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Road Trip Out West - Advice, Please!

Original Post
Jen Shriber · · Oakland, CA · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 20

Hi everyone,

I'm a longtime Mountain Project lurker, first time poster. I'm going to have a few months free this summer and am planning a road trip out west, starting in Boston and ending in Atlanta. It'll mostly be a sport climbing trip (I lead up to 11a and follow harder) with some trad thrown in, although I'm a new trad leader so this really depends on whether I can find a more experienced partner. I'd also like to spend time hiking at some national parks while I'm out there.

Aside from a week at Red Rocks earlier this year I've never been farther west than Tennessee, so I want to make sure that I get a lot in. I've come up with a tentative itinerary for June 1-August 1 and would love some advice on what I'm thinking. As of now I'd be doing all the driving myself: how doable would this be? Anywhere on this list that I should skip? Anything that I should add? I've heard that Yosemite is really crowded in the summer, but just how crazy is it?

-June 1-5: Leave Boston, drive to Ten Sleep
-June 6-15: Ten Sleep, spend a few days at Yellowstone
-June 16-20: City of Rocks
-June 21-26: Yosemite
-June 27-July 1: Owens River Gorge
-July 2-7: Maple Canyon
-July 8-10: Grand Canyon
-July 11-13: Mesa Verde NP
-July 14-17: Moab/Arches NP/Canyonlands NP
-July 18-25: Colorado (Boulder/Garden of the Gods/etc.)
-July 26-August 1: Drive to Atlanta

Thanks in advance for your help!

Jen

kboofis · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 20

Just so you are aware that places in the southwest, particularly canyonlands, arches, and mesa verde are going to be a furnace in July/August

Travis24 · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2011 · Points: 30

My advice is this: slow down!

Pick two of those places. Then go and really get to know those two places.

Why rush around the West sampling destinations when you can get to know and appreciate one or two spots really really well?

I also agree with the above statement about staying out of the canyonlands, arches, etc - which will be hot hot hot.

dp- · · east LA/ north Orange County · Joined Apr 2012 · Points: 0

It's dry heat, so it might not be too bad by east coast standards for hiking. Esp if you can get out early or late in the day.

Zion/Bryce/Buckskin Gulch/north rim of GC are all relatively close to each other if you're in that part of Utah.

Mark Hudon · · Lives on the road · Joined Jul 2009 · Points: 420

That sure is a whirlwind tour you have planned. It seems to me that you've vastly underestimated the time spent driving.

City of Rocks to Yosemite essentially is one day of driving. You are not going to leave the City and arrive in Yosemite with any time to do anything except figure out what is where, where to get food and where to camp.

Owens to Maple Canyon is one day (pretty much same as above).

Maple to the Grand Canyon is one day (ditto).

Arches/Canyonlands to Boulder is one day (ditto).

After this trip you are going to say, "yeah, we saw a lot of beautiful country, did some great climbs but we spent way too much time in the car driving".

EricF · · San Francisco · Joined May 2012 · Points: 120

Skip Yellowstone, at the most just drive through, avoid old faithful!! AVOID. It's is over run in the summer. Your time would be muh better spent picking a fun easy mountaineering objective in the tetons than in Yellowstone.

Mark E Dixon · · Possunt, nec posse videntur · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 974

It would be easier to offer suggestions if you shared your priorities-
climb a lot or
climb less, but at a lot of different places, or
climb even less and climb at a lot of famous places, or
climb even less and climb at a lot of famous places and see a lot of famous sites.

You can make any of those trips work, although driving may take more time than you expect.
But you can't do them all.

Finally, it may not be that simple to quickly pick up a partner just anywhere.

You really can't go too far wrong with a two month road trip - you should have a great time, but you'll have more fun if you know what you most want to get out of it before you leave.

fossana · · leeds, ut · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 13,318

+1 on a shorter trip to Yellowstone and doing some hiking/scrambling in the Tetons instead.. You could drive both Yellowstone loops with stops in a long day.

Regarding the E Sierra:
As a heads-up Owens River Gorge will likely be (dry) hot. Bishop can get up into the low 100s that time of year. Pine Creek Canyon (close to the Gorge) stays a bit cooler. Tuolumne shouldn't be overly crowded except on the ultra-trad classics.

Another higher elevation sport area is Tioga Cliff, which is on the way up to Tioga pass from 395, but it's mostly harder 11s and up. There is also Clark Canyon, which has is close to Mammoth and has more 10s. Both are covered in the Lewis & Moynier Mammoth guide.

JCM · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 115

A few notes/pointers:

--As others above have said, slow down. Although this is your first trip out west, if you make it a priority it won't be your last. You don't need to try to visit every landmark and climbing area during your first trip. I think that the trip would be a lot better if you were to focus in on a few states, and really get to see those areas better. With the plan you have, you'll spend half the trip driving and/or sorting out logistics.

--You are visiting various areas WAY out of season, i.e. late June in the ORG, July in Moab, etc. There are lots of areas that are wonderful in the summer; there is not reason to visit areas that will be blazingly hot. Again, you don't need to see everything on your first trip. Save those hot desert areas for a future trip, when you can visit during spring or fall.

--On the flip side, early June in Ten Sleep is non-ideal; a bit too early. You'd be better served by flipping the itinerary and hitting the warmer areas first, and then TS once it gets hot everywhere else.

--5 days in Yosemite is not enough, especially considering that it will be a very long day of driving (or a day and a half) each way to get to CA from the other areas you will visit. The logistics of camping in Yosemite are also fairly demanding, and it often eats up part of a day sorting that out. Again, no need to visit everything in the same trip. Save Yosemite for when you are ready for it as a climber, and for when you can devote a good chunk of time (i.e. 3 weeks in October) to doing that trip properly.

--Skip the Colorado Front Range, unless you have friends here that you want to visit. The climbing isn't nearly as destination-worthy as other places on the list, and camping is a massive pain in the ass. Like, Garden of the Gods? Not worth your time.

JCM · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 115

Here's how I would modify the itinerary, given the notes I made above. Notably, California is cut out (not enough time to go all the way out there...save it for another trip), and the order is reversed to allow you to visit Wyoming at the end (for weather and snowpack reasons):

Rough order of events:
-Drive to CO
-Maybe a quick visit to the Front Range (Eldo or Lumpy Ridge or the Flatirons might be nice, and worth a day or two). Maybe skip it and keep driving on 70.
-Visit National Parks in CO/UT (Mesa Verde, Moab/Arches). Going in early June will mean it might not be quite so hot. Maybe skip Grand Canyon, that is a lot of driving out of your way. Besides, it is just a big ditch. Moab/Arches, on the other hand, will be a pretty on-the-way stopover for a couple days of sightseeing while driving toward Maple. Generally too hot to climb in Moab, though.
-Maple
-City of Rocks (will be a bit on the warm side)
-Tetons (by now it should be around the second week of July or so, and thus the snow will have melted out fairly well, allowing for some fun scrambling...this is the advantage of reversing the order)
-Drive though Yellowstone
-Ten Sleep
-Drive east.

A visit to Lander might fit in too while in Wyoming, and you'd be there about the right time for the Climebrs Festival. Devils Tower and/or the Needles (South Dakota) would also fit in quite nicely at the very end, post-Ten Sleep.

But really, you could cut out half of the destinations on the list, so as to be able to really spend enough time in each area. Two full weeks in Ten Sleep would not be misspent...

EricF · · San Francisco · Joined May 2012 · Points: 120

Being from DC sure you have been to the New River Gorge and Red River Gorge? but they are up there with Ten Sleep/Lander as best sport areas in the states. Would be a great way to kick off your trip in June to take 3 days at each, weather permitting (usually good this time), with a rest/ driving day in between get strong and head west. Hit the needles and rushmore on your way out for sure then lander, to the city, maple and back. Try to stay a week at climbing destinations you want to visit to get to know what you like and connect with the place a little bit, sprinkle in some parks for drives, and be open to changing plans.

To make it all the way to California will take a lot of extra time and gas money personally I would save it until you have the time to take just a CA trip, explore San Francisco, Yosemite, ORG and the Sierras. 2 months seems like a long time but you will enjoy yourself more if you leave CA for its own trip.

You should be fine doing all the driving yourself, to get the biggest bang try to fit in two 12+ hr driving days, I know that seems long but once you get going you will be fine, one on the way out and one on the way back.

If it were me I would do something like this

June 1 Leave Boston
June 3-6 New River Gorge (Easy camping easy to meet partners)
June 7-9 Red River Gorge (again super easy camping easy to meet partners)
June 10-11 Drive to the Black Hills
June 11-18 Rushmore Area
June 18-July 5 Ten Sleep/Lander (Should be a blast for the 4th)
July 6-10 Yellowstone/Tetons (Amazing time of year in the tetons, great alpine scrambling, wild flowers, backpacking, stay at the climbers ranch and meet some partners)
July 11-16 City of Rocks (Not a bad idea here to reserve a campground if your stay will be over a weekend it fills up)
July 17-22 Maple Canyon

Now you have about a week to make it back explore anything you feel like in Utah and Colorado on the way back, like others have said it will be really hot in the desert areas so climbing will be a bit out. I would either do some more climbing around boulder, check out RMNP, or go enjoy the san juans and hit New Orleans on your way back for fun, could also try to through the ozarks in.

One more thing to keep in mind, don't plan to much have a rough idea, leave room for anything, if you love and area, meet friends or climbing partners or if there is just bad weather. Try to follow the good weather best you can and days you have to rest, drive, get up at 5 and hit the road early get the driving done.

Good luck and have a blast!

Mark E Dixon · · Possunt, nec posse videntur · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 974

If I wanted to see ruins, I would look into hiking Grand Gulch instead of visiting Mesa Verde. Might be too hot though.

You might also try canyoneering at least once while in the desert. Peekaboo and Spooky for nontechnical, maybe Leprechaun or one of the wet canyons if you want something more technical. Hot season, but pretty fun and unique to the west.

We've often shortened long drives by leaving late afternoon and driving till midnight. Does mean staying at a motel or looking for camping/parking late at night, which can be a little sketchy. Having a campsite or motel reserved ahead of time helps a lot.
But means you don't necessarily lose a climbing day to driving.

I agree with Jon about the Grand Canyon, not worth the side trip.

JCM · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 115
"You should be fine doing all the driving yourself, to get the biggest bang try to fit in two 12+ hr driving days, I know that seems long but once you get going you will be fine, one on the way out and one on the way back."


Side note wrt driving long days: books-on tape (or I guess these days, books-on-Ipod) totally mandatory for long solo drives. A good book on tape will make the driving days relatively pleasant. Without one you'll claw your eyes out from boredom halfway across Nebraska.
Mark E Dixon · · Possunt, nec posse videntur · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 974
JCM wrote: You should be fine doing all the driving yourself, to get the biggest bang try to fit in two 12+ hr driving days, I know that seems long but once you get going you will be fine, one on the way out and one on the way back. Side note wrt driving long days: books-on tape (or I guess these days, books-on-Ipod) totally mandatory for long solo drives. A good book on tape will make the driving days relatively pleasant. Without one you'll claw your eyes out from boredom halfway across Nebraska.
We listen to the Teaching Company courses, interesting but maybe a little expensive. Check your local library, you can usually rip their cds on your home computer, assuming they allow it.
john strand · · southern colo · Joined May 2008 · Points: 1,640

sent you apm

berl · · Seattle · Joined Apr 2008 · Points: 25

Regarding Anasazi sites in the 4 corners area: Hovenweep is an amazing alternative to the crowds of Mesa Verde. It's much smaller, but you get a very up-close look at the buildings and canyon infrastructure.

Jen Shriber · · Oakland, CA · Joined Feb 2014 · Points: 20

Thanks so much for all of your advice! I'd say that I'd like to climb less at more areas during this trip. That being said, I think you're all right about trying to pack in too much so I'd like to take some places off. I can do without the Grand Canyon, but what do you all think about Yosemite? I'd be going mostly to hike around (unless I can find an experienced partner or get a lot more trad leading in before this summer): should I just skip it, although it's so close to Owens River Gorge?

I like your idea about reversing the order to get better weather. I'm planning to start from home (Boston) and ending up in Atlanta to start grad school in August, so my original itinerary looked like it made more sense on a map. I just plotted out the reverse, though, and it looks like the driving time is actually a bit less. Win!

If I had to pick between Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone for hiking, which would be the better bet?

I'm hoping to find most of my partners before I head out (friends, friends of friends, and contacts through the local climbing club). In case that doesn't work out, which of these places would be easiest or hardest to find partners while I'm there?

Thanks again!
Jen

john strand · · southern colo · Joined May 2008 · Points: 1,640
berl wrote:Regarding Anasazi sites in the 4 corners area: Hovenweep is an amazing alternative to the crowds of Mesa Verde. It's much smaller, but you get a very up-close look at the buildings and canyon infrastructure.
Agreed, it's pretty nice place. There's also some high altitude climbing nearby and places to camp.
Chris Schmidt · · Fruita, CO · Joined Nov 2012 · Points: 0

Mesa Verde you can see in like 3 hours don't devote 3 days to it. John Strand I'm curious as to where the "high altitude climbing" nearby is?

Whether you wind up in the SW at the beginning, middle or end of that time frame it is going to be HOT. Look into some water sport options. Along those lines consider a rafting trip on the CO river.

I would also make sure you squeeze in Telluride/Ouray they are two of the coolest mountain towns in CO. From there you could either go to Durango and then east or go to Black Canyon NP (equally awesome as the GC and way less crowded).

Ryan Williams · · London (sort of) · Joined May 2009 · Points: 1,245

Depends on what you want to climb and how hard you can go, but this is what I would do:

14 days Ten Sleep
18 days City of Rocks
3 days Elephant's Perch
21 days Needles area

That leaves 5 days to travel.

Grand Canyon? No climbing there.

JCM · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jun 2008 · Points: 115
Jen S wrote:What do you all think about Yosemite? I'd be going mostly to hike around... should I just skip it, although it's so close to Owens River Gorge?
Skip 'em both. ORG is a B-level sport crag at best, and it will be quite hot at that time of year. There are many other areas that offer better rock and better summer weather, and are not so far away. Hiking around in Yosemite is nice, but perhaps not worth the extra 1000+miles of driving to get out there. Plus, it will be hot, crowded, and the waterfalls will suck this year (no water). If you want to hike in a pretty mountain environment, there are lots of places that will be more accessible on this trip...RMNP, Tetons, Uintas, the San Juans (CO), etc.

If you do still decide to go to CA, skip ORG/Yosemite Valley in favor of Tuolomne and Lovers Leap/Tahoe. Both will offer really great mid-length multipitch routes at very moderate grades, and good June/July weather.

Jen S wrote:If I had to pick between Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone for hiking, which would be the better bet?
They offer different things. The Tetons offer burly mountainous hiking (steep!) and great views. A Yellowstone trip often entails more walking on a flat boardwalk next to 1000 fat tourists from Missouri, but you you get to see amazing hot springs. That said, Yellowstone also have a vast and untrampled backcountry, if remote backpacking trips are what you seek. Overall, the Tetons are much better for standard day-trip hikes in the mountains.

Alternatively, a week spent backpacking in the Wind River Range (WY...near Lander) would be a mindblowing experience, especially to someone new to the West.

Jen S wrote: Which of these places would be easiest or hardest to find partners while I'm there?
Tensleep has had a hoppin' summer scene during July/August for the last several years. It is the fashionable place to be in the summer these days, and you'll have no difficulty finding partners around the free camping areas there.

Maple also usually has a fair number of people around in the summer, but not quite so many as in TS. Be warned, though, that a lot of the climbers hanging around there long-term will have tunnel vision on their hard project at the Pipe Dream Cave, and you might have to work a bit to find people psyched on going to the walls that have lots of climbs in the 5.10 to 5.11- range.

Can't speak for City of Rocks or the Needles (SD), but I'd guess that you'd likely find people.

ORG will be pretty deserted at that time of year.

Yosemite always has a ton of climbers, no problem there. Lots of Euros.

Finding a partner in Boulder area would be best (and easily) accomplished through this website.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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