9) Mummy Canyon Loop (map disabled)

Please read the Introduction

An interesting walk through some tight canyon sections and lots of Navajo Sandstone. There is more trail hiking on this route than most others in this book but the off-trail portion offers some neat scrambling with potential wading/swimming.

TIME:7-9 hours.
ELEVATION GAIN:1800 feet.
DIFFICULTY:Easy route finding. Some difficult scrambling.
MAP: Twin Rocks, Fruita
GEOLOGY:Good views of the Waterpocket Fold.
CIRCLE TRIPYes.
ACCESS:From the Visitor Center drive two miles east on Utah Highway 24 to the (H) Hickman Bridge Parking lot on the left (north) side of the road.

Missing picture
Along the Knobs trail on the Mummy Canyon hike.

From the Hickman Bridge parking lot follow the signs (2.2 miles) to the Rim Overlook then continue along the Navajo Knobs trail for about 0.4 miles. That entire 0.4 miles will be slightly downhill. (A) Where the trail turns left (west) crosses a drainage and starts to rise, go straight ahead up the drainage and into a narrow open area with a line of Ponderosa Pine trees on the right side next to the Navajo Sandstone wall. Follow along the sandstone wall and try to avoid the Prickly Pear cactus.

The open area will narrow into a narrow canyon. Right below the first pour-over you have to squeeze between some bushes. The bigger one on the left is Serviceberry and the smaller one on the right that is growing out of the rocks is Littleleaf Mountain Mahogany.

After a number of additional pour-overs the stream bed will temporarily smooth out before the two walls of the canyon close in to form an un-walkable slot. At that point climb out to the left (west) and walk carefully around to the left (west) above the narrow slot. You are up on the edge of a half mile wide basin. (B) Find the lowest point in the basin and go down to it. (E) (At this writing there is a tall Ponderosa Pine growing near that low point.). To get there work down to the wash again (no rush) then cross it and pick your way to the bottom. About 200 feet below the Ponderosa the wash makes a hard left (west) turn. Soon the wash makes a more gentle curve to the right (north) and goes directly into a grove of Box Elder trees. In that grove the wash turns hard left (northwest) and goes into a boulder filled canyon that is a challenge and a joy to work through. (F)

After the boulders there is a "T" intersection where the route goes left (west) into a stretch of easy sandy wash with lots of Box Elders. A pour-over interrupts the sandy wash at one point then the easy stroll ends at a place where the wash goes between the vertical wall on the right (east) and a huge piece of sandstone on the left (west). (G)

Back up and climb around the block of sandstone. Do not be in too much of a rush to get down to the wash. If you find a faint trail, follow it down. Once back in the wash there is a stretch of boulders and drops before the going gets easy again. From there (J), Spring Canyon is just a short distance away.

DIGRESSION:

Once in Spring Canyon you could walk up canyon to Chimney Rock Canyon and on up it to the trail and Chimney Rock parking lot. It would also be possible to walk down Spring Canyon to the Fremont River and the Highway. Check the map for distances.

LOOP TRIP:

You could return to the Hickman Bridge parking lot the way you came down or follow the next description on a loop to get back.

To make a loop, leave Spring Canyon and return up the wash you came down for about 200 yards. Climb the red rock pour-over and immediately turn right (west) (I) up the first little canyon on the right. Climb 200 vertical feet to a pass. (K) At the pass a green, leafless shrub on the left (south) is Mormon Tea. On the right (north) side of the pass, up against the rock, is a Four Winged Saltbush. The cactus in the pass are a small prickly pear and a "clump" cactus that is Claret Cup. Go down to the major wash below the pass. To see why the route went up and over the pass, walk 100 feet or so down the wash.

Once in (PN) Mummy Wash, turn upstream for three to five minutes to a boulder choked narrower part of the canyon.

The climb through the boulders is interesting but not long and the wash becomes sandy, gentle and lined with Box Elders.

Three or four minutes above the boulders the canyon will close in again and become narrower with close rock sides. Do not enter that narrow area. (L) Walk up the left (south) side of the canyon and head slowly toward the base of the vertical cliff above, trying to reach it about the place where it goes out of sight around a corner to the left. Just up out of the wash there is a game trail that will go exactly where you need to go.

Once around the corner at the base of the cliff you can see an obvious red rock layer (twenty feet or so thick) winding and slowly rising ahead. The route follows that red layer on out of sight. Most of the time, the easiest walk is near the base of the red layer. Once you have gone "out of sight" the red layer curves on around to the left (south). There is a short break in the cliff of red rock but it picks up again and continues to curve left (M) up a side drainage of the main canyon. As the red cliff is petering out there is an area of light colored sandstone rubble in the wash to the right.

Leave the red layer, cross the wash below the light rubble and go to the top of the ridge on the far side of the wash. From the top of the ridge walk a few steps west to the top of a drop off. From there, look to the left (south). On the skyline there is a low saddle that the ridge you are on would take you toward.

Go up to that saddle (D) by following the ridge as long as appropriate, then making your way through the small cliffs. From the saddle go down, staying on the right ((west) side of the little drainage, and the Navajo Knobs trail is only about a two minute walk.

At the trail turn left (south) and head for the Hickman Bridge parking lot.

Missing picture
Along the Mummy Canyon route. (do not know where)


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