Moab in November

[markadams99]

I'll be staying in Moab Nov 2-9 to give one of my daughters (12yo) her first taste of the American West. If any of the Illuminati are around, I'd be happy to meet for coffee and to pick your brains. I'm expecting that Arches and Canyonlands will have opened by then one way or another. A couple of questions please:

1.Does anyone know if the hike up Mt Peale from near La Sal Pass is likely to be practicable in early November? I don't want to take my daughter thru deep snow. She might show me up!

2. I'd like to spend a day or 2 doing an off-road course and maybe trying Elephant Hill (which I've hiked) - any recommendations?

Thanks

Mark

Oh by the way it's taken me a few years, but I may finally have figured out that the best way to get to Moab from the East Coast is to fly to Grand Junction via Denver and drive the 2 hours from there. Flying into Moab from SLC has fewer choices and is more expensive for car rental.

[bretedge]

November is a wonderful time to be in Moab.  You'll likely find the cottonwood trees in the canyons around Moab to be at or near peak fall foliage.  Temperatures are usually pretty nice, too.

I was all over the La Sals today while photographing fall color.  At 8,200' in Miner's Basin I found about 8" of snow.  Mt. Peale is 12,700.  If you can get to the trailhead at La Sal Pass, the slog to the summit will likely be quite snowy unless all of this melts and we don't get any more storms.  The route is primarily south facing so it will melt off quicker than other areas in the range. 

I don't know of anyone in town who offers off-road driving courses.  You might contact Dan Mick, though.  He's been doing Jeep tours in Moab for decades and he may be willing to offer some instruction.  Another local, John Marshall, who owns Coyote Tours, is a professional off-road instructor but I don't know if he offers courses in Moab. 

I'll be out of town with my family for the first two weeks of November or I'd invite you to visit us at our studio on Main Street - The Edge Gallery.  Maybe next time...

Have a great trip!

[Colorado David]

Bill Burke of Four Wheeling America in Fruita, Colorado, an hour and a half from Moab, gives off-road instruction.  I have no idea what his schedule might allow at that time.  http://bb4wa.com/training/private.html