book cliffs (for dummies.)

R

rifle666

Guest
ok i am about to do something i hate, but time and gas are major factors this year, and i'd like some helpful info to make better use of my scouting trips.

1. question 1.
if pulling a 17 ft trailer and a wheeler in back what is the best way to get on top?
Orray(vernal side)
green river side, east or hay canyon.

same question for a jeep during scout trips without a trailer.

from spanish fork.

next question,
is anyone willing to give GPS coords to any water holes or places to check? good trail cam spots?

ij know i will get a ton of crap for even asking, but oh well. thought it might be worth it.


the wife and i drew archery buck tags,

thanks in advance
 
>1. question 1.
>if pulling a 17 ft trailer
>and a wheeler in back
>what is the best way
>to get on top?
>Orray(vernal side)
>green river side, east or hay
>canyon.
>
>same question for a jeep during
>scout trips without a trailer.
>
>
>from spanish fork.

I don't know the mileage but the Seep Ridge Road through Ouray seems to be shorter. Going to Green River itself may be more miles than the whole trip the other way. Road conditions my be better the other way but the Seep Ridge Road will get you there.


>next question,
>is anyone willing to give GPS
>coords to any water holes
>or places to check? good
>trail cam spots?
>
>ij know i will get a
>ton of crap for even
>asking, but oh well. thought
>it might be worth it.
>
>
>
>the wife and i drew archery
>buck tags,
>
>thanks in advance

Good luck with that. Yes, you are going to get a lot of crap for that. That's what "scouting" is for isn't it? You better get going - the hunt starts soon.

UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)
 
get a topo it shows water hole's, and i don't even live in utah, good luk to yah
 
I am going to ask a really stupid question. I have no knowledge of Utah big game units, where exactly is the Brooks Cliff unit. I have no intention to put in for it, but I am curious where it is. I have been to Vernal. Where is it in relation to there?
 
I hunted it last year, and up through Hay Canyon is definitely the way to go with the jeep. It's a lot shorter, and a hell of a lot better road. Up through Ouray is probably the worst dirt road I've ever been on, and LONG! When you're pulling the trailer up, there's a fork in the dirt road on the way up to Hay canyon, take the right fork (I can't remember the name of the canyon) and it will take you right on top up by the towers. You can take the Ouray side if you want your trailer all torn up by the crappy road. Just my .02
 
I have never been been through the green river because I grew up in Roosevelt.

I will be down there this weekend scouting for my wifes rifle hunt. Will post picks if I find anything of mention. I am going to scout alot of the waterholes and places I found on google earth. It has been very good to me for scouting. Good luck to you. I dont ever remember seeing so many good bucks state wide as I have this year.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-04-08 AT 01:39PM (MST)[p]> You
>can take the Ouray side
>if you want your trailer
>all torn up by the
>crappy road. Just my .02
>

My family has gone the Ouray side and travelled the Seep Ridge Road for more than 70 years and none of our trailers has ever been torn up..wood trailers, utility trailers, camping trailers, horse trailers...you name it...we've drug it out there. We've hauled wood to and from the Book Cliffs every weekend in October and November for YEARS and haven't torn any trailers up. You can't haul ass though. It takes a couple of hours to go about 70 miles, but you'll get there. Don't be in such a dang hurry. Take it slow and watch out for holes, especially when the road turns to that soft sand. Big holes hidden in that soft stuff. Esp. just past the Willow Creek Overlook just as you get down into the cedars.

We've had a few flat tires in all our travels out there, but nothing that can't be fixed.

Oh, and the thing about water holes and springs in the Book Cliffs is, they may be there some years and other years they may be dry. Even if you don't get some scouting done, you'll see PLENTY of deer once the season rolls around. Pick a road...any road. Seriously. Just about anywhere you go you'll see deer.
 
You must have taken a different road in through Ouray. Seep Ridge is a piece of cake. Much wider, less steep, and more well graded than Hay Canyon without a doubt. They drive big rig gas trucks in through Seep Ridge. It's the best road in and out of there by far.


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I just spent 4 days out there over the 4th of July scouting for the bowhunt. If I were you and had a tag, I would just pick a long weekend and head out there to get to know the area and lay of the land. Honestly, there are no secrets to finding deer out there. We saw bucks and lots of them pretty much everywhere we went. If you are willing to shoot a 155-160" 22-24" wide 4x4 or big 3x3/3x4, you don't even need to scout the area in my opinion. Just head out there and be ready to shoot on pretty much any ridge on top. However, if you are looking for that next tier of buck, you will need to put in some more effort. We saw about a half dozen bucks that I was really impressed by and so many middle range bucks that I stopped counting. The sheer amount of deer is pretty amazing, especially after hunting general units for so long :)

As far as which way to go, I had the same question before heading out there this past weekend. My sister and bro-in-law were pulling a camper trailer, so we opted to go through Ouray and up the Seep Ridge Road. One way distance from my house in Lehi to our camp was 204 miles, but 47 of those miles are on the longest and nastiest dirt road (Seep Ridge) I have ever been on. The dirt road never seems to end, but like what has been said before, if you don't try to go to fast on the road you should be fine. Take it easy and slow and just accept that you will spend about 2 1/2 to 3 hours on that road and you will be fine. We checked out the Hay Canyon road on our 4-wheelers and it is pretty steep and windy up near the top, which could be difficult if you are pulling anything too heavy and/or it rains when you go. Both ways have their disadvantages, but they will both get you there.

Good luck with your tag and get out there to see it if you can. It is an awesome area!!

Cory
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-07-08 AT 07:32PM (MST)[p]Yes - in a way of speaking. If you go far enough south directly out of Vernal you will hit the Bookcliffs, however the area extends vastly from east to west, with the eastern part being in Colorado (You might even say the Colorado River) and the most western boundary being the Green River (somewhere south of Ballard or maybe even Roosevelt) North and south the area begins about 45 miles south of Highway 40 and extends truly past the divide down to just north of the La Salle Mts. So really you can consider them stretching from Hwy 40 to I-70 north and south from the Green River east into Colorado.

Here's a fairly decent map that shows only Utah however.

http://www.plic.org/explore/quadran..._name=Book Cliffs Recreation Area&quad=UT_Q21

UTROY
Proverbs 21:19 (why I hunt!)
 
hey cory (elkhunterut)

it was a GREAT 4th camping trip! NO PEOPLE! i only saw 4 other camps!
i thought it would be busy with all who drew out scouting, but they stayed home i guess.

i learned alot , i think the biggest problem will be passing on 22" bucks on the road. my wife said 90% of them were shooters.lol
i did find 3 in the next level. i would take either one right now even if they did not grow another inch. all three were tall and deep, they have not branched much yet,(as i'm sure you noticed). but 26-28 wide already.
we saw over 100 bucks a day, with few does, the ratio is great.

i ended up not putting any trail cams out yet. so many cows!

we saw a TON of elk, and a few good ones.

also saw a bear, but thats common i hear.

now onto the roads.
it took 4.5 hours to get there from the GR side, up hay canyon.
it took 4.5 hours to get home from the orray to home.

nothing gained time wise for me BUT......both ways are not equal/

onto the roads.... i tried all three, i went up hay. it was just fine, i would have no problem pulling a trailer up it.

East probably better than hay. if it is dry. no problems with that road either.

Seep..to orray...

that POS road. from PR springs about 25 miles out is great! nothing wrong at all.

but the last 30 miles to orray SUCKS!!! all the dirt is gone, just rocks, and it just gets worse the closer to orray you get, the patches of busted up road base, giant holes, washboards. i could only go about 15 mph through this section.

i was in a lifted jeep (XJ) with a softride lift, i about lost the fillings from my teeth.
i can't even imagine the ride in my truck with a trailer.

i would NEVER suggest ANYONE to go that way.

i honestly believe it is a joke to play on people that have never been that route. NO ONE would go that way on purpose.

i have a few pics i will try to post/.
 
pics

4872fe683062b9d7.jpg



4872fea530cf8ee1.jpg



4872fecf313b6da7.jpg
 
Thank you Rifle! Finally someone who agrees with me. I've been up and down seep ridge plenty of times, and hated every one of them. East canyon was the canyon i couldn't remember the name of that's just east of Hay, and that's definitely the way to go, trailer or not in my opinion.
 
rifle,
It was great out there on the 4th. We had a great time and only saw a few people as well. I assume you were in the Jeep shown in the pictures you posted. I don't remember seeing your rig. Where did you guys camp at?

We spent most of our time between PR Springs and the Towers, but we did go out to the roadless area all day Saturday. I agree on the difficulty of passing up the 22" bucks that seem to be a dime a dozen out there. We couldn't get away from them. My sister will have a ball on the hunt because she will be happy with a nice buck in that range. We also saw about a half dozen bucks that I would put in the "WOW" level including one dandy buck that has an extra main beam off his right side.

I agree that the Seep Ridge Road is brutal. We did not go on the East Canyon road at all so I can't speak to that, but it sounds like that may be the way to go. We may have to try that route next trip.

I liked your pics. Here are a couple we took out there

BookCliffsJuly2008Big3.jpg


BookCliffsJuly2008nice4.jpg


BookCliffsJuly20083.jpg


BookCliffsJuly2008buck.jpg


BookCliffsJuly2008Bear.jpg
 
It is really only about the first half of the Seep Ridge road that sucks. The last half (from just past Buck Canyon to PR Springs) is fine and you can maintain a decent speed. The first part has been beat to death by all the big rigs.
 
I was out there during the rifle deer hunt last year and then again on a late cow elk hunt and the difference a month made in the condition of the roads was amazing! The lower half is always rocky, but it was a decent road in October. In November, it was the complete shiits! Actually saw one of the oil trucks with the front end completely ripped out from hitting about a hole covered in powder! At any rate, be sure to carry a spare tire or two. I don't think I'ver made a trip to the Bookcliff's without having a flat on either the truck or trailer or both.
 
LAST EDITED ON Jul-08-08 AT 04:24PM (MST)[p]The road out South of Vernal on the East Side is a bit rough too but not as bad as Seep Ridge road, but it will get you out to Atchee Ridge, Big Park, 3 Mile Canyon, Park Canyon and clear out to Rathole Ridge. That side is where this buck was killed, BTW.

BookCliffsBuck.jpg


It gets rougher the higher you go, but it's good hunting up in there too. Bitter Creek is really rough. Really the road conditions out in the Books vary depending on the week and how much traffic and water(rain or snow) has been on them after a grading. The holes in the road just past the Willow Creek overlook on the Seep Ridge Road that are covered in that soft sandy powder have been really bad the last 2 years. Take it SLOW.
 
>The last half (from just
>past Buck Canyon to PR
>Springs) is fine and you
>can maintain a decent speed.

That's funny you say that. Cuz I'm thinking 35 is a decent speed for out there. LOL It's a dirt road and I'm just used to traveling really slowly out there. It's just how it goes on that road. Slow.
 
TripleK,
ha ha-when I said that I should have clarified that 35 MPH is a decent speed out there on that road. The first section we never got above 20 MPH.

If you go that way, you just have to accept that you will spend 2 1/2 to 3 hours on a 40 mile stretch of road, unless you really enjoy beating the crap out of your rig and getting flat tires :)
 
hey cory,
thats the second time today i saw your pics, it seems we have a mutual friend. Ross.

i think i saw your camp in sweetwater? we were over on top of the airport. at the very end.

cool bear pic, we saw one west of PR springs, and did not have the camera on me , it was in the jeep. i was afoot.

ya that was me in the command jeep, i regret not pulling a wheeler out, there were a ton of roads i wanted to hit but did not because the jeep was our way home and i did not want to bust it.
 
If your limited on the time you have to scout, wait to go out just before the season opens. As mentioned get the lay of the land and areas that look good to you to spend some time in.

From now till the hunts..more and more people will be heading out that way. I had a muzzle loader tag out there last fall and scouted a bit. Each week closer to season, the less and less deer you will see. Once the hunts start deer start back off the roads and get into the thicker stuff...at least the decent bucks. You'll still see a bunch of deer...but it gets less and less as the pressure increases and they start to migrate. You won't have to worry about them moving out during the Archery.

The roads are fine when they are dry...get some weather and it turns into a rodeo.

Don't plan on shooting a decent buck from the road. Get out of your jeep....off the 4 wheeler and get into some canyons without roads and scope them out. Your odds will go way up. You'll find some nice deer to go after.

It's a fun hunt!
 
off the jeep??
how am i going to shoot one on the road if im not on the road?


kidding,
thanks for the advice, instead of going out again i think i will just go out 3-4 days early.
 

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