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Coyote Run - Hidden Valley LbNA #10904

Owner:Kat
Plant date:Sep 14, 2004
Location:
City:Moab
County:Grand
State:Utah
Boxes:1
Found by: Xanadu
Last found:Sep 28, 2007
Status:FFOFFFFF
Last edited:Apr 2, 2017
COYOTE RUN - EYES ARE WATCHING YOU - HIDDEN VALLEY

Difficulty: Starts with a 600 ft. climb using switchbacks through rocks. Levels out at the top for the second half of the hike. Moderately Strenuous. Too tough for little ones. It took about 30-35 minutes one way with no breaks. But the scenery is fabulous and you'll want to catch your breath and enjoy the huge vistas from up there, so plan more time than this.

This letterbox is the second of two boxes in Hidden Valley. It is about 15 minutes farther than the first letterbox. You can get the directions to the first box by looking up Kokopelli's Gift and following those directions. These directions will begin from the point of finding Kokopelli's Gift.

Hidden Valley is made up of two small grassy valleys that are called "grabens" or sunken valleys surrounded by rocks. The trail runs right down the middle of these grabens. The first time I hiked this trail, a small pack of coyotes appeared in the rocks alongside the graben and paced us most of the hike back, keeping on the rocks and barking and yipping the whole way. My three dogs, interestingly, fell into rank and surrounded me and stayed with me the whole way, instead of their usual bounding every direction chasing rabbits.

Location: About 2 miles south of Moab, turn right on Angel Rock Rd. until it deadends, turn right on Rimrock and follow until it deadends at the trailhead.

Clues: After you have found Kokopelli's Gift and stamped in, continue on the trail past the wilderness study sign and on up to the first little meadow, or graben. The trail now levels out and you leave all the rocks and trees behind. Follow this trail for about 10 minutes until you get near the end of the meadow. See the first big big square boulder on the right side of the trail? Ignore it, and look on the left side of the trail and notice two huge boulders that are leaning against one another. These are the first big boulders on the left that are close to the trail. They are about 15 steps off the trail to the left. The boulders form an open triangle as they lean on each other. Climb through the triangular opening to the other side. As you are in there, notice straight ahead a juniper tree connecting to these rocks. The tree is growing against the rocks you are climbing and the rocks near the tree have green lichen growing on them. What you seek in found under the lichen covered rock about 1 foot from the base of the tree. What you seek is hidden behind some sandstone rocks. There are plenty of rocks around here to rehide it with! Have fun and thanks for putting everything back in their bags!
If you continue on this trail it will lead through the second graben and after that you can comb the sandstone faces on the right for some "cultural heritage" and awesome views over Moab. This is up on the Moab Rim and the trail will eventually connect with some 4-wheel drive trails.

Serious Note: Don't walk on any cryptobiotic soil, it's our friend!

Hike length: 2-3 miles