The ascent must be mediated with a lighter throttle foot, getting a feel for the traction yet maintaining momentum over the sand. They feature a few outcrops of rock in sections to add interest, discouraging banzai attempts. Once past the Mancos, the trip turns left into a wash, and almost immediately turns right to start up some sand dunes. Even walking in the stuff nets an inch in height for each step forward! Luckily, Easter Jeep Safari seldom encounters it wet, but in that instance a reschedule is necessary. Normally dry and powdery, this stuff becomes grease mud that is close to impassible when wet. Initially it traverses the gray, vegetation challenged Mancos Shale formation from Cretaceous times. The Wipe-Out Hill Trail starts near the Moab airport, departing US 191 at the Mill Canyon turnoff. There are a couple of areas of slickrock, some rock ledges, and a few miles of two-track on sandy dirt. One broken-rock hill leads back to a washbottom that is usually wet. There is a long stretch of broad, sandy washbottom and one short, but sometimes challenging, hill of blow-sand. The trail traverses at least seven major rock formations (Morrison, Entrada, Navajo, Kayenta, Wingate, Chinle, and Moenkopi) that were deposited over a period of more than 100 million years, beginning about 200 million years ago. In between are beautiful canyons having colorfully banded Entrada Sandstone walls, Determination Towers, and the Monitor and Merrimac Buttes. The landscape varies from the drab hills near the airport to the tall cliffs seen from Moab. Variety is its strong point, with a wide range of scenery and trail surface and a couple of challenging hills. It uses portions of Bartlett Wash, Tusher Canyon, Courthouse Pasture, the south cliff base of Big Mesa, and possibly Gemini Bridges if there is time. This trail tours a region south of Canyonlands Airport and west of Highway 191.
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