Beef Basin/Ruin Park/Bobby's Hole (1 Viewer)

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cruiseroutfit said:
It will absolutely impact motorized travel... Absolutely.
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It took 4 years for the red carsonite (route closed signs) to go up after Death Valley was expanded....This sucks. It was so important that it took him almost 8 years to sign the proclamation, from Hawaii.....
 
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I feel bad about this, but if there's a ray of hope, it's that other local sites and national parks still allow motorized access. And even Death Valley, which is way more restrictive than Utah parks, still allows access to most of the back country.

But that Bear's Ears/Elk Ridge is the the access point to miles and miles of great backcountry. I'm sorry, but it's so big, that without motorized access, it's too big to visit. It's like the Maze. It's remote, pristine, but the ironic thing is, without motorized access no one would ever see it. When I was out at Millard, as example, no one had been there in years.

Maybe they don't care and it's all Politics.
 
I certainly hope the access doesn't get completely ruined, to me the other factor that is sort of worrying is the amount of increased traffic the area might see with the new publicity. Crowds have been non-existent around the southern part of the new monument that I'm most familiar with: Bluff, valley of the gods, mules point/moki dug way, and the souther portions of cedar mesa (apart from moon house). There are SO many places I still need to check of the list that lie north (you guys seem to have seen a lot of that area! Congrats: I know firsthand the amount of research and prep that goes into finding these great areas!). Anyway, the area is def priority for my 2017 plans: wanna get it in before too much changes!
 
We ran Elephant hill, Beef basin and Lockhart last November.
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I'll try to dig up photos from the trip I took in my '84 FJ60 with my older son. The two-track to the rim of Gypsum Canyon looked like it hadn't seen a vehicles in many years, and that was more than 20 years ago.
 
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WCBlueSky said:
I've found this map to be the best for this area, it shows the loop from Beef basin, through Imperial Valley and Cross Canyon to Impossible Hill/Bobby's hole, along with all the spurs. https://sanjuancounty.org/sjc-content/maps/Trails - Beef Basin and White Rim.pdf
(It is an older map so some of the other routes that go into the wilderness are now closed.)
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My son and I took 41 to 42, then on the un-numbered red road into Imperial Valley, to the head of the deep canyon shown on the map. Then we turned around and went back to 42 until we got to 42A. We took 42A through Bull Valley to the end of the road at Gypsum Canyon, then back to our campsite in Beef Basin. We were the only ones out there that day.
 
I love this area so much. Hopefully these lesser known routes will stay open after being included in Bears Ears National Monument. :eek:
 
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WCBlueSky said:
I love this area so much. We went there in 2020, 2021 and planning to go back next spring in 2023. My favorite is Impossible Hill to Gypsum Canyon area, though Cross Canyon and Imperial Valley. The views are incredible, you can even catch a glimpse of the Colorado River in one spot. In many places the roads feel similar to the Elephant Hill Trail in neighboring Canyonlands NP. Can either go down Bobby's Hole and Impossible Hill and then back up, or make a big loop between Beef Basin and Impossible Hill. Hopefully these lesser known routes will stay open after being included in Bears Ears National Monument. :eek:

"Impossible" Hill is really a misnomer. It is steep and loose but isn't that bad with lockers, in some ways going up Bobby's Hole felt harder.

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Looking up Impossible Hill:
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Looking down:
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Cross Canyon in the background
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Gypsum Canyon

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That looks like the spot where my son and I went to look into Gypsum Canyon. I believe it's the spot where John Wesley Powell climbed out to the rim from the Colorado River on his first expedition.
 
I need to go check this out
 
Seriously considering this trip, would be going over Elephant Hill and coming out Beef Basin to Elk Ridge Rd. Anyone done this recently enough to confirm passibility for moderately modified vehicles with competent drivers? We have a week, so not looking to drive every day, spend a few nights in a couple different places, take our time, see what we can photograph, etc.

Thanks!
Clark
 
midknightc3 said:
Seriously considering this trip, would be going over Elephant Hill and coming out Beef Basin to Elk Ridge Rd. Anyone done this recently enough to confirm passibility for moderately modified vehicles with competent drivers? We have a week, so not looking to drive every day, spend a few nights in a couple different places, take our time, see what we can photograph, etc.

Thanks!
Clark
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Bobby’s Hole is doable, but the side by sides have really dug it out. I’d plan on some scrapes and dings even if you have lockers.

Used to be much easier 10 years ago.
 
Is Impossible Hill closed? Going out to Imperial Canyon looks incredibly nice, but I don't see that listed as a road on the GOV websites so I'm assuming it's foot traffic only or something? GaiaGPS is usually pretty up to date and shows it open, but obviously they are not an official source.

Clark
 
Good lord, after much clicking I finally stumbled upon a Glen Canyon NRA map that shows those as open roads. I gather what I was thinking was Bears Ears isn't anymore and is therefore just BLM land around Beef Basin/Dark Canyon, etc. With this new knowledge I think I am finally settling on a plan!

Clark
 
No, Impossible Hill is still part of Bears Ears National Monument, not just BLM land. I have a link to the Bears Ears maps if you want to see it. While Impossible Hill is currently open, the travel management plan (TMP) for Bears Ears has not been released yet. The Bears Ears TMP could very well close many roads in this area, including Impossible Hill. So there is great risk due to the monument and we need to show as much support as we can during the future public comment period!
 
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@WCBlueSky , sending you a PM as I am definitely interested in the maps. Since my last post I have leared what I was looking at were maps from Trumps 2017 change, which I'm guessing Biden then re-changed? I'v had a shockingly hard time finding reliable and up to date maps showing what I need. My only firm confirmation from a .gov source are the sources from Glen Canyon NRA showing that you can drive on their portion of those roads.

Thanks!
 
When my son and I visited this area in '98 we drove in from Beef Basin, almost due west down into Bull Valley. We took a detour north into Imperial Valley to the head of Imperial Canyon, then backtracked to Bull Valley and headed further west-southwest to the north rim of Gypsum Canyon. I just now pulled up the old USGS quads for Cross Canyon and Teapot Rock, and the 4WD roads are all shown. At the time I didn't know about Impossible Hill. This trip was in my stock '84 FJ60.
 
I few years ago we did a loop from beef basin down towards the Colorado river and up impossible hill. I really was not paying attention to any maps just out exploring with some friends.
 
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