Noah's Excellent Adventures: Cedar Mesa

September 11,12, and 13th, 2015. Wanting to get out on a little adventure before the new semester started up. I went to Marysvale on Thursday night and Friday with the Land Cruiser loaded up my dad and I headed towards Cedar Mesa via the Bullfrog and the Lake Powell Ferry. We rode the ferry over to halls crossing something I have wanted to do for a while. It was the Charles Hall. It was fun and something I recommend everyone does at least once. Once across we drove out to Clay Hill Crossing, where people take out off the San Juan River. It was interesting, but unless I was taking off the river I wouldn't make the 24 mile round trip out there again. We then headed to the Collins Spring Trailhead. Collin Spring Canyon is a route into Grand Gulch. We planed to hike to a place called the narrows where you enter into Grand Gulch. It was a warm day, but we were there just late enough in the day for the canyon to be mostly in shadow. My dad thought he had hiked this route like forty years ago, but once inside didn't remember any of it. So, he thinks perhaps he came in a different spot near that area. It was a good hike and we reached the Narrows, due to recent rains it was to muddy to walk through them. We skirted around it just enough to be in Grand Gulch and then hiked back out. We found a great little campsite and got all set up just before dark and enjoyed stadium brats under a blanket of stars. The night cooled off nicely and we slept well. In the morning we made our way to just outside Natural Bridges National Monument, where we drove the long steep road up through the Bears Ears on to Elk Ridge. It is a beautiful drive with lots of Ponderosa Pines and sweeping views. We stopped at a few overlooks and a trail head into the Dark Canyon Wilderness Area. I hope to get out to explore that area soon. We stopped at the Manti La-Sal Ranger Station and talked briefly to a seasonal ranger and got a map then stared the downhill off the Elk Ridge into the Canyon Rims Area. My original plan was to head out into the Beef Basin area, but not sure if we would have enough gas we decided to save it for another day. We drove towards The Needles District or at least Highway 211 that goes to The Needles. We stopped and looked into Salt Creek and picked a few pine nuts. We missed the trail head for Salt Creek another backpacking trip on my list. After driving on highway 211 we took a paved road that took us through the foothills of the Abajo Mountains into Monticello. We got gas and then drove to Blanding where we ate at the Patio Drive Inn. We then headed onto highway 95 back towards Hite. We stopped and climbed Salvation Koll that played a big role in the Hole-n- Rock pioneer story. We then took a side road (rd. 2311) not far from Bridges where we drove to the end and hiked out to look down into Grand Gulch. We found a good camp spot and enjoyed chili cheese brats and another good night sleep. In the morning we broke camp and headed for home. We stopped at the viewpoint at Hite and corrected a group from Colorado that they were not looking at the confluence of the Green and Colorado. We then stopped for a drink in Hanksville and then had a sandwich at the monument for an old mill. It was a quicker then I would have liked trip, but I saw most of what I wanted to and the weather was nice. All and all a nice get away.