12AW snow fall and driving

[UggRedBilly]

I have the late hunt and saw a picture on another forum from last year with a truck in the snow and the guy standing next to it was waist deep! I personally never drove in snow and seeing that kind of scares me. I watch videos and see pictures and I have seen very little or none at all. But does it usually snow heavy up there in late November? I only have a 2WD ford ranger. No lift or anything. Will that be enough to get through the area with ease? Or should I look into 4wd options? Thank you!

[wildwoody]

Gonna probably come in the back way..

[trphyhntr]

Snow mobile 

[UggRedBilly]

8 minutes ago, wildwoody said:

Gonna probably come in the back way..

What do you mean by that?

[wildwoody]

Thru Page to Fredonia, around into Sowatts..

[UggRedBilly]

Just now, wildwoody said:

Fredonia, around into Sowatts..

Like near the 89? From the very top (north) end? I see a road that bee lines towards the south from up there and it is like about 6000 feet elevation

[UggRedBilly]

I found these 2 roads! Are these the ones you're talking about?

[Delw]

Yeah that way, but if it gets that much snow you wont be hunting very far down that road anyway. youll be lower at the north end of the unit. and the western ends of the units.

They do keep that road pretty clear at least to big springs and there are plenty of places to hunt north and west of that. to be honest if snow was that deep, i would hunt right at the cattle guard on the main road border, that canyon on the west end is loaded when the snow gets deep. also loaded during the archery season.

depending on when the heavy snow comes in will depnd on how far west you go.

hunted up there one year and they had just closed the main highway to Jacobs lake. I knew a few roads bypassed the gate and went back on the highway went to my planned spot. 3+ feet of snow when I woke up thursday am, hunt was friday no one got in. Dad had to go around through ferdonia. we hunted our little area then went off the ridge and west. had dang near the whole unit to ourselved till sat evening.

[wildwoody]

Both. I get a place in Ferdonia and drive in every day , gonna be cold , real cold maybe.. 1/2 he drive in

[UggRedBilly]

3 minutes ago, Delw said:

Yeah that way, but if it gets that much snow you wont be hunting very far down that road anyway. youll be lower at the north end of the unit. and the western ends of the units.

They do keep that road pretty clear at least to big springs and there are plenty of places to hunt north and west of that. to be honest if snow was that deep, i would hunt right at the cattle guard on the main road border, that canyon on the west end is loaded when the snow gets deep. also loaded during the archery season.

depending on when the heavy snow comes in will depnd on how far west you go.

hunted up there one year and they had just closed the main highway to Jacobs lake. I knew a few roads bypassed the gate and went back on the highway went to my planned spot. 3+ feet of snow when I woke up thursday am, hunt was friday no one got in. Dad had to go around through ferdonia. we hunted our little area then went off the ridge and west. had dang near the whole unit to ourselved till sat evening.

Wow! Yeah I want to get near kanab creek wilderness! I wanna stay away from the east side! There was a picture on a forum and it was this guy showing his shoulder mount from the same hunt and he showed a picture of snow! I remember when it was raining here at the same time! It snowed at my house even at the desert!

[UggRedBilly]

4 minutes ago, wildwoody said:

Both. I get a place in Ferdonia and drive in every day , gonna be cold , real cold maybe.. 1/2 he drive in

You know that's not a bad idea. Like a hotel or something?

[Delw]

Kanab creek is a blast to hunt, Ive walked the entry point to maybe 7-10 miles for 3 days and hunted it during the archery season. lots of deer. theres a road just south of it just before bigsprings/magnum camp) that goes west that will get you on top and edge about 4 miles in. cause 1-2 miles in walking the bottom of the canyon you aint getting to the top very fast its sheer cliffs.

its a fun back pack trip when your young, and you find lots of sheds. right on the edge on the top.

but dont discount that little spot on the border right over the cattle guard off the main road we seen some nice bucks there every year and one really cool non typical.

[UggRedBilly]

1 minute ago, Delw said:

Kanab creek is a blast to hunt, Ive walked the entry point to maybe 7-10 miles for 3 days and hunted it during the archery season. lots of deer. theres a road just south of it just before bigsprings/magnum camp) that goes west that will get you on top and edge about 4 miles in. cause 1-2 miles in walking the bottom of the canyon you aint getting to the top very fast its sheer cliffs.

its a fun back pack trip when your young, and you find lots of sheds. right on the edge on the top.

but dont discount that little spot on the border right over the cattle guard off the main road we seen some nice bucks there every year and one really cool non typical.

Wow that sounds amazing! I am going to drive up there in about a week and a half! I really wanna get a Boone and Crockett buck! That is a dream!

[Delw]

Youll like it, dont forget the fires still going so access might be limited, you may have to drive towards the north rim park, then just after the big fields a general store on the east, you will see a main gravel road that says Big springs take that back north. thats the long way but its south of the fire.

Theres 3 main roads that are good to remember(forget the names of hand.

I call the the big springs road, middle road and the highway. the big springs road meets the paved road where I said above. then about 1-2 miles up from that the middle road will come into play.

deer will be everywhere in the tall pines this time of the year, there out in the low sage and scrubs also.

I got m old maps from  way back when somewhere around here if I think of it I will look for them.

one thing to remember TAKE 2 SPARES, you get one flat your ok you use your spare and get a flat you can be f'd for a few days. watch where you drive so you dont get stuck and the rocks up there are sharp not round like down here. if you get one flat you head to ferdonia to get it fixed immed., I dont care how much fun your having. matter of fact might want to carry a plug kit and air pump and bring 5 gals of water too. getting stuck and having to drink out of a seep or stock tank isnt fun nor healthy.

[UggRedBilly]

2 minutes ago, Delw said:

Youll like it, dont forget the fires still going so access might be limited, you may have to drive towards the north rim park, then just after the big fields a general store on the east, you will see a main gravel road that says Big springs take that back north. thats the long way but its south of the fire.

Theres 3 main roads that are good to remember(forget the names of hand.

I call the the big springs road, middle road and the highway. the big springs road meets the paved road where I said above. then about 1-2 miles up from that the middle road will come into play.

deer will be everywhere in the tall pines this time of the year, there out in the low sage and scrubs also.

I got m old maps from  way back when somewhere around here if I think of it I will look for them.

one thing to remember TAKE 2 SPARES, you get one flat your ok you use your spare and get a flat you can be f'd for a few days. watch where you drive so you dont get stuck and the rocks up there are sharp not round like down here. if you get one flat you head to ferdonia to get it fixed immed., I dont care how much fun your having. matter of fact might want to carry a plug kit and air pump and bring 5 gals of water too. getting stuck and having to drink out of a seep or stock tank isnt fun nor healthy.

Sounds good! I was planning on getting more of an offroad type of tire and maybe a small lift for clearance!