North San Rafael Swell

finally got back to the swell last month...organized some planning over here, http://www.expeditionutah.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4334

did a trip summary in this post... http://www.expeditionutah.com/forum/showpost.php?p=46698&postcount=15

every since our first trip through the swell back in April, http://www.expeditionutah.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4092 , we've been itching to get back and really see what the swell has to offer...

we departed from Denver on the 3rd after work and pushed through to the "exit" to black dragon canyon. taking advice from EU members and prior posts, we setup camp for the night next to the three fingers just south of the black dragon canyon entrance.
northswell2014--1 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

after breaking down camp Saturday, we set off to check out black dragon canyon..
northswell2014--5 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

first stop of course was to check out the black dragon panels
northswell2014--6 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

although the art was impressive, it was terrible seeing what assholes have done to the art over the years...
northswell2014--8 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

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views from the panel
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after checking out below, we worked out way up the boulders to see where the dragon lived
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after hanging with the dragon, we spent a little bit of time at the lower panel
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more to come...

 

after leaving the panel and cave, we continued our way up the canyon
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saw this little guy along the way
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found a little guy to stretch out on
northswell2014--24 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

little video of a optional route along the way
http://youtu.be/4aPsZgBrdRM

after leaving the canyon we worked our way into jackass and rattlesnake flats on our way to buckhorn draw..some views along the way..
northswell2014--26 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

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we stopped at the swinging bridge for lunch and check out the last suspension bridge in Utah
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after lunch we continued our way up to the buckhorn panel
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these were very impressive and glad to see these were preserved better than the black dragon panels
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some information
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our goal for the night was to setup camp on the wedge...along the way I wanted to take a look at the MK tunnels...which we could have explored these...
northswell2014--57 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

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on we went up to find camp...even found some time to fly my ufo before heading to the edge for evening canyon photos
northswell2014--60 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

found a great spot on the inside of the road (keep space between camp and the edge for dog safety )...and we had this view right across the way
northswell2014--61 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

we walked down a bit to the canyon overlook..grabbing more pics along the way
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and from the overlook
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our degs
gnar-lee
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shastan
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took some time on our way back to camp to setup for a low light shot...shadows were tough
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from the wedge, I wanted to get down to coal wash and hit up eva conover or DRT...we ended up going with Eva...

in order to get there from the wedge, we chose to head down through Fuller Bottom...approaching bottom, the trail gets a bit tighter and the mud starts to show its face
northswell2014--81 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

after a few zig zags through the brush, you come to the San Rafael River...here we had a head scratching moment as the main trail on the opposite side took some heavy damage after the floods...luckily a backpacking family came by as we were debating our route and the dad was willing to walk over and scout out the situation...at the old crossing, the water depth would have been fun, but the muck behind was quicksand mud...even the dog wanted nothing to do with it..
northswell2014--82 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

so an alternate route was created from travelers through the area...it was a steep climb out of the river, but doable...
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1st gear wasn't enough and had to hit it in 2nd (4lo) to make the climb out..that area has its fair share of mud
northswell2014--83 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

then more head scratching...after getting up, you then have to rejoin the old trail...here you can see the washout of the old trail and the steep banks of the trail
northswell2014--86 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

the turn into the trail was too steep for my liking, so I crossed over and came in from the other side...smaller of a bank
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after that challenge, the trail continues on with numerous washouts and open plains...
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we even saw a pronghorn along the way
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after the fuller bottom route, we came to the mouth of coal wash where we turned south toward Eva Conover

getting into Coal Wash
northswell2014--96 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

where we worked our way over to see the Drips
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shortly after the drips, Coal Wash splits, N&S...this is where we went in the south fork on the Eva Conover trail
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and this is where we saw some crazy black water...heavy sulfur smell
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northswell2014--112 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

 

after the sulfur water...we continued deeper into the canyons and were treated with some more technical trails cutting along the canyon ledges as we worked our way down to eagle canyon where we would wrap up the trip before heading home..
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along the way, there's a large spot as a break in the shelf roads
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offering even more amazing views
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saw a large natural bridge up high along the way
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the trail sees a break along the way before a final tight section
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after the last tight sections, the trail works its way back down to i70 where you can hop back on the highway or continue over to eagle canyon...wanting to see the bridges, we ducked down into eagle canyon for lunch
northswell2014--128 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

I've done some underpasses in the swell before by Sinbad, but this underpass was almost too tight for my liking
northswell2014--130 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

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and a final pic of great timing....
northswell2014--132 by NYCO-rh, on Flickr

 

Wow!!! Pretty magnificent photos! Thanks for sharing. Hopefully one day I'll be ready to get out and explore. Thanks for the motivation!

 

Great stuff Bob!

 

thanks. these were terrible photos to go through. kept me wanting to go back asap but sucks knowing it'll be a while till we can get another trip back there.

might keep a weekend open for a winter trip in the swell...

 

Sick pics and report as usual Bob. It looks like most of the terrain in the area is sand/dirt and not a ton of rock, is that accurate?

 

yup...black dragon has some rocks and ledges, but nothing crazy...the video shows one of the harder climbs which wasn't really hard...there's some optional routes through the canyon that could give you a run for your money, but there's ways around them..

fuller bottom had some wash outs, and besides the river crossing and re-entry into the wash, there's no real challenges besides sand and mud..

eva connover, devil's racetrack and eagle canyon have some rocks to contend with and would be mid range difficulty...DRT has more ledges and obstacles and considered one of, if not the most technical trail in the swell...there is a canyon route above eagle canyon that i saw someone take before in a trip report that was a real challenge and not recommended for full size trucks (aka bigger than side-by-side)

mainly a lot of remote areas with unique challenges, but a great area to get away and explore...had over 100 miles off pavement in those two days..easiest being the road to and through buckhorn draw and hardest being black dragon and eva conover..

you should come out for a weekend trip...you'd enjoy it man

 

Good deal, looks like an awesome area. I need to expand my UT exploration beyond Moab.

 

Great report, love the swell. You ever make it out to the abandoned air strip?

 

The Swell is one of my favorite places. I can make it to the wedge in just over two hours from my place so I camp there a lot.

I shot this near your campsite last summer.

Lightning from the Wedge by Summit42, on Flickr

 

Holy shit, that pic is ridiculous!!!

 

not yet...sounds like a must see!

i've heard about the railroad grade and structures along that...i know of numerous old mines and rock art...but first i've heard of this airstrip...

wow! ...... just wow!

it's crazy how the canyons that span that area go unnoticed by so many... probably shouldn't even post this thread

 

Thank you.

There's at least a dozen old airstrips across the swell I know the one at Hidden Splendor is still active. Really not much to see.

 

The one that I've been to is called the Mexican mountain airstrip and was abandoned in the 70's by some oil company. It is still semi-active or at least used by local vintage air clubs still. I was camping there once and woke up to an old bi-wing landing, I tried to trade some beers for a ride but it was a no-go The railroad grade is a pretty cool drive, although I don't think you can travel the whole thing anymore due to private property. If you're into fly fishing, you can get to the lower price river from the northern part of the swell, fish for a few hours and then check out the old Marsing ranch buildings for lunch.
There is way too much to do in the area, I still haven't explored much of the swell below the 70.

That picture is amazing, my favorite swell trips have always been when it's raining. Never heard of the hidden splendor airstrip, another thing to add to the list of swell trip destinations.

 

that's my "problem" with Utah...i knock a few items off items off my "list" only to add 3 times as many new "must sees"