Grand Guld (Cedar Mesa, UT) pre-planning questions

I would not hesitate to leave the rain coat home. Left it in the car for 7 day and 4 day Grand Canyon trips last year when the forecast was stable. Umbrella wouldn't be bad insurance and would double as sun protection, which is nice.

It's been a decade+ since I've been down in Grand Gulch, but my recollection was that the water was really good for the Colorado Plateau. No filtering from chocolate milk pools of old rainwater or anything like that.

What route are you planning?

I've hiked in Grand Gulch twice–late Summer and mid-May. I did not bring rain gear either time. It rained on our second trip–overnight, and a brief drizzle while hiking. mid-April might be different, but precipitation was short-lived and everything dried out quickly.

Water in mid-May was fairly easy to find, and most was clear as Dave said. Our August trip was a different story with only a few mud filled potholes.

Snow is a possibility. Last May, it was 70F and sunny as we started ascending out of Owl Canyon — within an hour it was 30F and snowing as we drove to Natural Bridges NM. I'm not sure if the snow would have made it all the way into the canyon–but changes happen quickly. I still would have gone without rain gear though.

If you want a night of car camping (read: picnic table), Natural Bridges is a great park. The trail loop is pretty fantastic, albeit short. You can also refill water there for stashing the car if needed.

I have hiked Grand Gulch many times since the early 90's… as well as most other canyons on Cedar Mesa and the area nearby.
I would always take rain gear. Regardless of the forecast it can rain, you can get wet and miserable. There is no such thing as 0% chance of rain.

I would not take a sawyer squeeze. They clog up easily. Some water can be clear, some not…. especially in a dry year this this one. Some looks relatively clear but has tiny flora growing that will quickly clog your filter. To me, the filer of choice for the canyons is the Katadyn Vario. It has a ceramic pre filter that is cleanable. Last spring I was having to clean it every day to get any flow. The Vario is heavy, but drinking water is the most important thing in those canyons. Check in at the visitor's center before starting you hike. They keep a water report that tells where other hikers have recently found water.

I would not take an umbrella anywhere in SE Utah or the desert. Too much wind for umbrellas. Less down in the canyons, but you can still get a lot of wind down there.

Billy

"My experience with 0% chance of rain in Utah in the spring is that it has always been accurate,"

While backpacking down inside Grand Gulch I have seen it rain so hard there are waterfalls coming down from most of the canyon walls. Another time I have seen it rain so hard that the creek is flowing in the bottom of the canyon. Another time when camping up on the rim it rained for a week and I could not drive my car out due to muddy access roads.

As for the forecasts… I have seen forecasts for lows of 40… and heard backpackers coming out of the canyon saying that their water froze that night. The forecasts for for the mesa tops… or Blanding. There are cold sinks down inside the canyons that can be 20 degrees colder.

I wouldn't put much stock in the forecasts… for temperature or rain. Go prepared.

billy

The other good thing about the Vario filter besides the cleanable ceramic pre-filter is that it has an activated charcoal section. Some of the water holes can be dank and smell putrid… REALLY REALLY hard to force yourself to drink water that stinks like that… and you really need to drink a lot in that arid environment. The activated charcoal takes takes the stink out of the water… sometimes not all, but enough that you can drink the water.

billy

Great advice – thank you.

It sounds like that Katadyn is the way to go – very glad to know it has a cleanable prefilter, as that will likely be essential.

I originally planned to do Kane to Bullet – with some hiking further down the canyon past Bullet, and then retracing those steps back to exit from Bullet. I'm actually thinking now of modifying my permit and maybe starting at Bullet and exiting at Kane – my thoughts are that since I'm going alone, I'm either going to have to walk to road between Kane and Bullet or hitch (but I'm budgeting for the 8 mile walk as a worst-case scenario).

But as I'm starting on a Saturday, and exiting on a Tuesday – I think it will likely be much easier to get a ride on Saturday if I leave my car at Kane (I don't have 4WD to get to the Bullet TH), and hitch to Bullet to start. I'm hoping I may luck out and there might be someone at the ranger station at the same time that I can offer some money to to just drive me down there and drop me off….

Billy – since you've spent so much time in this area – does this sound like a reasonable plan?

*Erica*