Kane Creek Canyon
Even though Kane Creek Canyon is one of our favorite trails in the Moab area, we hadn't been on it in years. It was time for another visit to see how the trail had changed. We aired down where the pavement turned to dirt road by a nice kiosk with lots of information, which was handy. It was the usual dusty trip to the trailhead which was marked with a sign.
There were vehicles who had just started the trail that pulled over to let us pass. We'd see them throughout the day along with lots of other people. But we had the beginning of the trail to ourselves.
The ditch was a blast, and everyone went through it. Monica remembered when her old Jeep was stuck on its bumpers with tires practically hanging in the air. Good times! This time, there was no getting stuck. However, everyone found that the way back up and out of the ditch required a bit of momentum. Everyone got a lovely wheel stand, too.
The Poser Rocks were a good time, and we all went through them instead of around them. When we got to the Flex Rocks we discovered that there was no way around them. It was a tippy trip through them but we all did just fine. As we were going through them some side-by-side vehicles came up behind us so we pulled off to the side to let the faster ones through.
And they kept coming. It turned out there was a gathering in town and there were 20 of them all in a line. It was fun to watch them go through the Flex Rocks and see all of the different styles of the vehicles. It looked like fun. They said they would be turning around at some point so we knew we'd see them again.
It was at that point that the trail turned down into the canyon to start its creek crossings. The creek wasn't very deep at all, and it was dried up in places. We did get out to wade in the water a couple of times, and the water wasn't cold. It was almost room temperature. It felt nice in the hot sun.
When we found a wide, sandy area in the shade we pulled off for lunch. We sat there with no bugs, enjoying the cool breeze. It was nice to watch people drive by, and everyone was in a good mood. We knew we were behind two groups of vehicles when we ended our lunch.
Just after starting back up we passed the other two groups who had stopped for their lunches. We waved as we passed and continued snaking back and forth across the creek.
When we got to the hill that took us off of the canyon floor we saw a handful of side-by-side vehicles coming down. They said that the rest of their group was right behind them, so we waited. Instead of more of that group we saw new vehicles coming down the trail. They said that they come in from the end, do the fun obstacles, and then go back out. I guess if you don't like the water crossings that would make sense.
They were bigger than we were so they turned around and headed up. We followed them. When we got to the bottom of Challenge 1 we pulled off at the parking area to walk it first. We were there with another group of vehicles and the rest of the side-by-side people.
The obstacle looked tough but fun. Monica had a slightly stupid idea for a line through part of it. We all walked back down, deciding to pair up on the way through it to spot and get pictures.
Monica started up, and it was pretty basic. When she got to the big rocks she didn't see Matt right behind her so she decided to mess around with her stupid line. Strangely enough, it worked! It was pretty fun, but that meant no one got pictures of it. Oh well, we'll get more next time.
Matt came up and followed the stupid line and it worked for him, too. It was actually pretty fun and not too tough for us with non-stock vehicles. We parked and ran back and saw that another group had jumped ahead of Walt and Mike, so now we were split up. It wasn't a big deal, though. Everyone was very nice, and it was cool to watch other types of vehicles get through the rocks.
It was finally Walt's turn and he made the stupid line look really easy. He probably had the best pass at it. Mike popped right through it, too. Easy!
Other vehicles came up behind us as we walked to our Jeeps. Then we had a big line of rigs on our way to Challenge 2. After Challenge 1 this was easy, so we didn't really take many pictures. No one needed a spot and no one had any issues.
The rest of the trail was mellow and nice. The other group let Walt and Mike pass them at a wide spot so we were all together again. This trail was such a blast! The end was rerouted a bit compared to when we came through last, but it was easy to find. There was a sign at the end that said the trail was one way only during Easter Jeep Safari, which sounded like a good idea. We'll definitely have to hit Kane Creek Canyon more often -- so much fun!
Reports from Other Days: 4
Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Kane Creek Canyon. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.
