"Outlaw Trail" was more of a term than an actual trail. When old-timers said someone was on the Outlaw Trail, it simply meant they were running from the law. The name "Wild Bunch" was applied to most anyone who was running from the law. Saying Butch Cassidy was the leader of the Wild Bunch was a pretty vague statement.
There were three major hideouts used frequently by the Wild Bunch: Hole-in-the-Wall in Wyoming, Brown's Hole in Colorado, and Robbers Roost in Utah. This series of stories will take you to all three of them. Other places where Cassidy spent a lot of time waiting for things to cool down included Landusky, Montana, and the Wilson Ranch in Alma, New Mexico. If you connect the dots between all those locations, you wind up with a trail extending from Canada to Mexico. Although they followeded no specific path, the Wild Bunch did use all of the hideouts on a regular basis and traveled between them frequently. Using the same method, we can connect the dots using four-wheel-drive roads and still be on the Outlaw Trail, quite possibly the same path taken by the outlaws since they too avoided the main roads.
Crossing the Dirty Devil ...
Crossing the Dirty Devil River.
The most remote and fun to visit of the hideouts is Robbers Roost. It is true that the term Robbers Roost was used freely by those who were missing certain items to describe where the people went who took those items. For that reason, there are lots of "Robbers Roosts" scattered throughout the country, but as far as the Wild Bunch were concerned, there was only one. Since it was the first one visited by Butch Cassidy when he left home and headed for Telluride, it is the most logical place for us to begin our journey back in time along the Outlaw Trail.
When Robert LeRoy Parker left home, he was guided to Robbers Roost by other rustlers who knew the area well. Hanksville was a supply point for the Roost, and there were three established trails connecting the town to the hideout. The most commonly used route today is to cross the desert on a graded dirt road that currently provides access to the Hans Flat ranger station. You can find that road north of Hanksville between Mile Posts 136 and 137 on Highway 24.
The most fun way to get to Robbers Roost in a 4x4 is by way of Poison Spring Canyon, Hatch Canyon, Sunset Pass, and the Flint Trail. It actually follows along at the base of the Roost all the way across its southern end, then follows along the eastern side of it for a few miles before climbing to the top. In the process, it enters Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on the west side of Sunset Pass and exits at the Hans Flat ranger station. If you go that way, keep in mind that permits are necessary to camp in GCNRA, and pets are not allowed.
The shortest route, the one Parker used, is by way of the Angel Trail. It has not changed in the past 120 years and still requires hiking or horses to get across the canyon where the Dirty Devil River flows (if you would like to take that route, send us an e-mail - we've hiked it several times).