While our friends go back to work we go to Island in the Sky
for a few days. It’s busier than expected and we can’t get a site at Willow
Flat Campground so we go to Cowboy, a 7-site primitive BLM campground near the
junction of Highway 313 and Island in the Sky Road. This campground has a nice
view and we enjoyed beautiful sunsets looking west towards the San Rafael
Swell.
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| A nice primitive site at Cowboy BLM Campground on Island in the Sky. |
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| Sunset over the San Rafael Swell. |
The weather’s a bit gloomy so when we hike the Wilhite Trail
we go prepared for rain. From the trail head we hike about a mile across the
mesa to a 1,000 ft. descent down a steep boulder-filled break in the Island in
the Sky cliffs. Once at the bottom we follow the trail across the low hills
along the base of the cliffs. The views are outstanding.
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The Wilhite Trail descends through this break in the cliffs.
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| A rough trail descends down the break. |
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The trail contours on a broad bench at the base of the mesa cliffs with
great views of the buttes connected to Island in the Sky. |
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| The Wilhite Trail below the cliffs is an easy walk but sketchy in places. |
It’s 6 miles from the trail head to the White Rim Road. We
turned around at the half way point for lack of time and make our way back up
the boulder trail to the top of the mesa.
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| Heading back to the mesa top. The trail goes up the break in the cliffs in the upper right. |
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| A view of the cliffs as we scramble back up the trail. |
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| Along the climb we find this nice little walled landing and stair which could have been made when the trail was constructed. |
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| A small exposure of eroded rock looks like an eloquent miniature of a larger formation. |
The weather looks good the next day so we get out our bikes
for a 54-mile tour of the Island. We ride Highway 313 to Dead Horse Point then backtrack
to Island in the Sky Road and ride to Upheaval Dome. The views are fantastic, the
roads are good, drivers are considerate, definitely a ride we’d recommend.
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| We rode our bikes to Dead Horse Point. Island in the Sky is in the background. |
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| Looking down at the Colorado River from Dead Horse Point. |
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| The entrance to Canyonlands Island in the Sky. |
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| Riding the Island in the Sky Road. |
We’re going back to Moab for more canyoneering adventures
with our friends. Join us as we climb Elephant Butte in Arches National Park.
Jackie
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| Desertscapes. |
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