DESTINATION Grand Wash Bench Trail 1 Photoset
2025-10-18 | |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 23.39 Miles |
2,052 AEG |
| | Hiking | 23.39 Miles | 1 Day 5 Hrs 9 Mns | | |
| 2,052 ft AEG | | 30 LBS Pack | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | We hiked this 23-mile roundtrip from the north trailhead to the south trailhead, camping overnight near the south trailhead. To get from St. George to the trailhead, it took us about five hours, including about an hour digging ourselves out of a sand trap. There was a washout on Road 1033 in Jump Canyon, just above Upper Jump Springs, which took some creativity to get around. After that, we drove across many washes, which were strictly 4x4. We did the trip with my Jeep Cherokee, but it was somewhat the worse for wear as a result.
We camped at the north trailhead on a starry, starry, moonless night, before heading off in the morning. Before us, there were only 2 logs in the trail register this year, one in March and one in June, and the June log was a BLM entry.
The trail leaves Road 1003 at a sharp angle. You might miss it coming from the north if you aren’t running a GPS. The trail is actually a road for about 0.6 miles, until you come to a gate at the wilderness boundary. There is room to park near the gate if you want to 4x4 it all the way to the gate. We walked.
The plant variety is awesome. We expected much more of a desert environment, but throughout the trip, the Joshua trees abound, alternating with pinyon pine, scrub oak, juniper, yucca, cholla, prickly pear, manzanita, Mormon tea, jojoba, hedgehog cactus. and plenty of things we couldn’t identify.
At about 4 miles, we came across a tank created by a berm across a wash with surprisingly good water in it.
It seemed clear by the time we were several miles in that the BLM rangers that logged the trail in June had driven the entire trail using an ATV. This was super surprising for a wilderness area. The entire trail is still a recognizable two-track, so following the months-old tracks did detract from the wilderness experience somewhat. It is also clear that no one takes this trail. No one. So when it came time to setting up our tents near the south trailhead, we had no qualms about putting our tents in the middle of the trail.
There is cryptobiotic soil everywhere except on the trail. We were exceedingly reluctant to step off, or camp off, of the trail in most places to avoid disrupting this layer. In some places, the crust was very old and was one of the most fascinating features of this walk.
In addition to the tank, we came across a wash with some residual muddy puddles that could have been used in desperation, and one tinaja that I did take a liter of clear water from on the way back, just to make sure we did not run out.
Views here are expansive. Although the cliffs above are obvious, you are a long way from the lower cliffs going down to the Grand Wash. There were only occasional views into the Grand Wash and beyond on the way back. At one point we spotted the snow-capped Mount Charleston near Las Vegas over the ridge on the other side of the Grand Wash.
We reached the car in early afternoon, and drove out to the Virgin River Recreation Area, arriving well after dark to spend the night before returning to Phoenix. At the south trailhead, we had spotted very recent tracks of ATVs or 4x4s just outside the wilderness gate, and they had come by the north trailhead as well while we were hiking. They did not follow our difficult route up Jump Canyon, possibly heading out Road 1003 to 1007. Who knows? Half of the adventure of this hike is just getting there and getting back.
The NPS directions are here: https://www.nps.gov/para/planyourvisit/ ... -trail.htm |
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
