Hi I'm Mike of Mike's Road Trip and on this episode I'm going to share with you
an extraordinary place called White Pocket, which is a great alternative
to the Wave. Now if you're not familiar the Wave, it is a an extraordinary geological wonder
in northern Arizona. Unfortunately, they only allow 20 people a day to visit,
so needless to say it's pretty tough to get one of those lottery
permits. But not to worry because White Pocket is equally as impressive. The downside is though it
does require a four-wheel drive high clearance vehicle to get there, but they do actually have
a couple of tour operators offering access, so that is certainly an option. So come along with me
and let me show you around. "Get off the road..." says driver passing by." "All right." Mike Says.
I would allocate three to four days for doing this road trip as it's quite far from Phoenix, all
told it would be over 650 miles round trip. The elevation at White Pocket is more than 4 000 feet
higher than Phoenix, so it will be much cooler. From Phoenix you would head north past Flagstaff
on highway 89. Along the way I highly recommend stopping a few times to see the Painted Desert.
As you continue north, Highway 89 forks, to the left is 89a which is what you want to take.
Be sure to stop by the Marble Canyon bridge for some great views. Then
drive a few miles through the canyon toward Lee's Ferry which is the end of the road and the put-in
point for rafters going down the mighty Colorado River. As you continue northwest down 89a you'll
be enamored by the Vermilion Cliffs that flank the northern side of the highway.
While driving along this stupendously scenic road I recommend stopping by the Cliff Dwellers,
a roadside attraction of small homes built under unique rock formations that have been
eroded from the bottom. Click the link above to learn more about this area.
Continuing down 89a you'll want to turn right on House Rock Road, this is where the four
wheel drive is required. From the Cliff Dwellers it's about an hour and a half to White Pocket.
You'll eventually come across an old farmhouse with a sign pointing to the left, you'll also
run into a few livestock gates that you'll need to open, be sure to close as you continue on.
The deep ruts carved into the soft sand almost locks you into
position and feels a bit like a roller coaster, especially at higher speeds.
"Well i just got done setting up the tent and I built a little trough around the tent just in case
it rains, that it'll kind of funnel some of the water off of the tent and not pool near the seams.
Can hear the thunder? It's actually looking a little ominous out here
but, that's okay, it's a an adventure."
I arrived a bit late, so I thought I'd save the highlight for the next day. Near my camp were
some bluffs to explore. I found a place to sit while admiring this storm passed by. It wasn't
long before the sun began to set, the clouds parted just in time to let the sun peek through.
"And this is White Pocket..."
After leaving White Pocket the next day I headed north toward the Utah border toward Highway 89.
Along the way I did several hikes one that i would highly recommend is Wire Pass. "Over 20 years ago
i came to this area and i always thought the name of this uh slot canyon that I'm in search of was
pariah canyon but that's actually the entire wilderness area and i think i have finally
found this uh incredible slot canyon but I'm actually not sure if I'm at the right trail head
I'm at uh buck springs i think our buck Buck springs Gulch."
"Well i just hiked a couple of miles and i ran across another hiker and i
asked him how much farther the slot was and he said at least three miles I'm like oh my
gosh I've already gone two so that's four round trip and uh so I'm gonna call it here
and try and find the other trailhead well i made it to the correct trail finally which is the wire
pass trail unfortunately as you can see behind me there are some ominous clouds and this is a
very dangerous area for flash floods so I'm not going to go that far into the slot just because
you just don't know what the weather is doing um upstream so this is the start of the slot."
After hiking around Wire Pass I got on highway 89 heading
south where I stopped for my last hike of the day. "Off to see some Toad Stools."
These amazing toadstool rock formations are in many areas of the Grand Staircase
Escalante National Monument, but this one is quite easy to reach and is just a short hike.
That evening I found a nice place to camp near Lake Powell.
The following day I explored some areas around the lake and even went for a swim.
Lake Powell is a remarkable recreational area it has more coastline than the entire west coast
over 2 000 miles it's the second largest man-made lake in North America.
Just below the glen canyon dam that created Lake Powell
is one of Arizona's most famous sites Horseshoe Bend.
As I headed back to the valley of the sun i found a nice place to camp outside of flagstaff
before making my way back to phoenix
While my intended destination was white pocket i ended up making this a road trip loop to some
extraordinary places i hope you enjoyed this video from phoenix to white pocket and beyond if
so please hit that like button and don't forget to subscribe for more road trip travel videos.
So until next time, we'll see on the road... MikesRoadTrip.com