Colorado Riverway
Personal Notes:
Kane Creek Road
This page contains our personal notes on our explorations along the Colorado Riverway in Utah.
June 26, 2004
Kane Creek Road
We drove out along the Kane Creek Road toward a point below the Hatch Point Overlook. The road is not in bad shape, but there were a few places where the gravel was deep and we slid around a bit. So we put the Trooper into four-wheel drive just to make the driving easier. But it was not necessary.
There is some amazing scenery out that way, and the slow drive is well worth the time. So often we get a view of this area from the overlooks high up on the canyon rims. This drive provides a close-up view of the valleys and canyons.
On the way back we spotted several pictograph panels and visited a few. There are also some old mining operations (I suspect from the uranium days) and lots of photo opportunities.
Potash Road
We've been out along the Potash Road on a couple of occasions. This is the road to the Potash facilities that are obvious from so many of the overlooks in the Island in the Sky and Dead Horse Point portions of the parks. There are several nice hikes out to arches and other features, and many nice panels of pictographs. Besides, there are some great views of the sandstone cliffs reflecting off of the Colorado River.
On this day it was pretty warm, but dark storm clouds helped by covering the sun for a good portion of the drive. There were a few other tourists along the way, and some climbers doing their thing, staining the dark sandstone walls with their white chalk. We got some nice photos though.
This road eventually links up with the White Rim Trail and the Shafer Trail, up to the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park. There are also several primitive campsites spread out along the river. Most offer some shade, but my guess is they can be pretty warm and humid, and my be buggy.
June 27, 2004
Negro Bill Canyon Trail to Morning Glory Bridge
We got to the trailhead at about 6:15 a.m. It is about about three miles east of the bridge across the Colorado River. The only other person in the parking area was a fellow camped out in his old Trooper. He got up and left before we hit the trail.
The GPS Coordinates for the trailhead are: N 38 36.595; W 109 32.030. The elevation was 3,858. Because of the high canyon walls, by the time that we reached Morning Glory Bridge, we had lost all but two satellites. So we were not able to get a reading at the bridge. That should be easy enough to obtain, though, from a topo map.
This is an easy trail that crosses the stream in several places. But I generally don’t like this kind of trail because it passes through a lot of underbrush and high, stream side bushes and trees and growth. It was damp and humid but, surprisingly, had few bugs.
There was, however, quite a bit of poison ivy. We spotted it at various places along the trail. But it was most prominent under the bridge. There were some places along the trail where we had to be careful, because it was along both sides.
The trail is mostly packed, but there are a few sandy stretches. Again, not some of my favorite walking conditions. There are a few brief climbs, but nothing too serious. And the stream crossings, at least at this time of the year, were fairly easy, with enough stones placed just right so that we could get across without getting our boots too wet.
The trail is well marked and Morning Glory Bridge is well worth the effort. This is only a four mile round trip hike.
Back at the trailhead we changed clothes in the spacious, clean restroom. There were several others there by then. We met one family out along the trail as we were heading back. Otherwise we had the trail to ourselves.
