Third Time's A Charm: ADVENTR Jeep III

[IntrepidXJ]

Moab’s Old Mail Trail: Mill Creek to South Mesa
Moab Meanderings | Saturday & Sunday, February 24-25, 2024

After spending a couple of days searching for rock art along the Pahranagat Trail in Nevada last week, I decided to stay a little closer to home this weekend to spend some time near Moab before it really starts getting too busy around there. Earlier this month after Diane and I had hiked a short section of Moab’s Old Mail Trail along the rim of Mill Creek, I became very interested in learning more about this route and started doing some research into it. Although I wasn’t able to find very much information about it, I think I was able to find enough to try my hand at tracing this historic route from Mill Creek to South Mesa. I really didn’t have much information to go on besides some broad locations, vague newspaper articles, the segment of the existing trail and some educated guesses on my part, so I may not have gotten it all correct. But even if I am completely wrong with my guesses, this turned out to be a very nice hike and a great way to spend the day in the backcountry.


The full Trip Report can be found here: https://adventr.co/2024/02/moabs-old-mail-trail-mill-creek-to-south-mesa/



The Old Mail Trail Sign by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Across The Valley by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Constructed Trail by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Old Mail Trail View by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


South Mesa Notch Canyon by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Snow-Covered Mail Trail by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


South Mesa Descent by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Fins & South Mesa by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Mill Creek Rim by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr

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[IntrepidXJ]

Woodruff Canyon: The Canyons of Trachyte Creek V
Friday & Saturday, March 1-2, 2024

Over the past four years I have been spending one weekend in early March at the foot of the Henry Mountains exploring the Canyons of Trachyte Creek, so this weekend I headed out to hike down Woodruff Canyon, which is the final named tributary canyon on the west side of Trachyte Creek that I had not hiked yet. Although the weather forecast was calling for very strong winds this weekend, with gusts up to 65MPH, I was hoping that conditions might be a little bit better down in the canyon and decided to take my chances. I left from work on Friday afternoon and headed west into Utah. The wind wasn’t too bad until I passed through Green River and was driving across the San Rafael Desert, where I found blowing sand across the road in a couple of places, but nothing that was unusual for springtime on the Colorado Plateau. I topped off my gas tank in Hanksville and then made my way further south to search for a campsite for the night.


The full Trip Report can be found here: https://adventr.co/2024/03/woodruff-canyon/



Dusty Desert View by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Golden Light on Mount Holmes by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Mount Hillers Morning by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Hiking Down Woodruff Canyon by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Woodruff Canyon Creek by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Woodruff Canyon by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Downstream Woodruff Canyon by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Woody Canyon by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Milk Creek by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Milk Creek Narrows by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Moab Meanderings: Moab Area Rock Art XLII
Saturday & Sunday, March 9-10, 2024

This weekend Diane and I stayed close to home and returned to Moab so we could finish what we had started a couple of weeks ago. We left home early on Saturday morning, grabbed a campsite at the Sand Flats Recreation Area and then headed out to spend the rest of the day hiking and searching for rock art. I knew we were probably pushing it trying to camp near Moab at this time of the year, but I was hoping we were still early enough in the season that it wouldn’t be too busy yet. Well, I was wrong and this will most likely be our last trip to the Moab area until next winter. Here are some photos from the weekend.

The full Trip Report can be found here: https://adventr.co/2024/03/moab-area-rock-art-xlii/



North Fork Mill Creek by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Petroglyph Panel by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Dead End Cove by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Red Hands Cave by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


High Guy by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Sheep Alcove II by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Cliffhandle Arch by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


The Petrified Tractor II by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr

 

[MIKKY Slim]

Nice photos !

Kodi​

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Nice photos !

Thank you!

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Trails of the Richardson Amphitheater
Castleton Tower to Professor Valley | Sunday, March 17, 2024

I was originally planning to spend this weekend south of Green River in the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness, but apparently the weather had other plans for me. While I was at work on Friday I kept a close eye on the forecast and hoped that there might be a change, but by the time I was ready to leave the forecast was still calling for a very wet Saturday across the Colorado Plateau, so I cancelled those plans and headed home instead, hoping that I would be able to get out hiking on Sunday, at the very least. So when Sunday rolled around I left home early headed over to the Richardson Amphitheater to hike a couple of trails since I didn’t feel like driving too far from home. It turned out to be a good decision since there were low-hanging clouds surrounding the valley when I arrived shortly before sunrise. I made my way to the western end of the amphitheater to hike the Sylvester Trail at sunrise and enjoyed taking photos along the way while the spires, buttes and mesas played hide-and-seek in the clouds.

The full Trip Report can be found here: https://adventr.co/2024/03/trails-of-the-richardson-amphitheater/


Adobe Mesa at Dawn by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


The Rectory in the Clouds by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Shrouded in Clouds by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Castle Rock Pass by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Porcupine Rim by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Sister Superior by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Onion Creek Bench Road by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Dark Spire by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr

 

[IntrepidXJ]

The Grandest of Gulches: Back Into Lower Grand Gulch
Cedar Mesa Chronicles: Chapter 11 | Thursday – Sunday, March 21-24, 2024

This week Diane and I took Thursday and Friday off from work so we could meet up with our friend Jared and spend a couple of days backpacking into lower Grand Gulch within the Bears Ears National Monument. While this would be Diane’s first time hiking into this part of Grand Gulch, Jared and I had hiked here about nine years ago and I was really looking forward to the return visit. From the very start of the hike we could tell there was a lot of water in the canyon from recent storms and that it might have even flash flooded recently, but all that water also created a lot of quicksand and mud in the wash that significantly slowed down our progress and forced us to follow brushy deer trails across the benches in many places. The weather during the first three days of our hike was great and the nights even stayed pretty warm, we only encountered wet weather during our final night in the canyon and during the hike back out of Collins Canyon.

The full Trip Report can be found here: https://adventr.co/2024/03/the-grandest-of-gulches/



Big Alcove Hiker by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Diane by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Rope Canyon Camp by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Filtering Water by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Grand Arch by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Afternoon Alcove by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Lower Grand Gulch by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Grand Gulch Bend by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


The Narrows by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Holding Hands Panel by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Grand Gallery by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Sheep by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Mini Granary by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr

 

[IntrepidXJ]

The Twists and Turns of Salt Creek Canyon
Canyonlands National Park | Thursday – Monday, April 4-8, 2024


After a rugged hike around Navajo Mountain last year, Dave, Jared and I decided to return to a very familiar place in Canyonlands National Park for our annual spring backpacking trip this year as we started making plans to continue exploring the twists and turns of Salt Creek Canyon a few months ago. Although we have all hiked into Salt Creek many times over the years, I hadn’t been back to the middle section of the canyon since our first hike down the length of the canyon just about ten years ago, and I was looking forward to returning! I left from work on Thursday afternoon and made my way to Indian Creek Country for the evening where I found a campsite and watched a colorful sunset on the surrounding cliffs while waiting for Dave and Jared to arrive.


The full Trip Report can be found here: https://adventr.co/2024/04/the-twists-and-turns-of-salt-creek-canyon/

Hatch Point Sunset by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Peekaboo Pictographs by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Below Angel Arch by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Molar Rock & Angel Arch by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Graupel Storm by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Hidden Red Panel by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Little Ledge Ruin by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Collapsed Kiva by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Arrowhead by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


High Ledge Pictographs by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Little Granary Alcove by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Last Camp Morning by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Salt Creek Arch & Clouds by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Solar Eclipse, April 8 2024 by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr​

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Beyond The Swell: Last Chance to the South Desert
Friday – Sunday, April 12-14, 2024

A few months ago I finally did something that I’ve been meaning to do for a long time when I signed up for a Swiftwater Rescue Training class that would be taking place on Monday and Tuesday along the Green River near Swaseys Beach at the mouth of Gray Canyon. Since I needed to be in Green River on Sunday night for the class, I figured this would be a good weekend to spend some quality time wandering around the fringes at the southwestern edge of the San Rafael Swell and into the adjacent Cathedral Valley District of Capitol Reef National Park. It feels like it’s been quite a while since I’ve spent much time out in this desolate area and I was looking forward to returning since there are plenty of new places I’ve wanted to explore with my Jeep and on foot, plus a few others that I’ve wanted to return to.

The full Trip Report can be found here: https://adventr.co/2024/04/beyond-the-swell-last-chance-to-the-south-desert/



Desert Hill by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Petroglyph Panel by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Chimney Canyon Rim by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Chimney Canyon Evening by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Upper Chimney Canyon by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Slaughter Slopes Rim by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


A Morning Drive by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Temple Rock by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Jailhouse Rock by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Upper South Desert Overlook by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Upper Cathedral Valley Overlook by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Rock Springs Bench at Dawn by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Morrell Cabin by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Volcanic Dike & Sand by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Furniture Draw Slot Canyon by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr


Swaseys Rapid by Randy Langstraat, on Flickr

 

[Opus]

Brother if you make these pictures any more beautiful it's going to be bad for tourism... people will stop going because they'll think they've already seen it all...

Seriously, fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing them.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Brother if you make these pictures any more beautiful it's going to be bad for tourism... people will stop going because they'll think they've already seen it all...

Seriously, fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing them.

Thanks!

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