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Alright, we've got a place and we've got a date. March 13th-15th, we'll be hiking about 20-ish miles from the Government Trail to Collins Canyon, seeing lots of awesome rock art and Anasazi ruins along the way. Group size will be limited to 12 (10 slots plus me and my wife, though she might back out), due to BLM permit restrictions. Dogs are welcome on-leash, but not in ruins or at rock art sites, so be aware of that. If other participants don't want dogs on the trip, we may reconsider that.
Weather is variable - can be warm or we could get snow. Roads to the trailheads are dirt. Collins Canyon is decent, but Government requires 4x4, but carpooling is preferable anyway, since parking is limited. 3 days in one of the most beautiful and rich canyons in the southwest; what's not to like?

PageRob wrote:Long, but on maps and GoogleEarth it appears to be without serious elevation change.

Long is OK with me. I know it doesn't help anyone else, but I have an extra day on either end.

If you go into the Maze from HIte you will definitely need HC and 4wd past Teapot Rock, there are a few ledges and steep humps in the sandstone. However from Teapot you could hike into Ernie's country and the Fins, as I recall. My favorite campsite there is Dollhouse 2. Private but good access to some great hiking. I liked going down to Spanish Flat by the river, and hiking to the overlook. The Harvest Scene is worth it, although once you've seen the Horseshoe Panel and the Great Ghost they are not as impressive, but the canyon hiking is. I've camped at the Wall, if not windy that's a good place too.

I've seen a broken oil pan or two around Teapot rock, and it costs a lot to get a tow truck out there.

Sorry but, I have no idea what the Maze is?

Sorry but, I have no idea what the Maze is?

I admit I had to Google it too. It looks aMAZING!

Pretty good info here.http://www.google.com/search?q=the+maze ... age=1&rlz=

I don't mind long hike - but long drives are another story. Canyonlands would add an extra 2 hours to my drive home, and the dirt 4wd roads near the maze could more than triple that depending on how far we drive in. Don't base any decisions on me alone, but I think that may be just a bit far for me to go without taking additional time off (which I don't have). Sigh. I DO want to get up there, though. I suppose I'd be able to swing it if we did more of a car camping/day hiking kind of adventure there, so I could leave early in the day on Monday from the TH...

Thinking out loud - not always good. Tired and wishing I was on the trail, so right now you could probably convince me to trudge through the mud a million miles away just to sleep in the snow.

How about Rainbow Bridge as a plan "b"??? That would solve the Sierra Club dilemma... :roll:

Well we can debate further when we're at the VC if we end up snowed-out of GG. My eyes are set on the prize, and that prize is our primary trip.

Either way, I have to bring a Flat Stanley for the trip, and you guys might end up with one too! hehehehe.

Canyonlands would add an extra 2 hours to my drive home, and the dirt 4wd roads near the maze could more than triple that depending on how far we drive in.

I agree with Writealots on the maze as plan b. I'm in for GG (weather permitting) but probably out for the maze.

PageRob wrote:VC

What is that, surely it's not the viet cong

Visitor's Center

Another couple of potential backups could be Fry Canyon, Comb Ridge near Bluff, and Chinle Wash. Just ideas for a backup plan that would be closer to Tucson and Phoenix for the drivers. But, as I said before, I really really really want to just do this Grand Gulch trip. If we have to do something else, I'll be disappointed.

I really really really want to just do this Grand Gulch trip. If we have to do something else, I'll be disappointed.

Woot! The weather has been upgraded next week (according to Weather.com anyway.) For what it's worth, the 10 day forecast looks really good. Now if only the weather really followed the prediction we would be in business!

Sun Mar 7 Showers 40%
High 53°
Low 34°

Mon Mar 8 Partly Cloudy 10%
High 52°
Low 30°

Tue Mar 9 Partly Cloudy 10%
High 55°
Low 31°

Wed Mar 10 Partly Cloudy 10%
High 53°
Low 31°

Thu Mar 11 Mostly Sunny 10%
High 52°
Low 29°

Fri Mar 12 Sunny 0%
High 55°
Low 29°

Sat Mar 13 Sunny 0%
High 56°
Low 30°

Sun Mar 14 Sunny 0%
High 57°
High 30°

Can definitely do those temps!

Right on. That's what I'm looking forward to!

I was also scouring the GG maps today and saw that our exit trailhead is a couple hundred feet lower than our entrance trailhead. Hopefully we won't have to deal with snow there, especially if the weather stays as forecasted. Well if I'm going to be real hopeful, I'll hope that we don't have to deal with snow at all.

PageRob wrote:Well if I'm going to be real hopeful, I'll hope that we don't have to deal with snow at all.

Gawd - we sound like SUCH Arizonans.

writelots wrote:Gawd - we sound like SUCH Arizonans.

You do indeed.
Last Sunday I was sinking nearly a foot in every step, even with 10x30 snowshoes.

Bob, do you have a GPS route or track for the GG hike? I tried to approximate one in my mapping software and I am only coming up with about 8 miles total when starting at Goverment trailhead, dropping down into GG and then snaking around for a while and coming out Collins Spring Canyon to Collins trailhead. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. Email me if you have one bmaaske (at) g m a i l (dot) com.

Here is your friendly Grand Gulch/Cedar Mesa conditions update. Conditions on the mesa top suck. Roads are muddy, rutted, and generally impassable, with one exception. That exception is Collins Canyon. After trying to get down a couple of roads on the mesa top (and failing, and almost getting stuck in the process), I pulled into the Kane Gulch Ranger Station to talk to the folks there. Turns out they're HAZites! But they laughed at the idea of getting into Government by next week. One lady had tried to cross-country ski down Kane Gulch and couldn't get through. A guy said it was the worst snow he's seen, 10x worse than the next worst, and he's been there since 1993. We chatted for a bit and came up with a plan.
So here's the plan now, since Government is a no-go. We're going to go in and out Collins. We can base camp somewhere (plenty of water when I was down there today) and do some exploring. Not quite the trip we were hoping for, but better than not being able to get into GG at all. So that's where we're at for the moment.

I don't own a GPS, bmaaske, so I can't help you there. I got that distance from maps, published distances, and by measuring the distance via Google Earth. But as Government is out, I guess the point is moot anyway.