Moab bike/hike/explore Nov. 7-15, 2026

I would like to announce the eighteenth edition of our successful hike/explore/bike trips to Moab. We have been going almost every November since 2008, and every time has been a great success. The 2014 trip report can be found at http://lamountaineers.org/node/479#comment-57. Let me (Bill Priedhorsky) know if you would like to join the trip.

As before, we will establish a base in a large, comfortable house in Moab, and from there mountain bike, hike, and scramble in Arches and Canyonlands National Parks and the wild country immediately around Moab, like Behind the Rocks. Some of our most rugged adventures take us no more than two miles from home, yet lie deep in the wilderness. We keep discovering new places to adventure.

I have booked the Moab Retreat House from Saturday November 7 through Sunday November 15, 2026. Details of the House can be found at www.moabretreat.com. I have rented both sides of the house, north and south, with five bedrooms each. First priority will be folks who want to stay the whole week, but I will also try to fit folks in who want to stay Saturday through Wednesday or Wednesday through Sunday.

There will be hiking and biking options each day, with activity levels ranging from easy to hard and technicality from beginner to advanced. Most days there will be an easy, non-technical option, as well as the more challenging adventures. Every day outing will be organized as a separate Mountaineers trip with a trip leader, and be formally signed out via a Mountaineers trip waiver for all participants. Canyoneering outings will be possible if a trip leader (not Bill) is available and willing to take the leadership responsibility. Day leaders have full discretion in limiting the numbers for their outing, and deciding who is qualified to take part. All participants in Moab must be paid-up members of the Mountaineers both at the time they sign up and at the time of the trip. If spots become short in the Moab Retreat House, they will be assigned with a preference for those interested in exploring new places on foot. We have several new ideas for hikes to further explore areas that we reconnoitered in past years. One's spot on the trip is secured by paying for one's room.

After the daytime adventuring, we will socialize in the evening with dinners together, prepared by rotating dinner teams at the house. Each dinner team will be responsible for cooking, and cleaning up and storing their leftovers; the rest of the cleanup will be rotated on a separate schedule, so that the dinner crew will not wash dishes the same night.

I would like to remind folks of carpooling, both to express our respect for the environment, and so as not to overstrain the limited parking. Persons who drive solo to Moab may be asked to park offsite (a couple blocks away) and make a contribution to the church who owns the parking lot.

Please let me know if you are interested in this outing. The house price is stable with respect to previous years. The Retreat House is still quite the bargain for lodging in Moab – based on a quick look online, hotel rooms in Moab run $100-$175+ per night for the same week. The schedule below should cover lodging costs for the 8-day stay, but if our revenue comes up short, we will make a final collection during the trip. A small gratuity for the house's cleaning crew is also a kind thing to do; we have typically collected $20 per person. Deposits will be refunded only if this can be done without impacting the other participants, whatever the reason for cancellation.

Estimated lodging costs for the 8-night stay are as follows. Because the accommodation options vary widely, there are a range of costs reflecting the quality of accommodation. To better predict finances, and to manage the growing fraction of participants who are solo for the trip, the cost share will be by room, charging the same for double and single occupancy. Half-week stays will be half price, if a match can be found for the other half of the week. There is only one master bedroom free, and it will be assigned based on a rotation from previous years.

Master bedroom                                   $            730

Queen bedroom                                   $            550

Family room                                         $            365

Understairs nook                                  $            225

Bunkroom                                             $            400

Murphy bed (N living room)                  $            225   

Coach (S living room)                           $            100

Camper in driveway (1 possible)         $             125