TR: The Wave, Subway top down, White Pocket & more.
Oct 24, 2021 19:42:05 GMT -8
tigger, zeke, and 3 more like this
Post by bumknees on Oct 24, 2021 19:42:05 GMT -8
This is a link to a lot of pics, with the trip report below. Pics are from the 3 of us, from 5 cameras, so it is pic heavy. Clicking on a pic, will reveal the caption.
photos.google.com/u/0/share/AF1QipPSmOfNJn8cAF1h8dPnPBK7VdAUpB_LBboV_aeSaSyhlbeRNOjaDnO_0GsynZoU_A?key=QUp4MXhSR2dhbFBUT01PY2NxRlRnVHZnUnhjX2pB
Tue Oct 5: Picked up Phil at Fresno, was supposed to do King’s Canyon & Sequoia but fire closed both. Drove to Twentynine Palms, CA.
Wed Oct 6: Went to Joshua Tree NP, saw usual sights, did a few short walks. Drove through Mohave Nat Preserve, visitor center in Kelso looked like it was closed for good. Drove to Furnace Creek in Death Valley NP. Dan arrived here late.
Thu Oct 7: Got in early hike at Golden Canyon, saw Badwater Basin & Artist Drive. Returned to Visitor Center in Furnace Creek, nixed driving to The Racetrack, hiked Natural Bridge, went to Zabriskie Point & Dante’s View. Drove to Boulder City NV.
Fri Oct 8: Went to Hoover Dam first thing, then on to Valley of Fire SP via Lake Mead NRA along the shore. Did a few stops & hikes in Valley of Fire. Drove to Kanab, UT.
Sat Oct 9: Tried for a Wave permit, as we would on Sun, Mon & Tue also. Drove to Tuweep and the Toroweap Overlook. Road had a few muddy spots, and was rough here & there, but certainly passable. The last 2.7 miles were horrible, shelf rock & rocks in general, slowed us to a crawl. Views of the Grand Canyon in both directions were outstanding, but to the east were better. The west side offered a distant view of Lava Rapid.
Sun Oct 10: After our 2nd Wave rejection & a rejection for S Coyote Buttes, we did a local hike called Mansard, a ~6 mile hike with a 1000 ft elevation gain, to an alcove with petroglyphs on the floor. Drove to Page AZ, couldn’t get any Antelope Canyon spots, so we went to Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River. Did the 1.5 mile walk to & from. This has been turned into quite the tourist spot.
Mon Oct 11: After another double rejection for The Wave & S Coyote, we drove to White Pocket via the south entrance to House Valley Rock Road. This requires high clearance for the deep sand the road goes through. Dan’s Jeep Cherokee apparently only had moderate clearance, as we got stuck about 1.5 miles from White Pocket. After a pull out by a nice couple from GA, we parked the Jeep, and walked the last 1.5 miles and enjoyed a couple of hours wandering White Pocket. Walked back to the Jeep, and while trying to turn it around got stuck again, and commenced digging sand. It looked hopeless, so we called Triple A, and with nothing to do, we continued digging. Lo & behold, we got it out, loaded up and continued our return. A few miles down the road, we got stuck a 3rd time, deeply. More digging was done. A man from N Mex offered to help, and got us a pair of traction boards. With more digging, we were able to push/drive the Jeep out. Many thanks to him. As we continued to drive out, we called to cancel Triple A, and they had not placed the request yet. With rain & snow approaching, we were lucky we weren’t stuck all night.
Tue Oct 12: Rained & snowed all night in Kanab. We applied for The Wave, and everyone was warned that the road may be impassable today & tomorrow. A few dropped out. The drawing for the 4 groups again left us out, but 1 group was afraid to take the permit as they might not be able to get there, and it precludes the group from applying for 2 weeks. We were the 5th group drawn. Dan got on the phone for a ride out to Wire Pass and we ended up getting with 7 folks and 2 guides. We drove out to Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP for pics of the dunes & snow. I was dropped off at the hotel for rest, while the other two when for some sights, including the Toadstools.
Wed Oct 13: We were picked up & headed to Wire Pass TH. Road was muddy but passable as the 2 tire ruts were kind of dry. Buckskin Gulch had swift water flowing and was the only problem. Our big van was torqued a bit as we drove through. The views while walking to The Wave, are also outstanding, as we took many pics. Our approach to the first view of The Wave was stymied by water, so we took some pics and walked around for a different approach. Nothing can prepare you for your 1st full view of The Wave. Stunning, and many pics were taken. As a side trip, one guide took most of us around The Wave complex, slowly climbing to the top, that contained a room like structure with 2 bridges. Again, many pics, and we began our steep descent. Took some Wave pics from well above and other sights. Return was uneventful, except for the Buckskin Gulch crossing. Drove to Springdale UT, for 2 Zion hikes on Thu & Fri.
Thu Oct 14: Picked up our permit for the Fri Subway, top down hike, and proceeded to the East Mesa TH to do Observation Point. It is a little over 6 miles but we had to park .75 miles from the TH because of deep mudholes in the road. The rain/snow made for a sloppy walk, in places.
Fri Oct 15: Left early, depositing a car at the Left Fork TH, and driving up to Wildcat Canyon TH, to begin the adventure. We started about 30 minutes before sunrise, with some frozen snow on the trail, and frozen puddles. This was worrisome, as we had to enter the water a few times, on this hike. We exited the “beaten path” at 1.4 miles, and it was light enough for our 1st pic, of the sign. Now we were on slickrock, trying to follow cairns down to Russell Gulch. Our descent, although a bit haphazard, got us to Russell Gulch, and we began the climb of the bypass around Russell Gulch. This leads to a very steep descent to Russell Gulch, just before it enters the Left Fork. We descended carefully. We got to a pool, that required us to don our water shoes, and the water was very cold. Now we entered Left Fork. After a short walk/scramble, we got to the 1st repel. Dan & Phil donned wetsuits, I held off, hoping to wait to the 2nd repel for the wetsuit. The repel was slow but done safely, as Phil & I had never done this before, with Dan as our expert. My hope for waiting on the wetsuit was hopeless, as we were constantly in water, so on it went. We were in numerous slot water walk/wades, and 2 of them were over our heads, so we swam. The cold water was a bit better as we descended. These tough spots and repels were eating up a lot of time. Our 3rd repel, got us to the main Subway. The hikers there watched us lower ourselves into the pools below. Then we went out for a place to change & dry our gear, and returned to take pics of the Subway. The excessive water made it tough to take a lot of pics, as I had to put my camera away most of the time, but we got a few. The return was slow and tedious, as the water made us go around on shore over & under, many rock, trees etc, and I am not nimble. It was becoming apparent, we weren’t going to make the TH before dark. In fact, we didn’t get to the final 400 ft ascent till after the sun had set. With a half moon, the 1st half of the ascent went okay, but the trail was becoming hard to discern. Phil found the obvious trail up ahead of me, and I soon found it also, but Dan was off track, and it was essentially dark. Phil got him back on track, and we continued to the TH. Went & got our other car, and drove to Vegas. Dan & Phil flew home, I drove back to CA on Sat.
photos.google.com/u/0/share/AF1QipPSmOfNJn8cAF1h8dPnPBK7VdAUpB_LBboV_aeSaSyhlbeRNOjaDnO_0GsynZoU_A?key=QUp4MXhSR2dhbFBUT01PY2NxRlRnVHZnUnhjX2pB
Tue Oct 5: Picked up Phil at Fresno, was supposed to do King’s Canyon & Sequoia but fire closed both. Drove to Twentynine Palms, CA.
Wed Oct 6: Went to Joshua Tree NP, saw usual sights, did a few short walks. Drove through Mohave Nat Preserve, visitor center in Kelso looked like it was closed for good. Drove to Furnace Creek in Death Valley NP. Dan arrived here late.
Thu Oct 7: Got in early hike at Golden Canyon, saw Badwater Basin & Artist Drive. Returned to Visitor Center in Furnace Creek, nixed driving to The Racetrack, hiked Natural Bridge, went to Zabriskie Point & Dante’s View. Drove to Boulder City NV.
Fri Oct 8: Went to Hoover Dam first thing, then on to Valley of Fire SP via Lake Mead NRA along the shore. Did a few stops & hikes in Valley of Fire. Drove to Kanab, UT.
Sat Oct 9: Tried for a Wave permit, as we would on Sun, Mon & Tue also. Drove to Tuweep and the Toroweap Overlook. Road had a few muddy spots, and was rough here & there, but certainly passable. The last 2.7 miles were horrible, shelf rock & rocks in general, slowed us to a crawl. Views of the Grand Canyon in both directions were outstanding, but to the east were better. The west side offered a distant view of Lava Rapid.
Sun Oct 10: After our 2nd Wave rejection & a rejection for S Coyote Buttes, we did a local hike called Mansard, a ~6 mile hike with a 1000 ft elevation gain, to an alcove with petroglyphs on the floor. Drove to Page AZ, couldn’t get any Antelope Canyon spots, so we went to Horseshoe Bend on the Colorado River. Did the 1.5 mile walk to & from. This has been turned into quite the tourist spot.
Mon Oct 11: After another double rejection for The Wave & S Coyote, we drove to White Pocket via the south entrance to House Valley Rock Road. This requires high clearance for the deep sand the road goes through. Dan’s Jeep Cherokee apparently only had moderate clearance, as we got stuck about 1.5 miles from White Pocket. After a pull out by a nice couple from GA, we parked the Jeep, and walked the last 1.5 miles and enjoyed a couple of hours wandering White Pocket. Walked back to the Jeep, and while trying to turn it around got stuck again, and commenced digging sand. It looked hopeless, so we called Triple A, and with nothing to do, we continued digging. Lo & behold, we got it out, loaded up and continued our return. A few miles down the road, we got stuck a 3rd time, deeply. More digging was done. A man from N Mex offered to help, and got us a pair of traction boards. With more digging, we were able to push/drive the Jeep out. Many thanks to him. As we continued to drive out, we called to cancel Triple A, and they had not placed the request yet. With rain & snow approaching, we were lucky we weren’t stuck all night.
Tue Oct 12: Rained & snowed all night in Kanab. We applied for The Wave, and everyone was warned that the road may be impassable today & tomorrow. A few dropped out. The drawing for the 4 groups again left us out, but 1 group was afraid to take the permit as they might not be able to get there, and it precludes the group from applying for 2 weeks. We were the 5th group drawn. Dan got on the phone for a ride out to Wire Pass and we ended up getting with 7 folks and 2 guides. We drove out to Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP for pics of the dunes & snow. I was dropped off at the hotel for rest, while the other two when for some sights, including the Toadstools.
Wed Oct 13: We were picked up & headed to Wire Pass TH. Road was muddy but passable as the 2 tire ruts were kind of dry. Buckskin Gulch had swift water flowing and was the only problem. Our big van was torqued a bit as we drove through. The views while walking to The Wave, are also outstanding, as we took many pics. Our approach to the first view of The Wave was stymied by water, so we took some pics and walked around for a different approach. Nothing can prepare you for your 1st full view of The Wave. Stunning, and many pics were taken. As a side trip, one guide took most of us around The Wave complex, slowly climbing to the top, that contained a room like structure with 2 bridges. Again, many pics, and we began our steep descent. Took some Wave pics from well above and other sights. Return was uneventful, except for the Buckskin Gulch crossing. Drove to Springdale UT, for 2 Zion hikes on Thu & Fri.
Thu Oct 14: Picked up our permit for the Fri Subway, top down hike, and proceeded to the East Mesa TH to do Observation Point. It is a little over 6 miles but we had to park .75 miles from the TH because of deep mudholes in the road. The rain/snow made for a sloppy walk, in places.
Fri Oct 15: Left early, depositing a car at the Left Fork TH, and driving up to Wildcat Canyon TH, to begin the adventure. We started about 30 minutes before sunrise, with some frozen snow on the trail, and frozen puddles. This was worrisome, as we had to enter the water a few times, on this hike. We exited the “beaten path” at 1.4 miles, and it was light enough for our 1st pic, of the sign. Now we were on slickrock, trying to follow cairns down to Russell Gulch. Our descent, although a bit haphazard, got us to Russell Gulch, and we began the climb of the bypass around Russell Gulch. This leads to a very steep descent to Russell Gulch, just before it enters the Left Fork. We descended carefully. We got to a pool, that required us to don our water shoes, and the water was very cold. Now we entered Left Fork. After a short walk/scramble, we got to the 1st repel. Dan & Phil donned wetsuits, I held off, hoping to wait to the 2nd repel for the wetsuit. The repel was slow but done safely, as Phil & I had never done this before, with Dan as our expert. My hope for waiting on the wetsuit was hopeless, as we were constantly in water, so on it went. We were in numerous slot water walk/wades, and 2 of them were over our heads, so we swam. The cold water was a bit better as we descended. These tough spots and repels were eating up a lot of time. Our 3rd repel, got us to the main Subway. The hikers there watched us lower ourselves into the pools below. Then we went out for a place to change & dry our gear, and returned to take pics of the Subway. The excessive water made it tough to take a lot of pics, as I had to put my camera away most of the time, but we got a few. The return was slow and tedious, as the water made us go around on shore over & under, many rock, trees etc, and I am not nimble. It was becoming apparent, we weren’t going to make the TH before dark. In fact, we didn’t get to the final 400 ft ascent till after the sun had set. With a half moon, the 1st half of the ascent went okay, but the trail was becoming hard to discern. Phil found the obvious trail up ahead of me, and I soon found it also, but Dan was off track, and it was essentially dark. Phil got him back on track, and we continued to the TH. Went & got our other car, and drove to Vegas. Dan & Phil flew home, I drove back to CA on Sat.
