How long does it take the dirt roads (S. UT) to dry out after snow?

RyanP

RyanP

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We're planning on heading to the Maze next week but I'm worried about the snow (and rain) in the forecast the days before our planned trip starts, in particular, how it will affect the road from Hite. It looks like they're expecting 2-3 inches or so of snow (depending on where exactly I click on the weather.gov map) between this Wed-Sat (mostly Fri). We were hoping to drive in on Monday. So there's likely only one full day of sunshine (Sunday) between the snow and our planned start, which I'm assuming isn't enough for things to dry out. I have no desire to drive that road when snowy or muddy; plus, we'll be biking the last stretch on our old junk bikes, so I'm not too keen on doing that if it's muddy either. So I have two questions:
  1. How long does it take a road like that (the road from Hite to the Land of Standing Rocks) to dry out after a couple of inches of snow? We may just shorten our trip and start a few days later if there's a decent chance of it drying out by, say, Wednesday or Thursday morning (which would still only be 3-4 full days after the snow)
  2. Does anyone know the best way to find out the amount of actual snow/rain that happened? I would normally call the ranger station, but they will be closed over the weekend (right before the trip start). Also, I imagine they won't have an immediate update for that road anyway. If anyone knows of any other resources to find out the rainfall/snowfall from the past few days, please let me know!
Thanks in advance for any feedback! This may be the 2nd year in a row that this trip is cancelled, which would be super frustrating! But not as frustrating as trying to drive/bike in the snow/mud...
 
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Depends on the amount of precip and if the sun comes out.......I learned the hard way a long time ago to stay off those roads that turn into 'scary slippery mud'.

Udot does have a webcam at Hanksville and a few other locales out there. Capitol Reef also has a recorded weather message and they are open on weekends.

Have a plan B!
 
urgh... I had been planning to head to that general part of the world this Friday but that's looking like a bad plan. from long experience the answer is "it depends." I'd say give it a few days and then proceed carefully and be ready to turn around. also, there are plenty of great trips that you can do from paved roads in S Utah, it definitely narrows down the options, but a trip is better than not a trip.
 
canadug said:
Depends on the amount of precip and if the sun comes out.......I learned the hard way a long time ago to stay off those roads that turn into 'scary slippery mud'.

Udot does have a webcam at Hanksville and a few other locales out there. Capitol Reef also has a recorded weather message and they are open on weekends.

Have a plan B!
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Thanks for the tips; I'll keep an eye on the Udot webcams. Most likely I'll have to resort to my Plan B though
 
regehr said:
urgh... I had been planning to head to that general part of the world this Friday but that's looking like a bad plan. from long experience the answer is "it depends." I'd say give it a few days and then proceed carefully and be ready to turn around. also, there are plenty of great trips that you can do from paved roads in S Utah, it definitely narrows down the options, but a trip is better than not a trip.
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Yeah, I'll err on the side of caution on this trip (partly because biking in the mud with a ton of weight just sounds awful), and will likely do a different trip instead (which I am much less excited for) that is accessible by paved roads and that should benefit from the recent precip (to fill potholes).

Good luck with wherever you end up going this week!
 
I arrive in Escalante this Saturday right in the midst of the forecast snow storm.....Really hoping a lot does not accumulate around Escalante area. Abnormally warm temps arriving in Vancouver on the same day I fly to Las Wages....Any vacation is still a good one.
 
canadug said:
I arrive in Escalante this Saturday right in the midst of the forecast snow storm.....Really hoping a lot does not accumulate around Escalante area. Abnormally warm temps arriving in Vancouver on the same day I fly to Las Wages....Any vacation is still a good one.
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5” of snow is predicted in Escalante . But it’s not 20” inches like Torrey!
This week on vacation Rick and I remind ourselves: the desert needs the precipitation :)

IMG_7685.jpeg



IMG_7684.jpeg
 
In addition to sun exposure/temps, the other thing that matters is soil composition. High clay content will obviously be a pain. If you're bikepacking (or MTBing), you might look for routes that are sandy. What could be super annoying normally, may be ideal after precipitation.

+ NWS past precip map
 
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fossana said:
In addition to sun exposure/temps, the other thing that matters is soil composition. High clay content will obviously be a pain. If you're bikepacking (or MTBing), you might look for routes that are sandy. What could be super annoying normally, may be ideal after precipitation.

+ NWS past precip map
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Yeah, that's a good point about the soil composition. We'll only be biking the last dozen miles or so, but sand is the worst on the bike so some precip may be a good thing. I haven't driven that road before (the road from Hite to the Maze)... does anyone here know if that road has substantial clay sections? I'm hoping that 3 days of sunny-ish weather after getting an inch or two of precipitation will be enough to dry out the road.

Also, thanks for sending that precip map; I'll have to play around with that.
 
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Update: It looks like the forecast keeps dropping how much precip they are calling for out that way. I also just heard back from one of the rangers at Hans Flat, and he said that road is mostly rock and sand and it should be good to go by Monday (he said that some of the roads up higher like the Flint switchbacks have more clay and might be worse). So we're going for it! I figure worst case it's a little muddy and we'll have to wait a day or so for things to dry out enough (but even that sounds unlikely).

Actually, what am I doing?!? Now everyone is going to head out there instead of their current plans to Escalante/etc. What I meant to say is, they've already gotten over a foot of snow and the road is shut down for the season! :)
 
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Yes nothing but snow and clouds and cold right now
 
I've driven the Flint Trail switchbacks just hours after a light rain/snow storm and it was fine. But I've also gotten stopped cold by a very deep puddle on the maze road well north of Hans Flat. This was a number of years ago, perhaps they've improved drainage there since then.
 
desertvic said:
This morning in Escalante proper while walking the dog. It’s a tiny layer but it’s wet! Looks like it will continue falling…
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Heading your way tomorrow and the Udot webcam west of Escalante is showing a snow covered highway.....Should be an interesting drive.
 
canadug said:
Heading your way tomorrow and the Udot webcam west of Escalante is showing a snow covered highway.....Should be an interesting drive.
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It did snow a lot this afternoon but they cleared the roads in town so assuming Hwy 12 should also be cleared. Safe drive!
 

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