Goblin Valley Campout: Need To Know Information

We're looking forward to going to Goblin Valley State Park on Friday, March 9th through Saturday, March 10th. The full moon is on Thursday, March 8th so we should have plenty of moonlight for night games in one of the most unique landscapes in the world. The only thing that can "bust" this adventure is if there is rain/snow or just extreme overcast on Friday night.

Friday: Leave @ 4pm SHARP from the church parking lot. We will try and carpool to keep the vehicle count below 8. Bring some $$$ for fast food in Price or bring your own dinner that doesn't need cooking.

The 10 Day Forecast as of 3/2/12 is on Friday: Partly Cloudy with a low of 29 degrees, and Saturday is forecast to be sunny. It should as good as we can possibly ask for in early March.

Plan to carpool as much as possible because we are limited to only 8 cars in the group camp and a maximum of 35 people. Each car will need to pay an entrance fee as well, which was $7 per car last year.

The State Park entrance gate is approximately 50 miles from Green River, UT so plan accordingly to arrive before the gate closes at 10pm. I would recommend arriving even earlier in case there are off-season hours that might mean an earlier closure.
In the past I've seen terrible weather conditions over Soldier Summit only to find beautiful weather once I past south of I-70, so be prepared for any weather.
As of the posting of this information, we still have room for about 8 more people, so if you haven't signed up officially, we need to know if you plan to come with us. We hope to reach our maximum of 35 people.

Remember, this is open to all Young Men ages 12-18, and 11 year olds if accompanied by their father.

Provide your own dinner for Friday night, and Troop 757 will be providing a pancake breakfast in the morning for those who don't plan to make an early morning departure to hike or explore. Bring your own snacks and/or lunch as we are a long way from any food establishments.

There are tons of things to do in the Goblin Valley area. Consider the following adventures:

Hike Bell and Little Wild Horse slot canyons: A popular 9 mile loop hike.

Explore all three sections of Goblin Valley: This is accessed right next to our group campsite. The following link takes you to an excellent brochure about the park:

http://static.stateparks.utah.gov/docs/GoblinValleyBrochure.pdf

Technical Hike and Rappel Blue John Canyon: This will require a very early start and a brutal 12-15 hour hike through the same canyon Aron Ralston cut off his arm to survive. This is a hike Colby Thomas has done twice, but anyone attempting this will be going at their own risk and is not sponsored by the scouts or the Church.

Hike a 7 mile round trip to the Great Gallery in Canyonlands National Park. This hike is the final section of the Blue John Hike but is in wide open canyon country to one of the most spectacular Rock Art panels in the world.

Eat at Ray's Tavern in Green River. Boasting some of the best burgers in Utah and some great old photographs from the early days of white water rafting in that area. Just be sure to skip the "tavern" part of Ray's!

Drive the long loop down to Hanksville, then west through Capitol Reef Nat'l Park, and then up near Fish Lake and down to Richfield before heading home.

If you have any questions, please contact Chris by email @ chris@deserttoad.net.