I slept in, not waking up till 8:40am local time. Oh no, I thought, jumping up to make sure the dogs were OK. The van was now in the sun and only two windows were open. They were fine, still resting, but were thankful to be let out to pee. I let them into the hotel room while I showered, but both refused to wander around, staying by the door. Even the hotel room now was getting warm as I didn't turn the AC on. I didn't sign out until almost 11am. It was a slow start for me. Rains were forecasted at 40% and I saw storm clouds already at the southwestern horizon.
My general plan for the day was to hike part of the North Fork of Huntington creek in the Manti La Sal forest. That was not too far away. I headed south on UT10, with the mountain range to my west and the desert valley to my east. PacifiCorps sure does have a lot of power plants in this valley! Just outside Huntington State park, a small state park around a lake, the rain exploded, delaying my drive for a bit. I was on Mohrland Road, a dirt road that winds up the mountain. This is not the road I was looking for. I got .6 miles of walking in when a young rancher drove past me asking me if I had seen a stray cow on the forest road. I hadn't. I turned around and drove back into town, looking for the correct route northwest on UT31.
The towns I drove through each had a Mormon temple. Worshipers were coming in at 11am, men dressed in their standard white shirts, women in their dresses. The temples I saw were nondescript, nothing like the temples in Salt Lake City or Idaho Falls. These were once bustling rail road and mining towns. The rail road is gone, but the mines still remain.
I got to the trail head at 1:20pm local time. My van was the third vehicle in the parking lot. Two groups of young hikers were returning from their hike as I started on mine. They surely knew it was going to rain and started early. I took the risk and started mine late, knowing to turn around as soon as I saw heavy clouds billowing. I don't mind the rain, but I always worry about thunderstorms.
The area had seen a devastating fire in 2012 and the damage is still very visible. Large swaths of burned trees were visible on the hillsides. One hillside suffered a serious landslide that then caused at least one log jam in the creek, with another log jam further upstream. Herbal plants are now replacing the groves of aspen and lodgepoles that once stood there, but the farther I went on the trail, the more grassy the trail became, indicating a lesser traveled path. I turned around at the 2.3 mile mark as poky thistle were irritating my bare legs and the trail was slowly moving away from the water that Minnie needs. Clouds were indeed starting to come over the horizon.
The dogs were enjoying the water and the shade, but my return hike was at a faster pace. There were several parts along the trail that already were showing storm erosion. Parts of the trail are cut into the sides of already slided terrain and I didn't want to be stranded on the wrong side should there be a heavy storm. Even the day use camping area is right at the creek level and could be quickly flooded. Just 22 minutes after getting back to the van, with no one else around in the park,the storm began again, this time over the valley as well. We had hiked 4.6 miles along the creek, a good enough distance for the dogs and me.
The drive continued in a southwesterly direction, through the towns of Castle Date (entrance to the San Rafael Swell and fossil beds among slot canyons) and Ferron, then crossing I-70. A short drive on the interstate west and I turned off on UT72, another two-laner that quickly ascends the mountain range. A rather prominent round mountain and its basins now stood before me, as I meandered uphill. The land now went from desert to lush alpine landscape rather quickly. What a scenic drive! Even at the 9114' pass there were RVs camped right off the road. UT72 then ends at UT24, which I continued in an easterly direction through the alpine farming towns of Fremont and Loa. I gassed up in Loa for $2.49 a gallon. The convenience stores and gas stations were all open along this route, a popular access point for travelers heading to Capitol Reef, just outside the town of Torrey.
I got to the national park in the early evening. The fee booth was also closed but cars were able to drive through. I knew I only had two more hours of daylight left. What could I see in this time? A crowded campsite is right inside the park, with an optional scenic drive to the Great Gorge, an eight-mile, one-way drive along some spectacular rock formations that jut out. The stones were already glowing in their orange and reds as the sun began its final descent. Small dirt roads led into turn-offs but I stayed on the pavement until it ended at the Gorge, then turned around and battled a setting sun in my eyes. Since dogs are not allowed on any trails in national parks (a rule that really irks me), I had no reason to linger.
Fruita is a small fruit orchard community that once was a prosperous growing orchard and which is on the western side of the park. Here is where the campsite is and where most of the people linger. The trees still bear fruit, albeit small fruit. I picked one nectarine that wasn't any bigger than what grows on my own tree. Its flesh was dry and not very sweet. I stopped at a turn-off to let the dogs pee, then resumed my drive on UT24 that crosses the park and offers more spectacular redrock scenery.
The sun was now below the mountains and dusk was setting in. More canyon streams appeared, more distant buttes and finally desert plateaus. The drive offers the entire gamut of terrain. I had no idea where I was going to stay for the night, but when I pulled into Hanksville, UT, I realized that this is where I should stay. The town caters to travelers, with two diners, three hotels, two gas stations and several RV parks. I paid $16 for a spot at the Dukes Slickrock RV park, a spacious park for tenters, RVers and cabin users, although the cabins all looked vacant. One other tenter was nearby and I picked the green area farthest away from the other tenters so that the dogs wouldn't bother them. Then I ate a grilled chicken sandwich across the street at the Shack, a family diner connected to a gast station/convenience store that also offered free wifi. This is where the young people in town hang out. The place and just about everything else in town closes at 10pm.
I went back to the RV park to start my late-night reading and writing, but I could not successfully access the park's wifi. The clerk had perhaps given me an expired password. The park was dark, no one was awake, and for a while I parked the van under the one main spotlight, so I could read a bit. I'm already a few books behind on my Amazon review list and am locked out to pick any more until this old list is completed. I don't mind being locked out, it's actually less stressful this way as I've discovered it takes me about two to three days to really read a book while on the road. Once these books are reviewed, I can pick more items from my list and start again at a far less hectic pace.
I ended up barely sleeping. I couldn't get any rest, I had had far too much caffeine in me and Minnie was on my cot. I let her stay there as I fidgeted in the front seat. The night sky was beautiful in the dark. The Milky Way was prominent. I watched one meteor jet across the sky. The RV park was silent. True beauty in the middle of nowhere.
More later
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