Kansas Prairie Packers

An organization for individuals and families interested in hiking, backpacking, canoeing, bicycling, cross-country skiing and other outdoor activities.

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GRAND GULCH BACKPACK

October 15-22, 2004

 

The group consisted of:  John Peterson, Trudy and Rick Racine, Judy Shipman, Jerry Reichenberger, Mike and Shari LaRue.  We did a two-vehicle caravan with no space to view the highway from the rear view mirrors.  The bags and backpacks were jammed into the automobiles.

Friday, October 15th – drove from Topeka to Glenwood Springs, CO.

 

Saturday, October 16th – Glenwood Springs to Moab, Utah – camping at Natural Bridges National Park .  We had lunch in Moab and gathered up information and books to read at the Visitor Center .  Heading down the road to the Natural Bridges area, we drove the nine-mile loop that provides access to the 3 natural bridges in the Canyons.  The group hiked down the Owachomo Bridge Trail before retiring to camp.  At camp Jerry was the “Firekeeper”, having collected firewood for our camp.  Temperatures were fairly cold with the nights in the mid 30’s and daytime temperatures generally in the 60’s.

 

Sunday, October 17th – Day One: Kane Gulch to Junction Ruin 4.0 miles

The group drove to Kane Gulch Ranger Station to access the Kane Gulch trailhead.   The elevation change through out the Canyons was 6400 feet to 5600 feet.  Everyone had their backpacks ready to go and headed out around noon.  Due to some dry areas, we all carried lots of water with us each day, replenishing as often as we could find water.  We investigated Junction Ruins before setting up camp under the golden Cottonwood trees.  The Indian ruins were very interesting with pottery chards and stone tools evident at the sites.  You could walk around the ruins and check out the mastery of the architecture that has survived, some from as early as 500-700 AD.   Both Mike and Judy experienced a leaking camel pack with Mike having a water logged sleeping bag and clothing.

The wind through the Cottonwood trees provided for sound effects through the night that sounded like rain hitting the tents.

 

Monday, October 18th – Day Two: Junction Ruins to the Pour-off – 4.8 miles

It was a cloudy and cool day.    The group saw numerous Indian Ruins and investigated the Turkey Pen Ruins early on a very cool morning.  The ruins exhibited pottery chards, grinding stones and other artifacts.  The temperature during lunch was 49°. We came across lots of water at the Pour off and were able to replenish the water we carried each day.  Judy almost had a close encounter with some prickly pear as she lost her balance on one of the trails.  The trail had experienced some washouts and was difficult to track at times.  We hiked past Todie Canyon and set up camp at the Pour off, Jerry did some rock climbing.  Next thing we knew he was waving from the top of the canyon, having climbed up the slickrock to the top.   By 7:00 PM it started to rain and forced the group into the tents early.  It rained on and off through out the night. 

 

Tuesday, October 19th – Day Three:  past the “Thumb” and Sheik’s Canyon - 5.4 miles.

The rain broke long enough to have breakfast and get packed and on the trail.  Around 9:30 we explored our first site of Indian Ruins and by 10:00 we stopped to get our rain gear on.  We hiked through rain most of the afternoon.  I guess 3 is a charm, as Jerry had a water leak into his backpack.  We hiked through dense vegetation.  Who would have guessed this was a desert, with all the tall grasses, sage and brush that grew over the trail and caused us to space ourselves so as to not get hit in the face as we made our way up the trail.  We met two employees of the Bureau of Land Management on the trail.  The forecast for the next two days was for rain with heavy rain and storms on Thursday.  The group camped under a canopy of large Cottonwood trees with Mike and Shari getting the “honeymoon” spot.  It seemed that there was a gourmet backpacking menu plan done by Rick, Trudy, John and Judy.  Jerry had splurged on the luxury of Starbucks Coffee that he so kindly shared with Shari . 

 

Wednesday, October 20th – Day Four:  Shiek Canyon   - out Bullet Canyon 9 mile hike.

We hiked through lush foliage again today.   John and Jerry lead the group most of the trip, with Jerry being the trail scout through most of the PM.  By noon we had reached the Jail House Ruins and sat down for lunch.  We hiked up to the ruins over slickrock and saw the most spectacular ruins built into the cliff ledges.  The day was mostly sunny and cool, in the 60’s.  With the forecast of severe storms for Thursday, the group decided to press on and hike out the Gulch, rather than camp and face the storm.  The hike was vigorous the last 5 to 6 miles, going over rocky streambeds, climbing over boulders and up slickrock just to descend again and start all over up the elevations of rock.  Going up Bullet Canyon there were a series of pour offs where one large round-shaped rock ledge would connect with another further up the canyon.   At times we encountered stacked rocks to stand on in order to reach a foothold in the rock ledges above.   We started our day at 9:00 AM and had hiked the 9 miles out of the Canyon by 6:00 PM. 

 

We drove to Blanding , UT and stayed at the local Super 8.  The warm beds and hot showers were a welcome relief to the cold nights.

 

Thursday, October 21st – Drove to Moab to spend some time in the town going through the Outdoor shops and other tourist attractions.  Trudy had developed a nasty cough on the trail and spent most of the morning getting medical attention and antibiotics for bronchitis.  The afternoon was spent driving to Frisco , Utah where we stayed the night.  The group ate at a local pub, the Moose Jaw while the television screens brought us back to the events of Baseball and the quest for the World Series. 

 

Friday, October 22nd - Woke to a dusting of snow and sleet on the cars.  The storm forecast for the Moab area was for 6-10 inches of snow.  We shopped at the Outlet Malls, jamming the additional packages into an already overstuffed automobile. We stayed ahead of the storm all the way home, arriving back in Topeka around midnight.

Membership entitles you to our monthly newsletter, preference for trips with limited group sizes and enjoyment of the outdoors through a variety of activities.