Blanding to Hite via Dark Canyon

[RedRockRider]

Checking this area out on Benchmark Maps. Remote. That mud pit looked challenging. Wouldn't want to ride into that solo.

Nice ride report! Thanks.

[DCZ]

Originally Posted by RedRockRider

Checking this area out on Benchmark Maps. Remote. That mud pit looked challenging. Wouldn't want to ride into that solo.

Nice ride report! Thanks.

Thanks RedRockRider!

It is wonderfully remote - especially the Woodenshoe portion to Hite. The roads in that area are built in that transition from red shale to sandy dirt. This makes a great road but once you get out of the track it is like marbles! Almost missed a few corners - then there were the washes - the bottom of every draw had a 6 inch or so cut in it from the last rain. Lots of picking up the front wheel to reduce hitting the bottom of each washout - good workout!

The muddy place saved us 150' of walking - wasn't worth it. Of course we didn't know that going in. I'm just glad Terence is as strong as he is - I would have had to take the damn thing apart to have gotten it out! We were a muddy/cowpie mess when we finally got out of there.

Our route:


View Larger Map

[exjeeper]

The map was a nice addition. Exjeeperwife and I went for a color ride
Sunday up and over the blue Mountains and came out in Blanding. Went right by
the turnoff to Elk Ridge-Causeway just south of the Nizhoni campground I believe.

Looking at your map, it appears you went through Fry Canyon....are there still services there?
I always looked forward to stopping there as a kid on the way to Lake Powell!

[exjeeper]

Originally Posted by dctrail

It was a great ride. We found about a dozen more place's along the way that we would like to explore. If anyone is planning to ride the woodenshoe road to Hite, I lost my iPhone somewhere along the way. Thanks DCZ for being a great planner and guide.

Terence, don't know if your phone is still missing and I know even less about iPhones, but I've heard that
if you logon to your apple account and answer the requested info, they can give you the gps coordinates
where your phone is... again, don't know if this is true but it may be worth checking out....

[DCZ]

Originally Posted by exjeeper

The map was a nice addition. Exjeeperwife and I went for a color ride
Sunday up and over the blue Mountains and came out in Blanding. Went right by
the turnoff to Elk Ridge-Causeway just south of the Nizhoni campground I believe.


Looking at your map, it appears you went through Fry Canyon....are there still services there?
I always looked forward to stopping there as a kid on the way to Lake Powell!

Thanks!

Yep - that's the place. The Causeway early in the morning made me see the value of a GoPro camera - if I would have stopped and taken pictures of all the scenes that looked worthy we wouldn't have made it out before dark.

No services at Fry Canyon any more - it looks to be inhabited though.

How's the road over the Blues?

[exjeeper]

The road over the Blues was actually pretty good. And the scenery was fantastic!
Lots of reds, which is not all that common around here...

Also saw the canyon with the growth of (Blue?)Spruce trees. Pretty cool!

I never realized the trails were so plentiful on the Blues. And, like you, I found more roads
I would love to explore.

[DCZ]

Originally Posted by exjeeper

The road over the Blues was actually pretty good. And the scenery was fantastic!
Lots of reds, which is not all that common around here...

Also saw the canyon with the growth of (Blue?)Spruce trees. Pretty cool!

I never realized the trails were so plentiful on the Blues. And, like you, I found more roads
I would love to explore.

Looking at the snow up there we might have to wait a few days

[HickOnACrick]

From Woodenshoe to Hite, did you take this road?



Would love to have a GPS track around Dark Canyon if'n yer sharin'

[DCZ]

Originally Posted by HickOnACrick

From Woodenshoe to Hite, did you take this road?



Would love to have a GPS track around Dark Canyon if'n yer sharin'

Yep - that looks like a place along the way - before getting into about 20 miles of red shale roads with hidden corners and washouts!

That was my first plan for this ride but the Colorado River Canyon kept getting in the way.

Thanks for the pic!

Rick

[mefadv]

Great report... I was at Lake Powell last week and always think of the many land adventures in the area... Someday I'll leave the boat at home and do some ground touring...

[DCZ]

Originally Posted by mefyj

Great report... I was at Lake Powell last week and always think of the many land adventures in the area... Someday I'll leave the boat at home and do some ground touring...

Thanks mefyj - I've been to Powell every year since '64 - back in those days it was an adventure every trip!

Have a ride report on here from last winter - Red Canyon and Clay Hills Crossing - doing the Mormon trail this winter.

The ground touring is great! Nice connect to the water based adventures - San Juan exploring is next!

Rick

[RideFreak]

Great report DCZ! Dark Canyon is an amazing looking place from the little I can see from the paved road. I've wanted to ride through there on a DS ever since I first saw it. I've ridden at ether end of this, Comb Ridge area and The Maze in CL. The old Dugway through Comb ridge lends a whole new prespective to the area with a little pucker thrown in.



Next summer I'm hoping to get back there for a ride I've had planned now for awhile. Starts in Bluff, up Butler Wash, crossover 95 & pickup woodenshoe. From there taking DCZ's route through Dark Can, at Hite I'd pick up the main trail north into CL onto the Flint Tr. coming out onto Hwy24 at Hans Flats.

[Greg@RME]

Excellent report, I've always wanted to see Dark Canyon but keep getting sidetracked when I'm in that area.

[DCZ]

Originally Posted by RideFreak

Great report DCZ! Dark Canyon is an amazing looking place from the little I can see from the paved road. I've wanted to ride through there on a DS ever since I first saw it. I've ridden at ether end of this, Comb Ridge area and The Maze in CL. The old Dugway through Comb ridge lends a whole new prespective to the area with a little pucker thrown in.



Next summer I'm hoping to get back there for a ride I've had planned now for awhile. Starts in Bluff, up Butler Wash, crossover 95 & pickup woodenshoe. From there taking DCZ's route through Dark Can, at Hite I'd pick up the main trail north into CL onto the Flint Tr. coming out onto Hwy24 at Hans Flats.

Thanks RideFreak - your movie really captures the essence of the old Comb Ridge road - narrow and a long ways down! The wrecks at the bottom are a testament to the result of a mistake made on that section of road.

Your planned route was in the plans for this ride but we wound up having but one day to ride - so many places - so little time!

Rick

[DCZ]

Originally Posted by Greg@RME

Excellent report, I've always wanted to see Dark Canyon but keep getting sidetracked when I'm in that area.

Thanks Greg - Dark Canyon is a good place to get sidetracked into. The motorized access into a wilderness is a great feature - should be incorporated into more wilderness designations.

Rick