This fairly short hike goes into some spectacular country. The approach, though somewhat dull in itself, offers increasingly long and impressive views to the east. Toward the end the views to the west take over and the end of the described route leaves the hiker in a wonderful place from which to explore and poke around.
The name Five Mile is due to the fact that the wash crosses the Notom road five miles from Notom.
| TIME: | 4-6 hours. (Plus exploring time) |
| ELEVATION GAIN: | 1200 feet. |
| DIFFICULTY: | Easy walking. Easy route finding. |
| MAPS: | Notom, Sandy Creek Benches |
| GEOLOGY: | Great regional views. |
| PLANTS: | Two distinct environments. |
| CIRCLE TRIP: | Yes. |
| ACCESS: | From the Visitor Center drive 9.2 miles east on Utah Highway 24 to the signed Notom Road. Turn right (south) and drive ten miles to Five Mile Wash. |
From the Notom Road (S) walk up Five Mile Wash one half mile. For a short distance the reddish brown hills on either side are part of the Entrada Formation though they soon give way to the gray, green, white (with red brown stain) contorted cliffs and slopes of the Carmel Formation. The route stays on the Carmel all the way to the top though the rocks will differ in color and composition.
Ten minutes up the wash there are some small Cottonwood Trees in and beside the wash. Just beyond those Cottonwoods the large shrubs on both sides are Cliff Rose.
When the hills on the left (south) have dropped away so there is just a wash bank on that side walk up out of the wash to the left (south) and walk parallel to the wash. An old two track road will show up. Follow it to where it ends above the wash. Be sure and be out of the wash to the left (south) before getting to a significant wall on the right (north).
From the end of the road go up the south edge of Five Mile canyon. The first small tributary wash coming in from the left (south) can be crossed quite easily. After that, walk along the rim for a short distance to where a larger tributary is not so easy to cross. Walk up the tributary until, you decide to cross it, then return to the rim of Five Mile where at the bottom the wash is running in, and carving out, the tan Navajo Sandstone.
Walk the rim of Five Mile Canyon for quite a distance until a deeper tributary crosses the path. Turn left (south) and go up the rim of the tributary about 200 yards until there is no solid cliff at wash level. At that point find a break in the rim you are walking and go down to the wash. In the wash, drag a heel or toe across the wash and leave a line that could be found on the way down the wash. (You may come back down the wash.) NO CAIRNS, PLEASE. Climb out of the wash, bear right (north), and return to the rim of Five Mile. Other tributaries can be easily circumvented or crossed with no more than ten feet of lost elevation.
Where the rim makes a turn to the left (south) there is a nice view of a larger portion of the canyon. Follow the rim south, then west again. Near the top one more large tributary drainage will cross in front but there is no need to go down and cross it. Instead, follow the rim a short distance and it will become obvious that there is another canyon squeezing in from the left (south). Walk down 30 feet and cross the gray rock saddle (A) between the two canyons, then walk to the right (north) of the small ridge at the end of the saddle.
Next, walk between the two remaining hills that are on the rim of Five Mile Canyon and when again looking down into the main canyon, bear left (west), side hilling north of and below the top of the southernmost hill. After passing under the top of that last hill, head for the red rock bench with the dead Juniper stumps.
Enjoy the view. The high red rock point on the horizon is Buck Point. (It is the second highest point on the north/south trending Waterpocket Fold) and Five Mile Canyon starts just below the top of that point on the right (north) side.
To continue, turn left (south) and walk the rim of the main canyon south. After a couple hundred yards the hill on the left (east) will be gone and there is a view to the east. After another 200 yards or so the route is cut off again but this time it is a Navajo Sandstone saddle and canyon head that ends abruptly at the edge of Five Mile Canyon. The saddle has Ponderosa Pines and bright green leafed Manzanita bushes growing with other plants in the sand and rock environment.
Find a way down to the saddle. The hardest part is to get through the first little cliff. About 125 yards to the right (east) there is an easy way down if nothing looks appealing before that.
The saddle is in a different world with the Tall Ponderosa, bright Manzanita, smooth rock and soft sand. This "world" is typical of the Navajo sandstone portions of the Park which few visitors get to enjoy. Under the typically shaped large Ponderosa in the wash there are two small Juniper trees and beside one of them there is a small Serviceberry bush with pinkish bark and small serrated leaves. On the southeast side of the other large Ponderosa there is a Mormon Tea bush. Fifteen feet west of the Mormon Tea there is a large Littleleaf Mountain Mahogany bush. The common grass on the sand dunes is Indian Rice Grass.
The described hike ends at this saddle (E) but there is LOTS more to see for those who choose to explore. The number one suggestion is to go east down the slickrock from the saddle and look around in the canyon below. There are a number of water holes and great places to camp or relax. Suggestion number two would be to go up the ridge to the south, to the head of the next canyon, and beyond.
Circle Trip:
WARNING! Do not try to go east from the saddle and down that canyon. It doesn't go. The first slot can be body stemmed but well below there is a vertical drop.
Return via the same route but when crossing the gray rock saddle mentioned on the way up, go to the right (south), down twenty vertical feet to the top of a sandstone layer that forms a small cliff.
Turn left (east) and follow the top of that sandstone down canyon. Quite a way down there will be a fairly easy route into the canyon bottom just before the Navajo Sandstone section ends. Go into the wash or stay up on the same layer. Where ever looks best, go into the wash and move down stream.
Well after the Navajo sandstone section ends there is a fifteen foot pour-over in the wash that can be circumvented on either side but instead, go up the right (east) side of the slope to the top. Look back down to the wash and there should be a tall lone Ponderosa Pine growing out of the wash about 200 feet below the pour-over.
Once on the rim, angle down (northeast) and toward Five Mile Canyon. The route slowly approaches a ridge of the Red brown shale with gray rock at the base. When there, walk along the base of that ridge. There is no reason to climb it. When the red brown ends, continue more or less level to the top of a flat ridge and follow that ridge to the end. From there the two-track road followed earlier is visible so go to it and back to the Notom Road.
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23June2017
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