Southeast Utah Tour

by Steve Kaufer

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The tour plan had been published in the Arizona Republic. The four of us, Dr. Dan (Lyons, NE), Don (O'neil, NE), Jay (Sedona, AZ) and I agreed to try the 1,100 mile trek through some of the best scenery in Utah. We drove up from Page, Arizona on Hwy 89. At Big Water we turned northeast onto the Smoky Mountain road and drove past the area where the Planet of the Apes was filmed before being flooded by Lake Powell. The Smoky Mountain road across the Kaiparowitz Plateau was amazingly desolate with little vegetation and no animals that we could see.

We found a neat little canyon to take a break in.The 80 Wagoner is Don's while the 76 Scout is mine. Both are lifted but pretty much stock otherwise. We made it about a third of the way to Escalante before camping for the night. The full moon made a great backdrop for the campfire and tents.

The next morning we continued north passing the Bentonite Hills. What a weird area! Lots of clumpy clay pellets sort of like packing peanuts. Nothing growing here! Smooth road though.

We left the Kaiparowits Plateau, drove through Escalante and on to Box Death Canyon north of Escalante. When we had climbed to 9500 feet we saw this view across Box Death Hollow Wilderness with the Henry Mountains on the left and Water Pocket Fold below them.

The Box Death area is a rugged mountain area with spectacular canyons.

Next we went north to Capital Reef State Park including a trip through Cathedral Valley. I thought this was the neatest of all!

We took the top off the scout so we could fully appreciate the beautiful rock formations. No music, no kids, no traffic, no noise - it was great just putting along in first gear. We continued toward the San Rafael Swell just south of I-70 then down to Hanksville-camping that night at the Fremont River.

The next day we were off for the Henry Mountains. We enjoyed the fall scenery as we climbed and even saw some deer. It dropped down to 36 degrees that night.

Back on the Highway we came to Hite, Utah. This was a busy mining town in the 20s and was named for a miner of the same name. The town died out and was flooded when Lake Powell was formed. From there we drove past Jacobs chair, Red Rock plateau, Natural Bridges Monument and down Hwy 261 through the Valley of the Gods. We stopped for refreshments at Mexican Hat and then on through Monument Valley and into Arizona where we visited Canyon De Chelley on the way back to Flagstaff and Phoenix.

The scenery was just amazing but four wheel drive was not really necessary though the extra clearance we had was. Next year maybe a locker in the back and a trip to Moab. That would be fun! Hope you enjoyed the story and photos.

from left to right - the author, Steve, then Jay, Don and Dr. DAN

Directions

All of the roads used in this tour can be found on the Utah Highway map. Starting at Big Water in South Central Utah near the Arizona border, turn northeast on the Smokey Mountain trail toward Escalante. Continue north of Escalante skirting Box Death Hollow Wilderness coming back to Hwy 12 a few miles SW of Boulder. Follow Hwy 12 North to Torrey and then Hwy 24 east to a road on the east side of Capitol Reef National Park. Follow the unimproved road northwest eventually re-entering Capitol Reef National Park along its northeast extremes and through Cathedral Valley and back to Caineville on Hwy 24 via Cathedral Valley Road. Continue on east Hwy 24 to Hanksville and then take a local road south to the Henry Mountains eventually joining Hwy 95 near its junction with Hwy 276. Go southeast on HWY 95 through Hite to Hwy 261 not far past Natural Bridges National Monument. Turn south on Hwy 261 toward Mexican Hat then take Hwy 163 back into Arizona.

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