The Southeastern portion of Utah is a popular destination for many outdoor activities from four-wheeling in Moab to hiking in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks to boating and camping at Lake Powell. One of my favorite areas to explore off-road is around Comb Ridge and the adjacent Cedar Mesa.
Southeast Utah Off-Road Trail Review
Comb Ridge is an 80-mile long monocline (a bend in a layer of rock) stretching from Northeastern Arizona to the Abajo Mountains near Blanding, Utah. Cedar Mesa lies just to the West of Comb Ridge and covers an area of approximately 400 square miles to the north of the San Juan River. The mesa contains many canyons and cliffs with various hiking trails and a few 4-wheel drive trails. Following the Overland Expo West - held in May near Flagstaff, Arizona - I decided to head north to spend more time hiking and off-roading around Comb Ridge, discovering places I hadn't yet visited. After topping off my fuel in Mexican Hat, the first town after crossing into Utah, I started my first trail named John's Canyon. I had spotted a faint dirt road on my last trip to the area from a cliff on the edge of Cedar Mesa; it was John's Canyon. Ever since then, this trail has been in the back of my mind to visit the next time I was in the area - and this would be it. The trail starts as a graded dirt road and winds between the sheer cliff walls of Cedar Mesa and the Goosenecks of the San Juan River. Soon it turns into a rocky shelf road as it nears the mesa and has a few slickrock and sandy sections towards the end. The trail dead-ends at a wilderness boundary after 18 miles. I turned back as a thunderstorm was moving into the area. On the way out, a few trailside petroglyphs are much more noticeable on the left side. As lightening and thunder crashed off in the distance I stopped only briefly to look at the carvings. I returned back to the pavement just as the rain and wind kicked up, finding a campsite in the nearby Valley of the Gods for the night. The next morning, with the rain and wind gone, conditions were prime for some hiking! A quick stretch of pavement on Highway 163 led from my campsite, over the highway cut in Comb Ridge, and into Butler Wash - which is a trail that parallels Comb Ridge on the gradually sloping eastern side of the monocline. Several spur trails lead to interesting ancient Ancestral Puebloan ruins and petroglyph panels. I took the Fishmouth Cave spur and parked at the end. Fishmouth Cave can easily be spotted from Butler Wash and it is a moderate, 1-mile hike from the parking area to the cave. Several ruin sites are along the path on the way to the cave, where I stopped to admire the craftsmanship that went into building these ancient shelters. It is thought that the ruins in the area were abandoned roughly 800 years ago. Along the hiking path were many types of colorful flowers such as Castilleja, commonly known as Indian Paintbrush, to flowering prickly pear cactus. Springtime is a great time to visit with cool temperatures and the abundance of color along the trails. Scrambling up some slickrock sections and then some loose rocks towards the end of the path finally lead to the cave where not much remains other than some stone metates that were used to grind corn leaving behind smooth impressions in the rock. A few outlines of where there used to be a room can also be seen. Several corncobs are scattered around the area, they are much smaller than today's version. The view from the cave looking back over Butler Wash was worth the hike itself. The perspective of being inside part of Comb Ridge really shows the topography of the rock fold. The shelter of the cave combined with the view was surely the main reasons why the Ancient Ones decided to build their dwellings here. Dark clouds began to form as I was leaving the cave and I continued driving up Butler Wash. Soon the sky opened up, sending rain and hail down and making the road muddy, but not impassible. Next on my list was to drive up the old highway cut in the ridge to Posey's Trail that leads to the top of the ridge north of Highway 95. The rain had passed, blue skies emerged and the surface had quickly dried up for the most part. Carefully crossing a small wash that was flowing with runoff, I came to the trailhead of Posey's Trail. Rated More Difficult, according to the sign, I didn't think it would be too hard from various descriptions I had read. However, I didn't take into account the rain the area had been receiving over the past few days! After negotiating many washouts on the shelf road winding up the side of the ridge, I came to some fallen rocks partially blocking the trail. The slick mud just under the surface and the side hill around the large rocks meant I was not going any further without taking a big risk. Not knowing the trail conditions beyond the next bend or just how difficult the rock sections to come really were, I decided to back down the shelf road until I could turn around and save this trail for another trip. Reaching the pavement yet again I took Highway 95 up to Cedar Mesa leaving Comb Ridge behind. I reached a small, gated turn out that I took which lead to the 7 Towers site a short distance down a rough road. This site is at the end of a very large and deep canyon where seven round towers once stood around the rim. A few sections of walls remain on only a few towers. Several more ruin sites can be seen along the canyon walls. It is unclear if these towers were defensive sites or used for religious ceremony purposes. This is the only area on Cedar Mesa where round towers are found. The next morning I drove to the South Fork of Mule Canyon and purchased a day use permit for hiking to House on Fire Ruin, one of the most popular ruins in the area. The ruin lies about a mile into the canyon on an easy hike through the lush canyon bottom. To get the effect of the ruin looking like it is on fire, it is best to arrive between 10am and noon. I arrived too early, so I continued hiking up the canyon for another mile to see more ruins before returning. The ripples on the alcove ceiling creates the effect of flames coming out of the ruins when the morning sun is reflected into the alcove. It is truly a unique sight! I hiked back to my SUV and drove toward Blanding where I would refuel and leave behind Comb Ridge and Cedar Mesa. It was another great adventure to the area, discovering more of the ancient ruins and getting some dirt under the tires. I vow to return again and see more of the area - but for now that other recreation hot spot in Southeastern Utah was calling, and I reached Moab a few hours later. If you visit this area please respect the ancient sites. Do not enter the interior rooms of the ruins and avoid touching them as it could cause damage. Most sites do not require a permit, however it is best to check with the Cedar Mesa BLM Ranger Station for the latest conditions and restrictions.
