white rim trail

from Northology Adventures April 2023

The Trans Wisconsin Adventure Trail

by Steve Truax

The White Rim Trail is a 100-mile-long trail in Canyonlands National Park, Utah To traverse it requires high clearance vehicles and must also have low range

During the GoneMoab event in 2022 it was mentioned that very few permits were being used for the White Rim Trail in the winter months. After various discussions, it was established that several people were interested in a winter White Rim Trail run.

Dan and I kept in touch about this and other potential trips we would like to take. Sometime in early October, after Dan had done some significant research on the White Rim Trail, it was determined that we would need to act sooner than later to make sure that we could lock in our desired camp sites. I contacted several people whom I felt might be interested in going on this d nture Cody replied that he wanted to join us As no lse committed to go, and with and with onlands requirements that a group has a maximum ee vehicles, our group was defined Dates were set e 5, 6, & 7th of December Dan proceeded with g in the camp sites and securing permits Trip ing kicked into high gear nal plan was that I would meet Dan in Kansas at State Park and we would travel together from that Cody would meet us at the Canyonlands visitor r as he lived only a half day away. items needed to be purchased for the trip and secure food, drink, etc. I bought chains that would 35” BFG’s and lots of hand warmers. I also had to o put on a few miles on the new gear set in the differential to make sure everything was good to fore the trip. There is no service station on the trail .

December 2nd, I was traveling to meet Dan in Scott City, KS, when he called me to tell me he was in a black put because of the 50+ mph winds and dust We agreed it was probably not a good idea to camp that night He found a hotel vacancy with a couple rooms where we stayed to wait out the wind

December 3rd, the wind died down by morning and we could proceed on our way We stopped at Dan’s favorite restaurant, “Kip’s”. We asked a waitress if she knew of any nearby dispersed camping spots. She knew of a spot so after some great fish tacos we headed to our next camp site. It was already dark by the time we got there (thanks to the time of year!). We really were not sure what we were getting into. We found what we thought was a nice spot, setup and called it a day. It wasn’t late, but cold enough that a sleeping bag sounded good. During the night I heard a few vehicles and a weird sound which continued all night The next morning, I looked out to see a beautiful view After getting out of my roof top tent and looking around some, I saw the source of the weird noises during the night An electric power line directly above our trucks Temps had been in the 20’s at night and 30’s during the day

December 4th, we made or way to our next camp site just out of Canyonlands National Park. The Camp was called “Cowboy Campground”. We got there early enough to setup camp and have a look around while stretching our legs. Got some cool pics.

December 5th, we met Cody at the visitor center in Canyonlands as planned We said our hello’s and finalized permits and fees Off we went to finally get on the trail The beginning of the trail is Shafer trail The road snakes its way down to the valley floor with a lot of switch backs Our first camp was Gooseberry-B at about mile 30 We had plenty of time to take in the winter views and explore offchute trails and camps We had rain, snow, and sunshine throughout the day Temps now in the 30’s at night and 40’s to 50’s during the day December 6th, our second trail camp was Candlestick. We had snow throughout the night. Because we didn’t have as many miles to go to our next camp, we got to sleep in a little and take some time before hitting the trail. More beautiful scenery. All of us kept saying how this time of year was so different than during prime 4x4 months

December 6th, our second trail camp was Candlestick. We had snow throughout the night. Because we didn’t have as many miles to go to our next camp, we got to sleep in a little and take some time before hitting the trail. More beautiful scenery. All of us kept saying how this time of year was so different than during prime 4x4 months.

December 7th, we had a few steep climbs and narrow trails on the way to our third camp called Hardscrabble. We had gotten there early enough in the day that Cody decided he would head out of the park and go on to home. He was having some inspection issues with his new home. Dan and I continued on an off-chute trail, which ended up being an in and out. Then we headed out of the park. As we traveled, it continued to snow. I didn’t think much of it except for a few slippery clay areas Then the trail narrowed and got steeper, and steeper, and narrower, ultimately down to a singlevehicle width with switchbacks and drop offs! I thought to myself that we weren’t even halfway up yet and probably had several miles to go up Being from Wisconsin, and knowing we had run into some clay earlier, I was getting a little uneasy about continuing I stopped and told Dan that I wanted to walk up a little to check out what the trail was like up ahead He asked what would we do if we didn’t continue? In my head I was thinking of saying “ we wouldn’t fall off the 2,000 ft drop”. What I actually did say was “back all the way down”. After looking at the trail surface ahead, we continued to go up. By the way, if you do this in summer months watch out for vehicles coming down with rafts on trailers! We did finally make it to the top and to the main road. Dan said he had never seen me shy away from any obstacle before with my Xterra ��. We headed back to Moab for the night.

December 8th, after we completed White Rim Trail, Dan and I knew that we would have some extra time. We stopped at the Canyonlands Visitor Center and asked if anyone there knew of another trail that wasn’t closed, that we could take. Because we then had a good night’s sleep in a warm hotel, Dan and I set out to Lockhart Canyon

It had frozen overnight The gravel roads to the trail were very muddy It was a beautiful sunny day and we had nothing to do but explore We worked our way up over a ridge and down into a valley There were a few tight switchbacks coming down and some slight confusion on what turns to take; however we found our way to Lockhart Canyon The trail seemed ok for a short while and then became quite technical We had been passed by some rental side by sides They had stopped ahead of us and were walking the trail father ahead. We also went walking to determine how difficult the trail was going to get. After a short distance both Dan and I agreed that this was beyond our vehicle’s capability, or at least beyond what we wanted to do because we still had to drive back home. At that point we headed back to Moab. We decided to check out the Needles area of Canyonlands on our way back and found a camp site in that area.

December 9th, we woke up and it was the coldest night yet Dan and I ate breakfast and tried to warm up Then decided to start heading home We made it to John Martin Reservoir in Hasty, CO We pulled in very late (or it seemed very late because of driving all day) We set up camp in the dark and got in our roof top tents The wind howled all night long I got up once during the night to move my Xterra 180 degrees hoping my RTT would handle the wind better It was cold! We got up in the morning and I couldn’t keep my hands warm enough to close the RTT We decided to head for town to get something to eat there. Before we got to a town, our routes split and both of us were headed onward to our homes.