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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Cottonwood Canyon Road - logistics Question | |
msoomro wrote:
Planing to drive this road in Feb/March time frame next year. Have some questions i need help with
Can the road be driven in a rented medium SUV with standard clearance and tires?
In Feb/March time should i be concerned about rain and road becoming impassable.
Logistics wise, what should i plan to carry. ( i normally carry water and food for a day or two when in back country). Anything else?
Can one camp on that stretch?
Thanks
msoomro
Most passenger cars can easily navigate the road ..... when it's in good shape! Maintenance is sporadic, and the actual road conditions can vary wildly.
In Feb / March, the road may well be closed, or so rough that you'd want to avoid it. I'd offer 50:50 odds that it will be passable.
I'd bring far more water. The radiator may spring a slow leak, you may be stranded for a few days, etc. IMO, 5 gallons at a minimum. Tell someone where you're going and when you'll return!
Check the weather before heading off into the Great Empty. Stay the hell off the road if rain is is predicted; the surface turns to goo when well watered. There should be forecasts and road reports at the Kanab, Big Water, Pariah, and Cannonville BLM offices. On-line road conditions: https://www.nps.gov/glca/learn/news/road-conditions.htm
Places to read up on:
Yellow Rock, Hackberry Canyon, Cottonwood Narrows, Round Valley Draw, Grosvenor Arch (hike around the back side, to a viewpoint neat the top.)
If Skutumpah Rd is also in good shape (less likely, but possible), Willis Creek and the rugged Bull Valley Gorge are wonderfully photogenic destinations. BVG is not usually 'technical' but is rocky rough, and remote, and would be a bad place to suffer a broken leg.
Camping along Cottonwood is fine, so long as you use pre-existing sites. There's also a site at the Willis Creek trailhead. Lows will vary from low/mid-20s near Kodachrome Basin, to ~30 at the southern end of CCR. https://wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/cliMAIN.pl?ut4755
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