Grand Wash Cliffs Wilderness Backpack - Rescheduled!
Details
Trip rescheduled to following weekend due to anticipated rain and thunderstorms in the area.
About 50 miles south of St. George, UT is the Grand Wash Cliffs Wilderness. This rarely-visited area within the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument has a spectacular 11 mile trail that runs along the Middle Bench of the Wilderness. This is high desert backpacking. We will hike in from the north trailhead as far as the party has enthusiasm for, dry camp overnight, and return to the cars. The drive to get there is long. We’ll drive up Friday, camp overnight near the trailhead, backpack in Saturday and out Sunday. We’ll car camp Sunday night and drive home Monday.
The trail is best described on the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument website here. We’ll start from the north trailhead on road BLM1003 and hike south. The accumulated elevation gain if we do the entire 11 miles southbound is about 1400’, and coming out about 400’. Depending on the energy of the party, we could hike the entire length of the trail southbound on day 1 and northbound on day 2. I’m flexible on this. Shorter hikes each day will be fine.
There is a lot of driving for this trip, about 450 miles each way from Phoenix.
Make sure you adjust your Meetup settings so I can contact you for last-minute changes.
Best map for this trip is the Arizona Strip Visitor Map - West. This map is geo-referenced and works well with Avenza maps.
Distance: 22 miles or less
Terrain: Easy single track.
Water: Bring water from home. We will have to carry water for 2 days hiking. There is a chance of finding water in pools, but I wouldn’t depend on it.
Weather forecast: If the weather is bad, this trip will be cancelled.
https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=36.4286111111111&lon=-113.755555555556&site=psr&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=text#.YK1bqKhKiUm
Dogs: Leashed and well-behaved dogs ok.
Packing considerations
- Water for two days of hiking plus two nights car camping.
- Ten essentials - https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/ten-essentials.html
- A sense of humor.
- Cash for gas money if you carpool.
- A 4x4 is necessary for the drive. I have one.
About me: I've backpacked all my life. I’ve organized trips for pre-teens to seniors. I’m posting meetups to have fun and meet others and share my love of the wilderness. Please load your GPS with the map if you can or print out the appropriate maps. I am not a guide but will use my best judgement and experience and that of the group members to keep everyone as safe as possible.