cliffhanger

 It rained a little last Friday night in Moab so when we got up Saturday morning, uncertainty about the condition of the trails made H decide against MTBing.  We headed over to Amasa Back for a hike instead, since those trails are more rock than dirt, and were only the third vehicle in the parking lot when we started out.

Nearing the high point

It was an absolutely gorgeous morning, with clear blue skies and great temperatures: high 40s to 51 F, plus all that sunshine to make it feel even warmer.  I didn't have to wear my gloves the whole hike and even wished for shorts at one point.  There was still ice in the shady sections of Kane Creek, however, although the water was low enough that the two creek crossing didn't soak our boots.

Looking down into Jackson Hole (Moab's version)

We went up the jeep road this time - which is noticeably steeper than the Hymasa MTB trail, climbing the same elevation in less mileage - and there were plenty of puddles in the potholes for Milton to drink out of.  When we got up to the canyon rim, we continued along the Cliffhanger jeep road, so-named for how narrow and edgy it is.  We put Milt on the leash for this section, letting him off again as we neared the Jackson trail intersection, where the jeep road moved back from the cliff's edge.

Circle of life

At this point, we discussed making a loop by descending Jackson but finally decided against it, not knowing if it would have ice on it.  We've put that loop on our to-do list for future reference, but going up Jackson as the outward-bound portion; that trail is so steep that it feels much safer going up.  

At the top of Jackson's Ladder

As we were looking at the trail map, we noticed a trail called Jackson's Ladder which goes down a weakness in the cliff wall into Jackson Hole.  Retracing our steps a little, we found the turn-off and followed it under the powerlines to the cliff edge.  There were small cairns marking the way to the edge and from there we could just make out the trail steeply switchbacking down through the rubble.  It was like the Gooseberry trail in Canyonlands: right down the side of the cliff and you'd never know there was a trail there.  We went down a little ways but it was loose and steep enough that we wanted our trekking poles for it.  So we put that one on our list too.  I'm stoked about that one: I had no idea there was a way down into Jackson Hole and now I really want to do it.

The one weakness in the whole cliff wall

We went back the way we came: across the Cliffhanger portion and back down the jeep road.  At this point we started to see a few people and every single one remarked about the gorgeous spring day we were having in January.  By the end of it, we'd met sixteen MTBers, five hikers and/or trail runners and three dogs - a far cry from our last time here in October when we saw 82 MTBers, plus a number of 4x4s.  We didn't see any motorized vehicles on the trail this time and the peace and quiet was lovely.

One of my all-time favorite Moab views

Hike stats: 7.77 miles; moving 2:47 time / 2.8 m.p.h.; overall 3:10 / 2.4; 1,130 feet of elevation