RATI NG
4
TRAIL
Hey Joe Canyon Trail
Larry & Linda Olsen, Leaders Thursday 4/14 Hey Joe Canyon, a site of some mining ruins, is a short tributary of Labyrinth Canyon of the Green River. To get to the canyon, one must travel about 20 miles of pavement and 10 miles of good dirt road to the rim of Spring Canyon. Then the trip starts a spectacular ledge road that winds down a 600 foot cliff to the canyon bottom. The trail then follows the canyon bottom about 2 miles to the Green River. It then turns upstream about 9 miles along the river to reach Hey Joe Canyon. The trail along the river is subject to rock falls from
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above and collapses from below. This causes the club to expect maintenance trips in the early spring to repair fallen sections and prune Tamarisk growth along the Green. Moderate to heavy brush contact should be expected. Approximate mileages: 85 total, 45 off highway. Scenery: The access roads include the paved one in Sevenmile Canyon, and good dirt roads in the open plateau country near Spring Canyon. Spring Canyon is a jewel. The trail intersects with the Green River at Bowknot Bend, a large loop of the river where the river doubles back and threatens to short cut the loop in the near future, geologically speaking. There are abandoned mining roads on both sides of the river, and remains of the cable that ferried equipment across the river may be seen. Road Surface: The road into Spring Canyon once carried ore trucks and heavy equipment but it still remains subject to erosion from storms. Although it is a part of Grand County’s maintained road system, recent storms and maintenance priorities usually determine the challenges this trip presents. The trail in Spring Canyon and Labyrinth Canyon are good dirt except where erosion has narrowed them or left rock falls that require hand labor to make them passable. Highlights: There are no fixed obstacles on this route; the hard places move around as erosion continues. Some of the older rock falls have been crossed so much they are getting easy, but who knows what this year will bring. Wet weather would require substitution of this trip with one of equal rating; the trail is scary when dry and terrifying when wet.
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65 West 200 South • 435-259-7195 (right behind Fiesta Mexicana) moabnapa@gmail.com
100 - 2022 Moab Easter Jeep Safari
Associate Leaders: Gary Hawkins, Leon Olson, Jared Roper. To be used: Thursday 4/14 www.jeepsafarimagazine.com
