Mikjik86
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- Joined
- Apr 22, 2018
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- 88
This is a 3 day Backpacking trip in the beautiful Grand Gulch on the Cedar Mesa in Southeast Utah.
We hiked in Sunday October 20th and got back to the car Tuesday October 22nd. The hike is roughly 20 miles, yet the miles are hard earned as you meander in and out of the dry creek bed dozens of times throughout the route. The walking is hard and requires some small scrambling and bushwhacking. One note is my computer was having issues editing and I was unable to add stabilization to the last 30 minutes of the video. I hope its not too shaky. We started at the Bullet Canyon Trailhead where we dropped into Bullet Canyon and headed West. From there we connected to the Grand Gulch and hiked North until we reached the Kane Gulch Ranger station and completed the hike. This is a repeat hike of the route we took back in 2018.
Day 1 we drove down through Moab to the Kane Gulch Ranger station where we picked up our permit and checked water conditions and other updates. We reached the Bullet Canyon Trailhead, cracked a beer hoisted packs and headed out. It was raining intermittently the majority of this first day. We hiked down Bullet passing multiple ruins including the Perfect Kiva and Jailhouse Ruin. Both are spectacular ruins and are well preserved. Please keep them this way. We continued down Bullet then turning right and heading North up the Grand Gulch where we found a nice spot to camp up on a shelf overlooking the canyon below.
Day 2 we woke up to clear skies and a beautiful morning. This was our big full day down in the Gulch and we were very excited. Right off the bat we reached The Green Mask Panel. We were unable to visit this location last trip and it did not disappoint. The pictograph panels range from 6500BC - 1300AD and are unreal to explore. The cherry on top is the Green Mask itself. Hiding in a rock alcove protected from the sun, the Green Mask is still a vibrantly colored pictograph with Green Yellow, and Red. We continued up The Grand Gulch reflecting on memories from the last trip and soaking in all the ruins and wonder around us. We even saw a large group of deer, and bear tracks. We found camp roughly 3 miles from our trailhead exit and enjoyed the evening.
Day 3 we packed up camp and enjoyed another sunny morning while hiking out. We got back to the Kane Gulch Ranger Station before Noon and headed home from there.This trip was an amazing experience. Returning to The Grand Gulch is always worth the trip. There is so much more to explore and one could spend weeks down there. Please remember to Leave No Trace by not touching any panels or ruins. Obviously never take any pot shards, arrowheads, or artifacts you see. This is an extremely delicate area and must be preserved for future generations.
I hope you enjoy the video.
Safe Trails!
