Moab: Day 4

Dave says: Yesterday was the adrenalin day. Today was the day when we escaped into the wilderness to some of Moab’s most picturesque areas. We spent the day based off Kane Creek Road and started in the morning with a hike/scramble. We began by going up Pritchett Creek but took the first left up an unnamed canyon (thanks to an employee at the local canyoneering store and some various blog posts for the idea) and scrambled up a scarcely traveled route into what is known as the “behind the rocks” area.

Along the way there were some good scrambles: 

There were also some great moments when we got to the top of the scramble and the sandstone fins opened up with amazing views.



We turned around after a number of scrambles and some hiking that took us to the top of one of the fins with great views in all directions. We were looking for an arch called Pool Arch that we read about on the internet (this is not really even a trail so information is somewhat sparse). We never saw it, but a careful look at the photos of others showed that the arch is right below us- a cut out on the very fin that you can see me standing on. Oh well, I guess that leaves something for next time.

Our second adventure was an atv trip out of the same parking lot from which we started our hike. We first went up the dirt part of Kane Creek Road, then up Hurrah Pass, then on a trail paralleling the river edge known as Chicken Corners. The route eventually took us to a great viewpoint overlooking the river. On the other side of the river is Canyonlands National Park. It was quite a nice spot for lunch.

Our final adventure of the day was a trip up Upper Kane Creek Road. At first the trail was rough with lots of boulders and I was unimpressed. However, after a few miles we dropped right into Kane Creek and this is where things got exciting with a bunch of creek crossings (25 according to my atv guide book) and some tight sandy trail with banked corners. As usual, we made it back to the car right as the sun was going down and right as the atv was on empty (I carry a gallon extra just in case). Driving back in the canyon bottom was quite chilly and I was glad to have heated grips on the atv so that my hands could roast while my face froze.

On our way back into town, we drove right to the local pizza joint and ordered their largest size pizza to carry back to the hotel room. I ate a couple slices, realized how dirty I was and hopped in the shower, then got out and ate some more. Another exciting day of adventure finished and we are already looking at the map trying to plan out tomorrow.