side canyon exploration

On Saturday - slightly sunnier, slightly warmer but also breezier - H did a 6+ mile trail run on Pipe Dream.  But Milton and I had other plans, namely to check out a side canyon off the Moab Rim jeep trail that we hadn't yet explored.  I didn't figure it would go too far but I wanted to see where it did go at least.  We drove over to the Moab Rim trailhead mid-morning and there were at least seven cars already there.  We usually prefer early starts but I wanted the sun to be as high as possible, knowing how chilly it would be in the shade.

Entrance to side canyon

And the pedestrian Stair Climber trail, between the Moab Rim trail and the cliffs, is totally in the shade in the mornings.  This is fantastic for summertime but in early March, it's cold, even with how steep it is and especially with the biting wind.  We met one group of four hikers and one dog as they were descending; we passed a solo hiker and his dog just before the top of the climb; and as we went left into the wash (doing the jeep road's loop clockwise), we saw two backpackers and their dog bundled up and heading out after a night in the back country.  (I'm not sure you're supposed to be camping back in there but maybe they went way out to some BLM land.)

Pour-over

Milton and I veered left into our side canyon just before the Sand Hill portion of the jeep trail.  It starts wide open but quickly narrows.  There were a few older footprints in the sand at the bottom of the wash so we obviously weren't the only curious ones.  It didn't go in very far but we did have to scramble over a couple of twisted junipers.  The little canyon ends in a bowl with a small spring seepage, enough to feed a few trees, and a pour-over from the higher level.  I didn't see any non-technical way to get up there so Milton and I spent a few appreciative moments in the quiet and then retraced our steps back to the car - and noted another wash for future exploration (5.4 miles roundtrip).

Hiking buddy

That evening we went to Dewey's for beers with our friends C and F, who had managed to score a last minute babysitter.  And that was about it - a quick trip.  Sunday morning was gorgeous: the sunniest, warmest and least windy day of the weekend. We three did a 4.5 town walk, said goodbye to our neighbor A and her dog, and headed back north.  Where winter was definitely still hanging around.