White Pocket to CBS

[Dirkules]

Hey there,

we have permits for Coyote Butte South this June and want to combine that with seeing the White Pocket.
We have been to CBS before but due to the deep sand we had to leave the car a fair way off Paw Hole. We then walked to there via Cottonwood Cove. This was a long day so we didn´t have enough time at the CBS for exploring. That´s why we want to go there again.
We are considering driving to the White Pocket from the south via Corral Valley Road 1017 and then Road 1087/1086 and spend the night camping there. We heard the road conditions from White Pocket to CBS are bad so we thought hiking could be an option.
Our question would be: is it possible to do a backpacking hike from the White Pocket to the CBS and if so has anyone done such kind of trip before?

Any suggestions are appreciated .
Thanks in advance!

Dirkules

 

[Wyatt Carson]

Hi Dirkules

Read through This Thread on the subject.

Have fun out there. It is a real amazing place. The loose sand is everywhere on the Plateau so hiking is tough but can be very rewarding.

 

[Carlos]

Hi,

I am on the same boat. I have permits for two days (not consecutive) in June and I am definitely not driving and getting stuck (I will be by myself). My plan was to hike the first day from PawHole to Cottonwood Cove and explore the complete area ........... and then check out the conditions and decide it its worth making the 14 mile round trip to White Pocket a couple of days later on my second permit to the area.

 

[Lake]

Hi Carlos, I was wondering if you got to White Pocket via the Cottonwood Cove route or did you just go the PawHole route? I am like you all by myself and plan on renting a 4X4. I only plan on one day . I am worried about getting stuck, but figure I would check before leaving. I plan on going in July (Yuck) but that's when I will be out there. Any suggestions you have would be helpful.

 

[Carlos]

Hi Carlos, I was wondering if you got to White Pocket via the Cottonwood Cove route or did you just go the PawHole route? I am like you all by myself and plan on renting a 4X4. I only plan on one day . I am worried about getting stuck, but figure I would check before leaving. I plan on going in July (Yuck) but that's when I will be out there. Any suggestions you have would be helpful.

Well, I only made it to Cottonwood Cove. I left the rental at the Pawhole area, hiked about a mile to Pawhole (that road is incredible sandy) and then I hiked to Cottonwood. By the time I got there I was super tired, it is sandy, deep sandy, all the way to Cottonwood. And I was walking trying to avoid stepping on plants and cactus, so that was adding to the effort. I spend some time at Cottonwood and realized that I was not going to have the strength to make it all the way to White Pocket and then come back to Pawhole. This was in early June, so the heat was starting to become a problem. So the moral of the story, its not worth hiking in that area, either the heat or the sand will tire your legs. A 4x4 is the way to go, I ran into some people at Cottonwood Cove with a huge 4x4 and it was very clear ........ do NOT drive from Pawhole to Cottonwood, use other routes, from what I saw and I kept reading, that route from Pawhole is sandy and UPHILL, so that is not good.

This website (http://www.thewave.info/index.html) has good info and google earth tracks for vehicles. It is very helpful, it notes what driving routes are better than others.

 

[Reef&Ruins]

This map is also very helpful. We used it on our trip out there a few years ago and it shows the best driving route out to White Pocket:
Paria Canyon, Kanab [Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument] (National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map)
Keep in mind though, that TI maps don't show everything.