Heading to the Bisti area of NM in mid to late October, will have ~2.5 days to spend there. Been staring a lot at topo maps, satellite imagery, and various postings. My initial conclusion is that the area south of Bisti is a) far less visited and photographed; and b) more diverse than Bisti itself. Specifically Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah and the surrounding areas south of CR7650.
For those that have been to both, how would you prioritize them for a first visit? I have a relatively short window in October, but will likely come back the last week of December for a full week. Will be with a 4x4 so access is, to within reason, not a particular concern. Is the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah area usually accessible in the winter, outside of snowfall windows.
I've been to many spots in that area, and for your first 2 and a half day trip, I'd focus on Bisti. There is easily multiple days' worth of shots out there, and then you can either cross it off your list or know where you want to focus for your December return trip.
If it happens to be muddy don't walk out there. A known YT'er did a few months before we visited and his tracks were still all over the Egg Factory. Have fun, it really is a special place.
I honestly prefer the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah to Bisti, but if you're traveling to the area then it's definitely worth seeing both. I found the formations both more numerous and more interesting in the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah. Not sure about road conditions in Dec, but I've gone Thanksgiving week a couple times and the roads have been fine.
The Rat wrote:
I honestly prefer the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah to Bisti, but if you're traveling to the area then it's definitely worth seeing both. I found the formations both more numerous and more interesting in the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah. Not sure about road conditions in Dec, but I've gone Thanksgiving week a couple times and the roads have been fine.
The official trail to the Orange Hoodoos looks unnecessily long. There seems to be a former dirt road that is a more direct approach from the south, without much terrain at the end. Are the last 100 yards wallable? Hard to say from topo maps and GE.
GroovyGeek wrote:
The official trail to the Orange Hoodoos looks unnecessily long. There seems to be a former dirt road that is a more direct approach from the south, without much terrain at the end. Are the last 100 yards wallable? Hard to say from topo maps and GE.
How were the crowds Thanksgivng week?
I'm not sure where the Orange Hoodoos are, but I've gone from what Google maps shows as the Valley of Dreams trailhead and the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness trailhead and I had a fantastic time at both. None of the hiking is hard at all; it's mostly flat other than a little up and down out of washes and the like.
As far as crowds Thanksgiving week, I think I saw 2-3 people in the distance at Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah on my last visit, and an older couple at one of the trailheads in a camper van on my previous visit. Saw more people at Bisti, but then that's 10~ish people in the distance by comparison. So, neither is especially crowded compared to bigger destinations. The solitude is nice. (I was in main canyon Zion last weekend for the first time in 11 years, and the conga line up a trail reminded me why it had been 11 years since I went in the main canyon.)
I'm hoping to get back to Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah this Thanksgiving week and see the King of Wings, since I haven't before. Fingers crossed that there's no freak precipitation!
