin gulch, well worth the 5 hrs round trip of hiking.
Sadly we got a weather report for snow so we couldn't camp in the canyon, so we bombed through instead of taking our time. Well worth the drive, really barrow canyon compared to the eastern stuff we did earlier. On our way to salt lake to stay with my sister we got hit with a hell of a snow storm enough that we didn't drive the remaining 3hrs to SLC and stayed in a quality in off I-15. The next day was rain or snow just about every option we had from UT to the black hills in SD. So we hung out with my sister the took our time driving back and spent too much time in Park city.

All in all, great trip! Special thanks to Desertrun for all the turn by turn instructions he gave me as well as the 1.5hrs we spent on the phone. Goosebeck is indescribable!!! Check out my other recent posting on here to see what and how I packed the truck.

Thanks for all the help.

Jeremy

ps Easter jeep safari was the next weekend, talk about sensory overload!!! Too many mods to check out at once and makes driving down mainstreet almost impossible!