Hasty Utah trip to White Crack

[DaveInDenver]

White Crack campsite is the southern most accessible from the White Rim Trail in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park. It's a single site and not really part of the normal flow of trip itineraries, so it's relatively difficult to get and atypically used. I'd only been to the spot once prior to @Mendocino and I camped there last summer, in fact.

Some time ago I noticed there was an old air strip on the flat plain south of White Crack above the confluence still visible in overhead photos. This led to some research. Knowing that White Rim Trail exists because prior to Canyonlands NP the whole area was just mad with uranium prospectors I had a realization that the trail that is marked leading from the campsite is actually an old road, long since abandoned and no longer allowing wheeled vehicles. Since my perspective for WRT had traditionally been to ride or drive the route doesn't get much mention.

But you can still hike it, in theory. The last two times on the WRT didn't lend themselves to an attempt, though. When Jeff and I drove it last August the timing wasn't right, not to mention the air temperature was about 2 million degrees that week.

I've been watching the weather and last minute permit openings for White Crack. Ideally getting two days is best but I needed at least one day to get an early start. Those things aligned so I reserved one night for vehicle and a backcountry permit the next night for the Lower Basin expecting to camp somewhere down there.

Familiar territory, 3rd trip on WRT in about a year. Is it possible to get, well, bored of a place?

Maybe I'm tired a little of the banging around but the views never disappoint.

Weather on Sunday was overcast, rain threatening but never materialized on the Moab side of WRT. Looked like rain to the west from about 4PM on into evening, so it was very windy and slightly chilly on White Crack. So opted to keep truck prep to a minimum and not pop the 'Nest for simplicity.

Watching the Moon rise over the La Sals while eating dinner and a couple of Modus Hoperandi. The sky did clear overnight as predicted, which made my decision on orienting the truck a bit of a problem when the exceptionally bright moonlight woke me up about 2 AM.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Got up with the sun, quick breakfast of a cold burrito and canned cold brew coffee. Actually not bad other than not wanting to take the time to warm anything.

Stashed the truck and headed down the trail with enough stuff to last a day. Mostly its about water since there's only one seep that occasionally runs, which I found and it wasn't. Sometimes during monsoon season the potholes will contain water but I found only a few at the top still did.

Pretty clearly shows the White Crack, which seems like the miners must have exploited with dynamite. The first mile of road was surely impressive in its day. Quite a lot of work to get the road down that first 1,000 or so feet from the top. It was steep, four very sharp switchbacks, a couple of wider turns but still plenty of elevation change.

The next mile or so the road bed is indistinct for the most part, although the hiking route appears well used still. After that, from about 2 miles on it seems hikers begin to thin but the road bed is more obvious. It's clear that it's been some time since anyone but hikers have been through. Cryptobiotic soil has taken firm root and the road is no more than a foot wide foot path.

I had laid out what I thought was the route and for the most part it was close. On the ground there was some foot traffic evidence and cairns through less obviously places. Still, I had to set down a path a few times. So I tried to rock step as much as possible and when that wasn't possible it was a selection criteria - sand followed by gravel followed by gravely dirt. Never needed to consider stepping across crust luckily.

Finally found the old camp. There was a cabin here until the 1980s, when it burned leaving only fireproof things. Bed frames, an old stove, some tin cans and broken dishes. I imagine there once was more stuff but its probably been looted.

My goal was to find the old air strip that I'd seen, which I could only do based on GPS location of my waypoint because on the ground there's no way you'd be able to pick out what was cleared anymore.

Weather was perfect, overcast, cool, very slight breeze. I'd made the miner's camp quickly, well before noon at around 3.5 MPH even with hourly food and water breaks and plenty of route finding. Distance out was roughly 8 miles but in review there was about 1/2 mile of back tracking so the return was shorter. I was done poke around the old cabin and airstrip and was at a decision point. I could have continued to the confluence, which would have consumed probably another hour or two and been around 10 to 12 miles I estimate.

But where I stopped at the old airstrip was the last evidence of anyone having been there lately. I didn't feel the super strong desire to set down a new track, so I decided to turn back. I was prepared for a night out with a tarp, essentially my bikepack gear. But there was no sizable dirt or even sand patch that didn't have crypto crust and there wasn't even much slick rock near enough to the trail to unroll on. So I just bailed on trying to bivouac and headed back to the truck.

That made it a full pack training I guess.

Total was 15.3 miles, 7.9 out and 7.4 miles back. On my GPS track there's plenty of jitterbugging where I was trying to find minimally invasive paths... Time total is 7 hours 2 minutes, moving 5 hours 40 minutes and 2,259 feet of elevation gain.

The worst part was having no plan B, so I got back to the truck mid afternoon and wasn't able to get ahold of the rangers to try and change my permit. So I drove off the WRT making it back to pavement just at dark. Ended up just driving home last night, quick shower and was asleep when my head hit the pillow.

 

[DaveInDenver]

It really would be a heckuva road to have traveled. I bet the top 1/2 mile or so were a maintenance headache even with constant attention.

Some of the artifacts still at the old cabin site.

 

[DanTheMan]

Very cool! Great photos and excellent trip report!

 

[wesintl]

that's cool Dave!

 

[Mendocino]

Well done @DaveInDenver ! I'm glad you made it to the airstrip and old camp.

 

[Hulk]

Those green shards look like a Fiestaware plate. It's been around since the 1930s. You can still buy it.

 

[rover67]

That's awesome Dave, thanks for sharing!!!

 

[PhatFJ]

Thanks for sharing Dave!!

 

[Old40Dog]

Awesome report Dave ! Thanks for sharing this! Been wanting to get over there sometime. On the ol' bucket list! Hoping next year will be better. lol

 

[coax]

Super cool!

 

[Ann]

Awesome photos and report! Thanks for posting it up.

 

[FunkyYota]

Very cool - I drove to the end of the White Crack Campsite road. Wish I knew this was there - next time definitely gonna check this out.

 

[maxpowerzz]

Great photos, love the old bed frames and details you captured

 

[Shuksan]

Great report. Thanks!