SW Colorado & SE Utah - June 2019; Part 3

Continued from Part 2

Part 3: Abajo Mountains

Thursday, June 6th (continued)

Don't forget to click on any photo to see a larger version.

Monticello

I filled the gas tank in Monticello and headed west, up FR-49/County B-10. I'd disperse camped up there on my first trip west that began with the Overland Expo. I drove through the Dalton Springs and Buckboard campgrounds mostly out of curiosity; they were typical, nice forest campgrounds. I'd thought about trying FR-0079 to look for camping opportunities, but the gate was locked. This is part of the cross mountain loop, so that shouldn't have been surprising.

Abajo Mountains - The Blues

The Abajo Mountains, known locally as the Blue Mountains or The Blues have at their highest point Abajo Peak at 11,360 feet.

Flowers on the northern flanks of the mountains.

I thought this was interesting.

View from Hart's Draw/Canyonlands Overlook

I quickly found the spot where I'd camped before - it still looked nice. I had by-passed the larger dispersed camping area near there as last time if was full of RVs and 5th-wheels. I thought I'd explore around, as there were still hours of daylight, both to see if I could find a better spot and to see the area. I checked out Monticello Lake. I drove a ways on FR-5419 to the north; it was a pretty area of wildflowers and scrub. I drove SW up FR-0100 to Spring Lake, not much more than a pond. A father was taking his two boys fishing when I drove by; the family was camped nearby. I asked if there were actually fish in the lake and he assured me that there were.

My campsite

I returned to my old campsite, set up, and enjoyed the view off to the north - La Sal Mountains, Moab Valley, and canyonlands.

Friday, June 7

Abajo Mountains, continued

A few photos and a flight before breaking camp.

Aerial view toward the north from above my campsite.
Canyonlands, Monticello Lake, and the La Sals.

Spherical Panorama from above my campsite (click the Full-screen icon [ ] for best view:

Monticello Ranger Station

After breaking camp, I drove back down to Monticello and found the USFS Ranger Station. I needed to come up with a new plan. One of the problems with many backcountry maps, as you might know, is that there is no real way to determine which roads are good for any vehicle, which require high-clearance and/or 4WD, and which should be avoided unless you're in an ATV or some such. This is not unique to the Manti-La Sal NFS map I'd been looking at, but made planning problematic without some local knowledge.

I spoke at length to the nice lady at the desk to try and find good places to explore. She confirmed the Cross Mountain Road was closed. She asked if I'd ever driven Causeway Road - I had not even heard of it. She said it was very scenic and in good condition. We also talked about opportunities for short day hikes and camping. OK, cool, I had a rough plan for the rest of the trip.

Blanding

I would access Causeway Road from Blanding. The turn-off is actually just before town (look for Dry Wash Forest Access), but I drove on in to top off my gas tank. I took N. Blue Mountain Road, a.k.a., Johnson Creek Road, out of Blanding, which continues as FR-0095, County 226. I was cautioned there would be a prescribed burn on this road, but it would clear by the time I reached Dry Wash Reservoir and Nizhoni Campground.

A view of The Blues and smoke from the prescribed burn north of Blanding.

Another lake/mountain photo - Dry Wash Reservoir

Out of curiosity I drove through the campground, which is accessed from FR-0079; it was nice enough, but nothing special.

Causeway Road

Phlox were blooming everywhere.

At the junction with 79, the Cross Mountain Road, FR-95 becomes Causeway Road (though Google seems to incorrectly call it Gooseberry; one of many nomenclature errors they have in these mountains.) The road is indeed scenic with grand views off to the south as it follows the contours of the mountains. It was unfortunate that there were both high clouds and haze from the prescribed burn, this resulted in less than ideal conditions for photography. The wind was picking up and was forecast to get very gusty through the day. The wind would help blow the smoke away, at least. I kept sending my pleas to the weather gods to bring blue skies.

Sandstone along Dry Wash

This small patch of Chiming Bells was hidden in a shaded corner of the wash.

I pulled off at Dry Wash and drove a short ways up a jeep trail. I found a place to park off the road/trail, not that I expected anyone to come by, and walked farther up the little canyon. There were interesting rock cliffs, wildflowers, and a little creek running down the middle. I had a very nice hike about a mile up to where they'd created a small diversion dam to keep the creek in its bed rather than running down the road.

Canyon wall from where I turned around.

I returned to my truck and continued along Causeway Road, wondering about the name. I stopped briefly along the road and walked a trail that I was sure would lead to a scenic overlook. I was wrong. It seemed to simply follow a ridge line and I turned around before finding any view at all.

Returning along the trail that lead nowhere.

View from the road across to the Bear's Ears.

I walked up the road about 30' from where I had parked and got a partial obscured view to photograph. Later I stopped at another creek to take pictures of the cascade.

A view showing Bayles Ranch

A seasonal creek beside the road.

I had been noticing a truck with travel trailer, facing toward me, stopped at the outside of a curve at a high point along the road. As I'd seen no one for many miles I pulled up next to them and asked "enjoying the view?" "Having lunch," was the reply. Turns out it was a retired couple from Old La Sal - essentially locals - who had been coming up to the Blue Mountains, as they styled them, for many years. He was pulling an Arctic Fox travel trailer behind his pickup. We chatted for about 15 minutes, then I pulled behind them to have my own lunch.

I no sooner stopped before realizing I wanted to ask them about the farm or ranch I'd seen down in the canyon on the way up. "That's the Bayles Ranch" he said. We spent another 15 or 20 minutes talking, me asking questions about the area, and them volunteering suggestions and cautions (such as not driving off road onto the hardpan that looked solid, but was deep mud underneath). Very helpful and entertaining. I went back to my truck to have lunch and they headed back down the road.

Another view from this scenic road.

And another view.

The gentleman had explained why it was called Causeway Road, and that I'd soon come to The Causeway. I read later this stretch is a divide - rain falling on the north side of the causeway drains to Indian Creek and the Colorado; on the south side, drainage is to the San Juan River (though ultimately also to the Colorado).

Looking north from The Causeway

Looking south from The Causeway

Looking back at The Causeway

The Causeway

I tried a couple side roads just to see what was there, but they turned sketchy fairly quickly, so I returned to Causeway and continued on. I stopped at the Maverick Point Overlook. It was a nice view, but mostly a chance for the forest service to pat themselves on the back for their stewardship.

Maverick Point Overlook.

When I came to the junction with North Cottonwood Road, I took it.

Continued in Part 4: Gooseberry/Elk Ridge Roads, The Notch, Hammond Canyon, Horse Pasture Trail