Hurrah Pass, Jackson Hole, Chicken Corners & Lockhart Basin Trails

Moab, Utah

by Don Miller

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(Note: All the thumbnail size pictures link to larger versions. These great photos from the author's web site look more like paintings than photps.)

The north end of this series of connecting trails begins in Moab at the intersection of Main St. and Kane Creek Blvd., where the local McDonald’s is located. I left the parking lot there at 2:00 PM on Saturday afternoon. Following Kane Creek Blvd. the pavement winds its way westwards, then turns to gravel. About a half mile after fording Kane Creek there is a junction. The ford usually presents no problem. However, in the spring and after heavy rainfall it may be difficult or impossible to cross.

The road leading to Hurrah Pass is to the right, while the Kane Creek Canyon trail branches off to the left. The trail begins to climb the rocky terrain towards Hurrah Pass soon after the split. If you haven’t aired down by this point it’s advisable to do so.

At the Hurrah Pass summit there is a short dead end spur branching off to the right. The views from the end of this are spectacular. At the summit stop and take a short walk to enjoy the wonderful views. Kane Creek Canyon is off to one side, and the Colorado River gorge is off to your other side. The main trail curves left and then begins to descend.

About 2 ¾ miles from the summit the road forks again. To the right is the Jackson Hole trail and to the left the Chicken Corners / Lockhart Basin trail. The start of the Chicken Corners / Lockhart Basin trail is rather obscure. In fact I couldn’t find it at first. I went left and kept ending up in a beautiful little dead end canyon. The tire tracks indicated that many others had done the same. As it was now late afternoon I decided that I would explore the Jackson Hole trail and camp somewhere along it overnight.

The Jackson Hole trail is a spur with a loop that can be taken in either direction. The overall trail length is about 12 miles. The trail winds through an ancient meander of the Colorado River through eroded terrain that is a mixture of slickrock and sand.

Across the Colorado River, downstream of the Potash Works are a couple of homes. You must look carefully to make them out. There are the remains of some old mining activity near the beginning of the trail.

The loop circles a high column of rock that was isolated when the river changed course in some distant time. I traveled the route in a clockwise direction, first heading towards the Colorado, then curving to the right away from it. There is a short spur that approaches the bank of the Colorado River. Across the river can be seen some potash works in the Shaefer Basin. Old mine tunnels have river water pumped through them. Then the water is evaporated in large surface ponds. The banks of the Colorado are overgrown with brush and you cannot actually see the river even though you are right at water’s edge.

When I had nearly completed the loop I made one of life’s mistakes that, I suppose, occur to serve as a reminder to pay careful attention at all times when 4 wheeling. It was getting late in the day, the sun was in my eyes, the windshield hazy with accumulated dust from the sandy trail. I could see the trail directly ahead of me, or so I thought. Suddenly the left front wheel dropped straight down, there was a crunch and forward movement stopped abruptly. I calmly tried to reverse and was rewarded with the sound of two tires, a front and a rear, spinning in air.

On opening my door to have a look at the situation, the Bronco II teetered slowly to the left. I hastily closed the door and leaned my body to the right. The Bronco II tilted back to the right. I sat still for a moment pondering my predicament, then exited through the passenger door to survey the scene. I found that I had driven the left front off a sandstone shelf or ledge at the side of the trail. A single finger could rock the truck one way, then the other, as it balanced on the right front and left rear tires. I made a mental note that here was another one of those times where a locker in either diff would probably have made short work of the situation. The trail actually veered to the right, then back to the left to the section I had seen ahead of me. The drop was not all that great, perhaps 2 feet, but it would be sufficient to cause major trouble if I had hit it at a different angle or at greater speed. As visions of my Bronco lying on it’s side flashed through my mind I thought to myself that it could have been much much worse. Fortunately I had been driving my usual off highway pace; slow and easy. No damage had been done except to my pride. There were lots of rocks of assorted sizes and shapes scattered all about and I figured all I had to do was collect and pile a bunch under the left front wheel. It was getting late in the day though and I did not want to spend the night there teetering on the ledge, nor did I want to be working in the dark, so I went round to the back of the Bronco II to get out the Hi-Lift.

As I opened the liftgate there was a sharp crack accompanied by a lurch of the truck. The shelf had fractured and now the Bronco II rested on it’s frame, both front wheels hanging in mid air. The situation had indeed become worse!

About 45 minutes to an hour, much rock hauling and several lifts of the Hi-Lift, later I had the Bronco II more or less level with the front wheels perched on stacked rocks. A quick and easy reverse had the Bronco II back on solid slickrock. It was then I realized that in my zeal and single-mindedness I had forgotten all about taking pictures of the extrication process! I was more angry about that than I was about the whole affair. I did take a photo of the aftermath. Note that the picture was taken with an extremely wide angle lens (18mm.) so the height of the ledge is exaggerated.

One must remember that if you are breaking one of the rules of 4 wheeling, that of traveling alone, you must exercise maximum care. I continued to close the loop and returned to a spot I had sighted earlier to make camp. Up alongside a large boulder, it was one of a few sites that offered any shade in the afternoon.

The next morning, I retraced my tracks and found the trail to Chicken Corners / Lockhart Basin. It was easier to spot on the return trip from the dead end. Coming from that dead end the trail was visible higher up before I could discern where it split off up some slickrock. Coming from the dead end, the trail goes up on your left. If you have good eyes and/or trail sense you may be able to find the trail without the side trip into the dead end canyon.

The trail climbs and soon reaches a river bluff overlook. Get out and enjoy the panoramic view. The trail now more or less parallels the river for the next few miles About 2 ¼ miles from the Chicken Corners trail start there is a spur going off to the left. I didn’t explore it this trip but apparently there are some old mine works up there.

The trail climbs slightly all the way along here and about 5 miles from the trail head there is another fork. The Lockhart Basin trail spurs off to the left. This would have been harder to find if it was not for the signpost at the junction. Marvel of marvels, a signpost in the middle of nowhere! The Chicken Corners trail spurs right and continues along the river gorge rim. It reaches a narrow section that gives the trail it’s name. About a mile and a half past this point the trail dead ends with spectacular views of the Colorado River about 500 feet below.

Returning to the Lockhart Basin junction and following what I took to be the trail; it was well traveled, I dead ended again! What a bother! As I was ever so slowly retracing my tracks yet again, I looked down the canyon and spied a Jeep at the signpost. They were pointed down in the direction of Hurrah Pass. I knew they had to have come from the Lockhart Basin trail as I had not seen them before. I made my way down to them and found that they had indeed come from the Canyonlands end of the trail.

They told me I had gone right past the turn to the Lockhart Basin trail. I was told to head back and watch for a rock cairn on the left side of the trail a very short distance past the signpost. They both also warned me that the trail was rough. The driver admonished that you needed a locker. Well nothing in my trail research had indicated that this was so tough as to require a locker. I recalled that the trail had a 3 ½ rating on the Moab Red Rock Club scale and I’d been over several of the trails that had a 3 ½ rating. So I thanked them and got back into my open diff Bronco II, and hoped that the trail had not just recently fallen apart.

Keeping a close watch on the left I spotted the rock cairn. It does help when you know what to look for. The trail climbed rather steeply up slickrock and then over lots of rubble rock with a mild shelf thrown in here and there. I kept waiting for the part where I would need a locker. Once I had to change my line and make a second attempt, but other than that my basically stock Bronco II climbed with relative ease. If it was wet it would have been a different story I’m sure, but I had hot and dry conditions. This hardest part of the climb is about a mile long. The photo doesn't do it proper justice. It is steeper than it looks in the photo.

After leaving the gorge the trail travels the more or less flat red rock desert. Below and off to the west is the Colorado River gorge, and to the east cliffs loom over you. Slightly more than 5 miles from the Chicken Corners / Lockhart Basin junction the trail crosses a small pass. From here the terrain south becomes visible.

As you continue south the view to the north disappears. The Hatch Point overlook looms a thousand feet high to the east as you travel in the generally southward direction. Below Hatch Point the terrain begins to fall to the south and you enter the Lockhart Basin. The view south is magnificent. There are many varied rock formations of various colors and shades.

About 21 to 22 miles from the Chicken Corners / Lockhart Basin junction there is another spur going off to the right, or the west. This is the 6 mile long spur down Lockhart Canyon towards the Colorado River. The Lockhart Canyon trail is mostly sand wash and winds and twists a lot. The final half mile or so is within the boundaries of Canyonlands National Park. There is an old cabin in the park section and right near the mouth of the canyon look for some petroglyphs on the rock walls.

The trail ends once more in the brush that over grows the banks. If you have a shiny paint job and want to keep it that way don’t bother following these trails through the brush. As for my Bronco II, the original factory paint isn’t exactly in showroom condition anymore so it doesn't really matter.

I saw a spot outside the park’s boundary that had been previously used as a campsite and as I wasn’t in a big hurry I stopped for the day. After washing off the trail dust I did a little hiking, had dinner, and read a while before going to bed after the sun sank slowly.

The next day, I was up early and set off back to the main trail south. From here south the trail is not at all difficult. There are several spurs to explore off to the left or right. To the left are many high bluffs overlooking you. Six or seven miles past the Lockhart Canyon spur the Needles Overlook towers over the landscape. I took one short spur to the right and ended up at another marvelous view, overlooking the Colorado River gorge. About 13 miles from the Lockhart Canyon spur the trail reaches Indian Creek Canyon. This is another photo opportunity!

The trail descends rapidly to Indian Creek. Indian Creek has to be forded and is normally easy. The bottom is hard. However after a heavy rain it could become hazardous or impassable. Checking with the Park Service might be advisable before beginning your trip. The trail joins the paved road, Utah Highway 211, to Canyonlands National Park about 3 miles past Indian Creek. I brought the tire pressure back up to highway level, made a left turn, and headed east on the pavement.

Approximately 20 miles later is Newspaper Rock. If you have time stop. You will find a rock wall of petroglyphs spanning a thousand years and three distinct people. About 13 miles later this road joins Highway 191. Turn left for Moab, or right for Monticello.

A Footnote:

It has come to my attention that in early August a storm washed out the section of trail where you climb up from the Chicken Corners section onto the Lockhart Basin Trail section. Hard work in 105 degree temperatures by the Red Rock 4-Wheelers have made that section passable once again. After the trail restoration work an open diff CJ7 has made it through okay. DJM/September 1998

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