There will be no second edition of Cedar Mesa Hikes, instead I'm incorporating it into a larger, more complex hiking guidebook: Southeast Utah Hikes. This new book will cover Cedar Mesa, the San Juan River corridor (limited), Natural Bridges NM, Abajo and La Sal Mountains, some of the Moab area, some of Elk Ridge and Dark Canyon, the Needles, and Indian Creek (limited). The CM chapter will include more detail, some more routes, more corrections and re-wording, and some newer info. I may publish the new book sometime in 2010. The main holdup to publishing it is that I'm trying to answer some route questions for the Needles and waiting for the snow and mud to dry.
Updated March 16, 2010.
Paragraph 1, Line 5 Near VOG is a major dropoff (SSW of Cigarette Spg) that can be detoured (long and rough) to the north. Actually this fork has an impassable pouroff and does not go. Neither do most of the forks of Lime C. There is one fork of West Lime where I saw a possible detour on its east side around the impassable pouroff so I just mixed up the forks. This potential detour is a bit NW of 599000—4134000 and I think this is the one I saw on my first hike into lower Lime C from VOG about 10 years ago. There also may be a route near 599500—4131500. Most of my experience hiking Lime is from above the persistent cliff-band that forms pouroffs, similar to the same issue in John's C. I've been into most of the forks of Lime C above the pouroffs and looked at them for possible detours.
Last line of second paragraph reads I also list most of the 7.5-minute quads you will need on page 27. and it should read ...page 28.
Paragraph 7, "Notes," first sentence. Rock Art: the BLM follows a 3-step classification system of RA sites (used by most Cultural Resource Managers, CRMs):... If I had inserted the words should follow after BLM this would be more accurate, or I could have explained that the system is probably only used by the NPS in some of the SEUG parks, but a worthwhile system. I subsequently learned that at Canyonlands NP some NPS personnel established this system to assist them in fielding the many questions concerning locations of Rock Art panels and ruins. As far as I know the BLM does not follow this system, though it makes a lot of sense that they could, or should, but that's just my opinion. The remainder of the paragraph is accurate as far as I know. I didn't submit this book for review to anyone so all mistakes are solely my own.
Last Paragraph, third line: UT261 should read UT95.
Paragraph 1, Sentence 1: UT95 should read UT261.
Paragraph 5, 'Polly's Canyon', first sentence. I could have abbreviated Government Trail as (GT) after the first use of the longer version to set up an explanation for subsequent usage of the abbreviation. In the Introduction I also didn't explain my abbreviation of 'Government Trail'. I think most readers will get it anyway, though.
First paragraph, first sentence, first word: Hardscrabble is my name for the section of Polly's Pasture at the head of Polly's Canyon, where Hardscrabble Road goes northwest from the main road to a stock pond and my 20.5 Mile Canyon trailhead. So, I should have always written it as: Hardscrabble.
Paragraph 4 and 5 in the HIKING section should have some information swapped; the paragraphs should read as follows.
(4) North fork: it is about a mile east of GG, and except for some small stepups and boulder-blockages near its confluence with the main canyon (which don't last long) it is not difficult to get through. Where it widens out and splits there are only a few ways to get out and most of the upper end is closed-off by a continual cliff-band. There is another north sidecanyon closer to GG that has an impassable stepup at the inner gorge of Polly's C.
(5) Main fork: it is easy to get in or out where it's still shallow (close to Hardscrabble), harder down-c (close to GG). It is wider and less brushy than the south fork. I have not hiked all the way thru it and don't remember where I entered it once on a hike from GT; in 2006 I saw a cl detour around a dropoff in another short cl sidecanyon, about 4142600—582600. Near GG it is relatively easy to walk thru.
So, basically I mixed up the information about these two sidecanyons.
Paragraph 5: False Trail Canyon. The hiking information in this paragraph is accurate—however it turns out that I (sort of) mislabeled this sidecanyon and the "real" False Trail C is the middle sidecanyon of Collins (Col-2). Actually, according to a BLM ranger, some people label either one as False Trail C. Despite this, my information about the middle fork of Collins is accurate, as is that about the other sidecanyon. Years ago I first learned of False Trail Canyon via a map in KGRS where it was labeled and probably copied the name from memory but put it on the wrong canyon. Two sources, one of which is a map I saw in the hands of some NOLS leaders, clued me into this minor mistake. The names of other sidecanyons of GG, including Widow's Walk, Rope C, Shangri La C, etc, I also garnered from the same map at KGRS.
At any rate, the only sidecanyons in this whole area that easily go are the one I labeled Col-3 (the one just down-c from False Trail C) and the unnamed sidecanyon just up-c from Collins (if you connect from it into Col-3), as is all stated in the book. In the next edition of this book I'll label the one just up-c from Collins, on the north side of GG, as "Pre-Collins Canyon", and the middle one of Collins as "Col-2" aka "False Trail Canyon". This sort of makes sense, as Col-2 is at the same level as the streambed of Collins C and has a faint trail going into it; which gets difficult quickly.
Paragraph 5, last sentence is awkwardly phrased. Probably it could have read: As more people hike Slickhorn and construct cairns the trails are becoming more obvious.
Five times, over these three pages, I list UTM locations in shorthand by leaving off the northing numbers and apparently that confused a single emailer. However, in explanation, it seemed obvious to me that anyone not orientationally-challenged could figure out that if, for example, in the last sentence of paragraph 6 on page 93 I write The following access routes are not the only ways in/out, merely the more prominent; all of them are on cr. Subsequently I list two UTM locations but leave off the northing number. Since all forks of Slickhorn run more or less east-to-west, if I mention an easting UTM location number obviously you look at the map and where that UTM line crosses is where I'm indicating. In the last paragraph on page 93 I write Standard Route at the dropoff: (585700) is to detour up a slickrock ramp cl (from the streambed)...; again, where that UTM line crosses Slk-1, on cl is where the dropoff is. The same explanation applies to the other two examples on page 95 and 96. The point is that sometimes I didn't think exact UTM locations were necessary when I'm just writing about generic routes, locations, etc.
In the next edition I'll change these single-UTM locations into the full version.
I'm noticing a few of these kinds of mistakes, where I read a UTM location off the map and then transpose it when typing (I suppose). Paragraph 1, Line 3: 4141000 should read 4131000 or more explicitly: 4131000—591200. A UTM of 4141000 would not even be in John's C.
Lower Road C (LR)
Use the east end of the Snow Flat road. These are listed from east to west and end at the Twist. Lower Road C is fairly flat, bushy, and with no real obstacles from the Snow Flat road to the North Fork confluence. It is very similar to lower Fish C. It starts as a shallow wash and is full of tamarisk and a few beaver ponds. Up-c near Barton Range C it entrenches and the sides of the inner gorge are crumbly sandstone and shale with almost no alcoves; real sandstone cliffs are stacked atop the crumbly stuff below. Across from Barton Range C, facing south, is a crude pictograph panel possibly Ute in origin. At the confluence of Cigarette Springs C, Road C is deeper with cliffy sides and it narrows further up-c with almost no alluvial bench so a hiker is mostly forced to walk along the streambed but there's a trail and the stream-gully is shallow. Barton Range C is narrow, mostly dry, with crumbly sandstone and shale sides and seems prehistorically empty from a scout hike I did late in 2007; I used the LR-2 route and crossed to the old DH road shown on the Bluff SW quad; I saw only faint OHV tracks on it. Other than some crumbly ruins, a high defensive wall in a crack, and several high petroglyph panels very difficult to access due to the crumbly sandstone-shale cliffs, the inner gorge of lower Road is bland. LR-2 and LR-4 are the easiest and safest routes for lower Road, suitable for pack animals, dogs, children, etc.
LR-1 Park where SJ-237 (Snow Flat road) road crosses Road C about 4132600-618200; walking up the wash is barely Class 2.
LR-2 Use a south, 250-foot-long spur road 4.8 miles from the main road 'Y' (7 miles from US-163); 4133980-616028; there's another, shorter one about 200 feet east. Use a Class 2 cow-hiker trail below the edge of the mesa which heads SSE along a narrow ridge, then goes across the mesa, and drops into Road. The trail joins Road C @ 4132925-616123. It skirts the north side of, but does not use, a sidecanyon.
LR-3 Park about 6.1 miles from the main road 'Y' (8.3 from US-163) @ 4135000-614550 and walk south to about 4133400-614600 and drop into Road C; the lower part of this is crumbly sandstone-shale stuff but it's an easy route; it's Class 3. East, across the bay is a 'Ute' pictograph panel on a cliff facing south. There may be another in-out east of this RA.
LR-4 About 7 miles from the main road 'Y' (9.2 miles from US-163) take a short spur road which goes west to a patch of slickrock and dirt @ 4136147-613254. From this TH walk generally west, and try to find a faint cow-hiker trail with some cairns and follow it as it curves around to the south along a flat bench just west of some low cliff-bands. Wind up near 4135485-612794 and look for constructed ramps thru cliff bands, if you haven't already found the route; this whole route is Class 2+. The top of the final descent is near 4135440-612740, which is a ramp down thru the last cliff-band, then the trail drops down a dirt hill. Before dropping down into the inner gorge, look across canyon for the continuation of this stock trail as it climbs onto the mesa between Road C and Cigarette Springs C; other than access to more grazing land I don't know why anyone would have built that trail.
LR-5 Park somewhere along the Twist section below where it starts uphill and walk to 4137000-610400 then follow a faint deer trail down thru a minor pouroff, then around a ledge east to about 4136800-610260 and scramble down to a lower ledge above a low crumbly-shale cliff, then walk west about 100 feet and descend an easy slope to the alluvial bench (a hand-line for lowering a pack is helpful). This route is easier to figure out from below, of course, and is about 100 yards down-c from the Road-North Fork confluence; it's about Class 3+.
Other About 4135840-611700 there is a possible route in the west side of a minor north-side indentation along the inner gorge cliffs that may be where I got out years ago, I think with two dogs. About 4136500-610550 I saw where someone had leaned logs up at two lower cliffs in the inner gorge but this is very close to LR-5 which is relatively easier.
Cigarette Springs C (CS)
It's where Cigarette Springs Cave is; the north fork is where the Cigarette Springs road ends. I doubt many people hike these canyons except to see a small cluster of Puebloan ruins in one fork where I also found a small boulder with RA on it. Judging by the trail in lower Road C, only a few people venture into this area.
CS-1 Follow SJ-239 to its head at a camping area.
CS-2 Hike in from further down-c in Road; its confluence is just up-c from Barton Range C.
Other It is possible to combine main Road and N Fork Road for a two or three day hike; some OE groups go up Road C from further east and go out the N Fork to cross over to other CM canyons as part of a weeks-long trip. To hike all of Road C, using two vehicles, you could park one at LR-2 and the other at MFR-1 or to simplify your drive (but not your hike) park the other along the Snow Flat road about 4 miles from UT-261 and hike cross-country north from Road C. Lower Road C, Fish C, Dry Wash, Mule C, Comb Wash and Comb Ridge are fine places to hike in winter once the snow is melted down some; lower Arch C often retains ice and snow thru much of the winter.
Just a typographical error in Paragraph 2, sentence 2: (4143000—607000] should read (4143000—607000); I used a bracket instead a parenthesis to close the UTM location.
Another UTM glitch. Paragraph 2, last sentence: 609600 should be 608600 but Nevill's Arch is marked on most maps anyway. A more specific UTM location for the arch is: 4145480—608550.
Another UTM glitch. Paragraph 3, line 4: 4147250—604380 should read 4147250—604700 and that might get a newbie to Owl C a little confused. I heard of a woman who missed one of the last turns into a sidecanyon when coming up, and out, Owl and she wound up camping on the rim, calling 911 or the BLM, then going back down into Owl and finding the correct exit sidecanyon rather than just walking around the rim to the trailhead.
Second paragraph, first sentence. Change its other end joins US-163 a few miles north of Mexican Hat. into its other end joins US-163 at MP29.
First paragraph, second sentence. Change should be published in 2006; to was published in 2006;.
That's all I noticed so far, but I will add more as I read thru the text. I'm changing all the mile-marker abbreviations, mm, which follow the numbers to another format in a later edition; for example I will list them as MP124 which would be: 'Mile Post 124' as I've seen this usage in a newspaper article.