Colorado Riverway
Personal Notes:
Rainy Day Tour
This page contains our personal notes on our explorations along the Colorado Riverway in Utah.
| Friday, March 18, 2005 | Saturday, March 19, 2005 |
Friday, March 18, 2005
Colorado Riverway
After arriving in Moab we unpacked and changed into our shorts and boots and headed out to hike the Fisher Tower Trail. The trailhead is 21 miles from Moab along the Colorado Riverway, Highway 128, to the turnoff, then 2.5 miles along a dirt road.
The Jeep Safari will be in Moab this next week, so there are Jeep people all over. More Jeeps than we’ve ever seen in one place. Bike people as well. But there seems to be enough room for everyone.
There were lots of vehicles in the Negro Bill trailhead parking area. Most could be bike people, because there is a trail just off of the highway just a few hundred feet to the east. The Colorado River is muddy, either green or red, depending upon the angle of the sun. It is not low, but not as high as we expected for this time of the year. Apparently the real heavy spring runoff hasn’t begun yet.
There are lots of people in the Riverway campgrounds. Trailers and tents.
We spotted a pair of Canadian geese on the river.
We also noticed quite a few people getting water from a spring in the side of the sandstone cliffs just a short way from the junction of 191 and 128, along the south side of the road. There is a large pipe that directs the water. It must be pretty good if so many people know about it and stop.
On the way back along 128 we spotted a heron standing on sandbar in river.
We also noted that the Big Bend Recreation Site campground looked to be full. We also spotted a lot of bicycle and ATV people along the highway.
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Kane Creek Road
3:40 p.m.
We drove through Moab, then took the Kane Creek Road (which begins near the McDonalds). Along the way we made several Way Points at key spots, such as the Moab Rim Trailhead (GPS Coordinates (NAD83): N 38 33.477; W 109 35.034; elevation: 4,045 feet.) and the Moon Flower Canyon pictographs and campground (GPS Coordinates (NAD83): N 38 38.264; W 109 35.238; elevation: 4,034 feet.). There was a lot of Jeep activity around the Moab Rim Trailhead, since the annual Jeep Safari is in town. The Moon Flower Canyon campground appeared to be full, with a large group sitting around a large campfire.
3:43 p.m.
There are several old (what may be) uranium mines cut into the cliffs along the south side of the road. Some look like they’ve been turned into storage areas, like warehouses. There are house trailers in front of some, as if they’ve been converted into living areas and dwellings. There is one that has been fixed up with nice stone work in front, as if someone has turned the excavation into a living space.
The Colorado River is off to the right as we head west. There are ATV and Jeep people camped in an open field, some with large trailers pulled by semi-trailer trucks. Some seem to have quite elaborate setups.
3:45 p.m.
The end of the paved part of the road is at 3.8 miles from the turn-off from Highway 191. (GPS Coordinates (NAD83): N 38 32.062; W 109 36.008; elevation: 4,005 feet.)
Amasa Back Trailhead
3:47 p.m.
There were quite a few vehicles in the Amasa Back Trailhead parking area, with a lot of vehicles parked out along the road. (GPS Coordinates (NAD83): N 38 31.699; W 109 35.753; elevation: 4,033 feet.) There is a good deal of activity back in this wide canyon. It is a very interesting area, with lots of tall sandstone cliffs and rugged erosion across the canyon among tilted sandstone structures.
3:49 p.m.
We noted that there are several bike and hiking trails down along Kane Creek. They might make for an interesting hike.
Birthing Rock
3:54 p.m.
At Birthing Rock we parked in a wide spot along the road and climbed down the side of the road to get to the rock. (GPS Coordinates (NAD83): N 38 31.301; W 109 36.153; elevation: 4,233 feet.) We had missed this site on our previous drives out along this road.
4:10 p.m.
There are pictographs on all sides of the big rock. It looks to be about 15 feet on a side, and about the same tall. The turnout to the west seems to be the better place to park. We climbed down across the tumbled roadside debris, but discovered that if we would have walked the short distance down the road there is a short trail to the big rock. The rock is orange to buff brown and is the largest boulder by itself on the slope to the north off of the road. It is probably about 50 feet off of the road. It is covered by desert varnish on all four sides, and if you are standing on the road you can see that it is marked by pictos.
From the rock we could spot people across the canyon on bikes, along the Amasa Back trail. There are many cliffs and ridges. It looks like an interesting area, so we will have to come back to hike it some autumn weekend, when it is cooler and there are not so many people.
From the Birthing Rock we headed back into Moab.
4:13 p.m.
We passed the Cliff Hanger Jeep area parking lot, which is just up from the Amasa Back Trailhead. We decided that we don’t want to park there. It looks to be loose gravel and is much too steep and at a weird angle. It would be better to park along the road or in the Amasa Back parking area. It looks like the two trailheads might connect down in the wash. That would probably add a mile from the parking area. Besides, the main parking area is much larger.
There is also a trail to the right, heading south, near the Amasa Back parking area. It is .5 miles from the large parking area to the actual Amasa Back Trailhead, along the road. We know that the Hunter Canyon trail is in here somewhere. It provides access to a couple of arches to the south.
There is a lot of traffic back in here. Dirt bikes, RVs, ATVs, Jeeps, and other 4x4 vehicles. However, four-wheel-drive is not needed for this road.
It was starting to sprinkle about the time we got back to the pavement near Kane Springs Campground, which looks to be a privately owned operation on the south side of the road.
