Utah Desert Hiking: Moab Rim and Hidden Valley

Moab Rim is a rugged triangular mesa that stands between Spanish Valley and the Colorado River, just south of Moab in southeast Utah's red-rock country. The Moab Rim and Hidden Valley trails meet in the middle of the mesa. We happened to have two cars, so we left one at the Hidden Valley trailhead on Rimrock Road on the mesa's east side, and drove the other to the Moab Rim trailhead on Kane Creek Boulevard to the west.

The trail begins at the north end of the parking lot and immediately heads skyward as a rough stone ramp jutting out from the cliff face. It gains 1,000 feet in the first mile; I was glad I'd brought trekking poles. Off-road drivers are invited to try their skills on this section of trail. We marveled at scrape marks and oil stains on the massive, uneven blocks of stone. I would have liked to see someone try it; but we met no machines, only a few other out-of-breath hikers like ourselves. Below us, the panorama grew steadily. The Colorado River meanders placidly in its lush channel. On its far side stands Poison Spider Mesa, a tall red sandstone wall whose prominent layers are not quite level, reminding us of the titanic forces that continue to form this land. We had five miles of rugged desert terrain to cover, so we'd made an early start. A morning breeze from the south kept us cool during our climb. October is a fine time for desert hiking; the highest temperature we experienced was 83, while in mid-summer it's over 100.

Near the top of the climb, we left the main route and passed through a stile in a split-rail fence to approach the mesa's northern tip. The Nature Conservancy owns this viewpoint, and they don't allow vehicles. We enjoyed a rest break and a snack, sitting on blocks of stone along the edge of the cliff. Moab is spread out below, its tree-lined streets defiantly rectilinear within its diagonal valley. Beyond it to the north rises the red plateau of Arches National Park. Look carefully and you can see an arch or two.

The main route bends southeast. Short stretches of dirt road alternate with dunes of fine pink-orange powder and steep, narrow ridges, and the mesa broadens to become a land of its own. We climbed a dome of solid rock, following cairns and the abrasions of ORV tires. From its top we could see the layered cliffs across the Colorado to the west, the mesa's central ridge to the east, and a cluster of cardboard-like sandstone fins to the south.

Beyond the dome the road picks up again, crossing slopes of sagebrush. Alice pointed out a crust of cryptobiotic soil beneath them. Here bacteria creates soil that sustains the desert plants. The "crypto" is as delicate as eggshells, and the damage from a careless footstep would take decades to regenerate.

As we continued southeast, the road branched several times. The turnoffs are well signed, and we found the hikers-only trail along the northern edge of the fin area without much trouble. We took a break in the first shade we'd found that day, behind a ridge of sandstone, and continued up to a pass. A group of hikers coming the other way told us they'd found petroglyphs on a cliff north of the pass.

Beyond the pass we entered Hidden Valley, a shady meadow that seemed out of place in this arid land. We followed a gentle path of red soil southeast down the valley's center, with a fine view of the snowy La Sal Mountains before us. A cool breeze moved tumbleweeds through the grass with a papery whispering sound.

At the valley's end, we clambered down the mesa's east wall. This part of the trail is a chaos of stone blocks, amid which a few cottonwoods struggle to survive. Beyond Spanish Valley, the La Sal range stands in full view.