Getting High in Utah

We’re talking serious heights here. Wait, what did you think I meant? Silly, this is Utah not Colorado. Lol. We took off Wednesday morning (4/5) with a plan to drive the infamous Moki Dugway, check out Muley Point, and visit Natural Bridges National Monument.

Utah Hwy 261 appears to be a normal two-lane state highway and then the pavement ends and there is a 3-mile stretch called the Moki Dugway.  Dugway is a term for a narrow road carved into a hillside. Talk about your e-ticket ride! The Moki Dugway is a staggered, graded dirt switchback road carved into the face of the Cedar Mesa cliff.  It consists of 3 miles of steep, unpaved switchbacks (10% grade), winding 1,200 feet from the top of Cedar Mesa to the valley floor. 

The Dugway was constructed in the 1950's to haul ore from the Happy Jack Mine on Cedar Mesa to the mill near Mexican Hat. The State of Utah now recommends that only vehicles less than 28 feet and 10,000 pounds attempt to negotiate the dugway, so no way were we going to try this in the RV. Nope, just getting the mule up and down it was thrilling enough. The road is supposed to be 2-lanes wide, but I promise you there are several places where it would be impossible for anything bigger than two Smart Cars to pass. No rails and death-defying drop offs – not for the faint of heart! Lol.

Consider yourself warned!

Ready to roll!

The views are lovely, just don't look down!

Dang. I looked down. :)

You can see three levels (of many).

On the left you can see the road on the valley floor and it's all uphill from there!

After reaching the top of Moki Dugway you hang a left and take another gravel road for a few miles out to Muley Point. The views from the top are spectacular. You can see the Goosenecks and all the way into Monument Valley. The whole top of the mesa in this area is slickrock – smooth, wind polished bedrock. Rog said it reminded him of frozen sand dunes. Later I was reading about the formations and they really are essentially fossilized dunes. So cool. It was like a big-kid’s playground with giant boulders, deep crevices, and hollow pools (tenajas!) filled with ice encrusted water. We had a blast. Muley Point is another place you can camp for free and we saw some folks set up with amazing views, but it didn’t look like we’d fit easily. And then there is the Moki Dugway – ain’t bringing the bus up that route! Lol.

You can see the Goosenecks, Monument Valley, and Cedar Mesa. 

On top of the world!

Slickrock playground. Fun!

Oops. I broke it.  (not really!)
I thought it was fascinating how a nearly perfect square detached.

Don't step in a crack, it's a looooong way down.
That's the San Juan River in the Goosenecks below.

Monument Valley in the distance.

Just loved the view.

Beautiful!
Rog is the iPhone panoramic master. :)

Our third stop was Natural Bridges National Monument. We were surprised to find the visitor’s center closed on a Wednesday – another example of federal funding/staffing shortages. ☹ Congress, are you listening. This is not ok!  Several cars pulled in during the few minutes we were there and we must have seen 50-60 cars in the park during the day. Seems like a missed opportunity to engage the public (and collect entrance fees!).

We kind of decided to do Natural Bridges on a whim, so I didn’t have high expectations. It turned out to be a great park! There are three large natural bridges (saw that one coming, didn’t ya?) that you can view from overlooks or hike down to the base to see them up close and personal. What we didn’t realize was that there is also a 9-mile loop trail that hits all three bridges and a pueblo ruin. Dang, next time! We did drive the scenic loop and hiked down to each of the bridges, so we hiked fewer miles but did a lot more uppy, downy.

The first bridge was Sipapu Bridge – 220 feet high, 31 feet wide, 53 feet thick and spanning 268 feet. It was an amazing sight from the overlook, but really awe inspiring to stand below it and look up. We also learned the difference between a natural bridge and an arch (didn’t think you were getting away without a geology lesson, did you?). A bridge is formed when moving water erodes a channel through solid rock. Arches are formed by other types of erosion, typically frost and seeping moisture.

Sipapu Bridge

Speaking of uppy, downy – the trail down to the base of Sipapu was another “not for the faint of heart” experience. My fear of heights really got a workout this day! The trail description said it was only .6 miles but with a 500 foot elevation change. In a relatively short space they packed in several flights of narrow stone stairs, steep switchbacks, exposed bare rock, and three (count em’) THREE ladders. All part of the adventure. Happy me. (Anybody catch the sarcasm there?) Lol.

Rog liked the sheer sandstone walls.

I liked the giant rainbow striped boulders.

I wasn't as thrilled about the crazy ladders. :) 

But the view at the base of the bridge made it all worthwhile. (Sorta.) Lol.

Looking up!

The second bridge was Kachina Bridge, the “youngest” of the three. It is thick and bulky and the White Canyon flood waters are still enlarging it. It is 210 feet high, 44 feet wide, 93 feet thick, and spans 210 feet. The trail to the base of Kachina was .75 miles long with a 400 foot elevation change. No warning of ladders here, but the trail description did note long slickrock sections and uneven stone steps cut into steep rock. Imagine how thrilled I was to find there was a ladder and it was a doozy! Oh joy.

Kachina Bridge.

The stone steps were a breeze...

... but the ladder, not so much.
 What fun and it's coupled with a steep climb with little toeholds carved in the rock. :(

The last bridge was Owachomo Bridge. This was the smallest of the three with a height of 106 feet, 27 feet wide, only 9 feet thick and spanning 108 feet. Compared to Kachina it seemed almost graceful. This trail was shorter and less challenging than the others (no ladders!), but with lovely views of the bridge and canyon.

Owachomo Bridge.

Hard to get it all in one shot from the base, that's Rog under the span.

Glossy black Mr. Raven was happy to pose.

Huge standing stones stacked like dinner plates.

On the way out of the park we stopped to take in the view of Bears Ears – our newest national monument. Although the first request to make this a national monument was submitted in the 1930's, it wasn't until December 28, 2016, that President Obama established the Bears Ears National Monument under the Antiquities Act (which was signed into law in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt). Unbelievably, on February 3, 2017, Utah’s Republican Governor signed a resolution asking Trump to rescind the designation of Bears Ears as a National Monument – something that has never been done before. Hopefully public opinion will influence Utah’s legislature to back off. Their unpopular actions have already had economic consequences – the Outdoor Retailer Show, which generates 45 million dollars annually, is pulling out of Utah because of their lack of support for public lands. I’ll say it again, after visiting many of our national parks/monuments, we should be doing a better job supporting the parks and protecting these lands for generations to come. Get on board people!

Bears Ears National Monument (for now - Grrrrrrrrrr).