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| Double Stack Ruin Bailout, UT | |
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| | Double Stack Ruin Bailout, UT | | | |
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Double Stack Ruin Bailout, UT
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| Hiking | 1.28 Miles |
128 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.28 Miles | 28 Mns | | 2.74 mph |
| 128 ft AEG | | 8 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Nearing the end of our long drive from Mesa to Blanding Utah and with plenty of daylight left we decided on a hike in The Comb, which would be our first since May of 2014... Wow, has it been that long? 11.5 years ago!
Since we were heading North from US 163 on Butler Wash Road, we decided on the first ruin site hike of significance, which was Double Stack.
(Yes, Wolf Panel was closer to 163, but at barely a 3/4-mile round-trip, it wasn't a priority)
On this fiasco of a hike we were quickly brought up to speed with a portent of things to come... not just for today, but the remainder of our week in SE Utah.
Due to the recent rains, while Butler Wash Road was passable so far, the main channel of Butler Wash (which must be crossed for every ruin site hike) was at issue. We attempted to cross at two locations from the trailhead but the water in the wash was too wide and too deep to cross without soaking our foot gear, or at the very least, slipping and falling in the very slick and greasy mud, which we were quite unwilling to do on the first day of our hiking trip.
(Spoiler alert: I'll give the slick and greasy mud a chance at me 4 days from now)
Ok, so we bailed out on hike #1, but there's more to The Comb than this so we headed North on Butler Wash Road with the plan try the hike to Fishmouth Cave, as from memory I felt it may offer the best chance of a dry crossing.
The drive from Double Stack to Fishmouth on Butler Wash Road was not for the faint-of-heart. While much of it was in reasonable condition after all the recent rains, there were numerous wash-crossings which provided a challenge, even with the oversize tires and slight lift on my 4Runner TRD Off Road.
Slow and careful was the mantra, approaching the deepest eroded washes at an angle, and in one major bad spot, we drove off the road completely to take a wide detour around the only completely eroded and impassable wash crossing.
No, I did not create the detour, it had been traveled by at least 2 vehicles prior to our arrival. Even then, the slope we had to drop back down past the wash was a bit daunting. Tracey doesn't care for this stuff at all!
But by taking it slow and carefully we made it safe and sound to Fishmouth. |
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