The Little Rockies, named by explorer John Wesley Powell, dominate the sky above upper Glen Canyon. The land between these two jagged red rock peaks and the Colorado River has more canyons per square mile than anywhere in the region.
The three Glen Canyon geologic formations (Wingate, Navajo and Kayenta) are eroded into a maze of canyons, gulches and gorges draining the slick rock between domes, turrets and fins. The main canyons are 1000 feet deep.
This 5 day trip is slated for the cooler months because of the low elevation (3600 to 4800 feet) where, except for in the canyon bottoms, the vegetation is sparse and spring comes early. By the end of March the leaves are out fully and wildflowers are blooming.
As with all of our trips, each day hike from base camp offers the opportunity for difficult and demanding routes, however the only required hiking and the basis for the rating is that into and out of base camp. The hike is rated easy and involves a 4 mile hike to base camp with 800 feet of elevation loss. In order to explore the country and accommodate different interests and abilities we split into smaller groups on the day hikes.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: We meet in Boulder, UT at 9 am. We provide a duffel bag for your gear (25 lbs. max.) and drive to the trail head to start our hike. The beautiful drive is about 2 hours long and takes us southeast of Boulder on a spectacular road through Long Canyon, the Circle Cliffs and Capitol Reef National Park. At one point the road drops 3000 feet half of which is so steep it requires a series of 6 switch backs named the Burr Trail. Our hike begins at the edge of a 600 foot deep chasm where an old horse trail takes us into the depths of the canyon. At the bottom we continue our hike downstream past side canyons, petroglyphs and alcoves to a small stream where we make our camp.
Note: If you are coming to the meeting place from points east of Boulder, UT you have the option of meeting us near the trail head. Call Sue in the office if you'd like to discuss this option.
Day 2: As we hike downstream, all of the canyons join and deepen to 1000 feet. Springs erupt and they come together to become a stream lined with cottonwoods. We climb up to an amazing view and hike the winding ledges back to camp.
Day 3: Beside camp is a mesa of Navajo Sandstone that is eroded into fins and domes. Every side contains a network of narrow canyons. We hike, climb, chimney and squeeze through these canyons, topping out on brilliant orange slick rock high above where we enjoy spectacular views into the main canyons. A different route takes us back down into the canyon to camp.
Day 4: This route takes us between giant domes of sandstone into a cluster of canyons that join and drain into another huge red canyon that was used by Navajo Indians to access the Aquarius Plateau.
Day 5: We pack up our tents and gear and have a couple of options for the return hike to the van. We either hike downstream and climb up onto a long fin of sandstone that takes us all the way up to the mesa (1200 feet) or hike back up the canyon and return the way we entered. We return to Boulder between 6 pm and 7 pm. (dinner not included).
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
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USA
Utah
Hiking & Trekking
Camping
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