Picking up from the last entry when we were camped Friday night….
St. Patrick’s Day was an early day as we wanted to cover a lot of offroad miles. We still had 70 miles of the White Rim to do and at our initial pace of 5.6MPH over all, it was going to be a long day.
I got out of the tent before sunrise to take some pictures of the morning colors. All was still except for 2 people in the other camp about 300′ away. The camps here are really dispersed and as we learned, there isn’t a bad on to be had. The sun signaled its approach to the horizon by first painting the 12,000′ La Sal mountains to the East. This is the range you see on the license plates in Utah with Delicate Arch in the foreground. Their white flanks reflected the first rays through a slight haze as I waited for some indication down where we were at 5400′. Far off to the South I spied the first glow on the rusted cliffs and quickly grabbed the camera. In about 30 minutes the light on the cliffs would change from a bright, crimson orange to a more pale and washed out natural sandstone color. Those first few minutes when the sun shines on the hills is magical and fleeting, as are most of the exciting times in our life.
Airport Tower behind our camp got its chance to shine before too long and after that our whole camp came to life with a harsh but pleasing glow. Light on the tent finally got Kim to rouse out of bed and we took our time cooking eggs and bacon. One lesson we learned this morning: buy cheap cookware and it will break or not work right. We had one pan that instantly burned the bacon and managed to lose two welds on the handle. It won’t be making the next trip with us.
The birds had woken as well and we heard some sounds we hadn’t heard before. One was more of a “weo weo weo….chir chir chir”. Every once in a while we’d also hear a jetliner pass overhead high enough that it was just background noise. The roar of the trusty camp stove meant breakfast was just about ready while the familiar waft of bacon floating through the morning air got my stomach growling.
I tried out the PETT
portable toilet this morning, even though we had a pretty nice privy to use at the site. I gotta say, that toilet is nice and easy to use!! It’s definitely sturdy and comfortable. The system for disposing of the bags works well and every thing is included in the WagBag: bag, toilet paper (although not quite enough for my needs), clean wipe and disposal bag.
The disposal bag is made of strong plastic and gave me confidence enough to throw it in with our other trash until we found a dumpster. If you don’t use the disposal bag, the collection bag is biodegradable so you can just directly bury it.
Onward!! It’s 10:05am and we’re on the trail again. Kind of a slow morning, but sometimes you just don’t feel like moving fast. This area can lure you into a relaxed lull the same way a tropical beach or cozy fireplace will hold you in one spot without a care in the world. An hour and a half later we reach Gooseberry camp, which was my first choice but was taken. Along the way we pass one set of bikers and 2 cars and that’s it. The solitude is wonderful. There was one stretch this day were we went 3 hours driving without seeing another soul.
Monument Basin was up next and the steep cliffs and bowl shape made we feel as if I could just step off the edge and ly through the canyon. It was quite luring and if I had a hand glider, I wouldn’t have hesitated to give it a try. Kim and I relaxed here for a bit just sunning ourselves on the rocks. By now Kim, ever the voracious reader, had learned a lot of the geology of the area, at least where we traveled. If you stop by the Visitor’s Center, I’d suggest shelling out the 75 cents for the White Rim guide book. A small paperback with plenty of maps and mile by mile descriptions, this book is a wealth of instant knowledge on what you’re seeing and well worth the money.
1:13pm and we’re heading up Hogsback to Murphy campsites. It’s rather steep on both sides and is best run in low gear to give you better traction and less slipping. The view from the top is a panorama photographers dream as this headland sticks out from the canyon walls to the West. There are three campsites here, A being the best option but none of them are bad. Down the other side of Hogsback takes a firm grip of the wheel and compression breaking to maintain control as you are greeted with views to your trail out to the South.
After Soda Springs Basinwe pick up speed on some sandier sections. Until now the trail has had a lot of rock and bumps to it, keeping our moving average around 10MPH. The sandy sections allow us to speed up to a maximum of 25MPH at one point. With the tires aired down, the sand feels fun and slushy and a lot more comfortable. Soon enough we glimpse the Green River on its way to meet up with the Colorado. Both rivers run a muddy brown and the banks are choked with an invasive species of tree from the Middle East. It’s time to put the truck back into low gear as we head up and over another promontory, this time with many more of the banded layers of sandstone and salts exposed. If you have a fear of heights, you might want someone else to drive at this point.
By 4:30 we are heading up the hill to Horse Thief Road. This is yet another road cut right into the side of the canyon and got the temperature on the truck rising a bit. It’s a lot of work if you’re laden with supplies. Once on top, it’s a nice dirt road with speeds reaching 60MPH before you’re back on pavement. Until the fast portion we had a moving average of 12.1MPH and an overall average of 8.2MPH for the whole White Rim Trail. This doesn’t include stopping for the night, but does include a short hike and all picture stops. We felt this was a fast pace and would take it slower next time.
We’d like to do this trail again but take 5 days instead of 2. 3 days will be moving from one camp to another (or out of the park) and then 2 days can be spent exploring or just sitting around. There are a number of hikes and side canyons to explore and 2 weeks could easily go by before you wanted to leave. But we’ll be happy with 5 days. ?
Some stats from our time on the trail:
98.8 miles driven pavement to pavement
10:16 hours total
7:06 hours moving
3:11 hours stopped
13.9MPH moving average
9.6MPH overall average
Total Accent – 6479′
Top Speed – 25MPH (52MPH on the hardpack Horse Thief Road)
Next up…..Arches National Park
