Hey Joe Canyon, a site of some mining ruins, is a short
tributary to Labyrinth Canyon of the Green River. To
get into the canyon, one must travel about 20 miles
of pavement and 10 miles of good dirt road to the rim
of Spring Canyon, where a spectacular ledge road winds
down a 600-foot cliff to the canyon bottom. The trail
follows the canyon about 2 miles to the Green River
and is now a regularly maintained county road ("regular
maintenance" is required because it regularly washes
out). Another 9 miles upstream along the river in Labyrinth
Canyon is Hey Joe Canyon. The trail along the river
is subject to rockfalls and collapse. The trail was
down-rated a notch this year because of the county maintenIDlce
on part of the trail, but there are many more rocks
poised to fall on the road along the river. Although
we occasionally cut back the brushy tamarisk alongside
parts of the trail, fancy paint jobs may prefer another
trail.
Approximate
mileages: 8S total, 4S off highway.
Scenery:
The access roads include the paved one in Sevenmile
Canyon and good dirt roads in the open plateau country
and into Spring Canyon to the Green River. Spring Canyon
is a jewel. The trail enters Labyrinth Canyon at Bowknot
Bend, a large loop of the river where the river doubles
back and threatens to short-cut the loop in the near
future, geologically speaking. There are abandoned mining
roads on both sides of the river; remains of the cable
that ferried equipment across the river may be seen.
Road Surface:
The road into Spring Canyon once carried ore trucks
and heavy equipment but it is still subject to erosion
from storms. It is now being maintained as part of the
Grand County road system. The roads in Spring Canyon
and Labyrinth Canyon are good dirt except where erosion
has narrowed them or left rockfalls that required hand
labor to make them at least passable.
Obstacles:
There are no fixed obstacles on this route; the hard
places move around as erosion continues. Some of the
older rockfalls have been crossed so much that they
are getting easy, but who knows what 'O'S will bring.
Wet weather would require cancellation of the trip;
the road is scary when dry and terrifying (dangerous,
too) when wet.
GPS Coordinates
WP # Latitude Longitude Mileage Turn
1 N 38° 37' 17.9" W 110° 00' 05.5"
0 R
2 N 38° 38' 25.3" W 110° 02' 38.4"
8.0 R
3 N 38° 38' 32.7" W 110° 02' 12.0"
8.6 T
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