Late Spring Utah - May 2023: Part 2

Part 2 of 4

Wolverine Loop, Burr Trail, Spencer Flat, Head of Rocks, The Hogback

May 16th (continued from Part 1)

I recommend you click on a photo for a larger version and use full screen for panoramas.

Wolverine Loop

Before my trip I plugged the coordinates of the junction into my navigator before the trip, Wolverine Loop is not hidden, but easy to miss. This was a road I'd wanted to check out for a number of years. I did watch one of those time-lapse videos of the road so I had an impression what I might see and was guessing there would be dispersed campsites along the southern most section, which also appeared to be the most scenic.

I turned south and drove through a piñon juniper forest. Before I drove very far at all I saw a dispersed site on the left - handy for travelers heading east late in the day as there is no camping in the national park other than in campgrounds, and there are none at the south end of the park. Within a mile (?) there was a second, then no more for a long time. The road was good, but travels though a draw, or arroyo, much of the time, so water might be an issue in monsoon rains. I took this unexciting photo to give you a sense of the terrain.

Typical terrain along the northern part of the east side of Wolverine Loop.

My impression is that there are two classes of visitors along Wolverine Loop. Those who drive through in a few hours just to check out the scenery and those who head for one of the trailheads for hiking and/or backpacking. This later seems to be a prime use and one for which most information is available. I didn't find anything about dispersed car camping and just assumed I'd find some. Before my trip I spent a little time looking at the satellite views of the area and guessed Moody Canyon Road might have campsites.

I only saw one possibility for a campsite before I reached the junction—a trail off to the side, but I couldn't see much. I drove south on Moody Canyon Road for a couple of miles, but it didn't look promising at all. I turned around and at the junction drove west on the main loop, in the direction of my intended travel. The terrain and views were interesting, but absolutely nowhere to get off the road to camp. [Note: some of the "roads" shown in Google Maps are not roads at all.] After two long miles I made the decision to backtrack to the only possibility I'd seen and crossed my fingers. That turned out to be an excellent decision.

My campsite. Look to the left of my camper and you can see Navajo Mountain in the distance.

I found a very nice dispersed camping area. It was level and would be ideal for a small group. I was able to back into a site with a view down a wide canyon with views of red buttes and, in the distance, Navajo Mountain. It was after 5pm and I set up quickly as rain clouds were gathering. It barely sprinkled. I was able to walk around and get a few wildflower photos, but it wasn't until nearly sundown that there was interesting light to grab a landscape.

I hope my species ID is correct for this beautiful penstemon.
No one on iNaturalist has disagreed at the time of this post.

Another beautiful wildflower near my campsite.

A little horizontal sunshine crept in under the cloud cover.

Wednesday May 17

Wolverine Loop (continued)

It was cloudy in the morning. Before I broke camp I sent the drone up to capture a panorama. The resut is not spectacular, but will give you a good idea about the countryside.

View on the Kuula site or in the frame below, In either case, click the Full Screen icon in the upper right corner to get the full experience.

I set off to continue the loop. The light may have been too poor to fully bring the colors out of the buttes and canyons, but the copious wildflowers shown brightly all along the road and I stopped many times for photos.

I haven't enhanced the color of this Utah Penstemon. It's actually even brighter in person.

A view from the loop as it turns westerly. Big Brown Bench in the middle distance.

A closer view of Big Brown Bench and terrain next to the loop road.

I passed the junction with Cutoff Road. I didn't drive it, but it heads NE and connects with the east loop road within a couple miles of the highway.

Little Death Hollow Trail

There were a number of cars and trucks parked the Little Death Hollow trailhead. I pulled in to see if an information board could give me an idea if there might be an interesting short hike for me. I lamented not researching this aspect before my trip. As I parked I noticed three ladies pulling their gear for backpacking out of a Sprinter van. I wished them a good morning and asked about their plans. They were headed out for two nights camping. They would go in this canyon and loop out on another.

I asked if they were familiar with the trail and if they had a recommendation for a short hike. I hadn't been adversely affected by my hike up North Mule Canyon the day before, but know my limitations. They responded that there was a very large rock to the side of the trail, about a mile and a half in, that had petroglyphs. This sounded ideal and one of the ladies read to me from their trail guide about it. 

The beginning of the trail.

As the canyon narrows, a large rock, but not the one.

They started out and I followed shortly after donning my Camelbak and camera gear. The wide canyon floor was sandy, with sagebrush, Mormon tea bushes, native grasses, and wildflowers. The trail was flat except the many times it crossed the serpentine arroyo that flowed through the middle. I saw a very large rock ahead in the middle of the canyon... but it was not the one. Later I spied an even larger rock and saw the three backpackers just leaving the site with a wave.

The backpackers continue on the trail after viewing the petroglyphs.

The position of the petroglyphs was uncommon, from my experience, as they were arranged along the very bottom edge of the rock barely above the ground. I wonder if over the span of time the canyon bottom filled in? It was a beautiful series of glyphs, mostly of animals such as deer and, perhaps, pronghorn; also a wild critter with four horns and two tails; and someone getting ready to club a lizard about half again as large as the person! The only downside is some imbecile had decided to carve their own words on the rock (which I have obscured using Photoshop in the image above). At least they didn't deface the petroglyphs. Sigh.

Click the photo for a larger version, then maybe enlarge your browser window, too.

I took a few photos of canyon features as I walked back to my truck. It was still cloudy. I had mentioned to the ladies that I wished for just a little sun, but they replied they were looking forward to hiking in the cooler temperatures. OK, I can see that.

Continuing on Wolverine Loop

Once back at my truck I had a light lunch before setting out to complete the loop road. I spotted a bit of a road leading into the next canyon to the west. I pulled in to check it out. I didn't drive to the end, which is only about 500', but one could camp there if needed. There were a few nice wildflowers and a blooming cactus, but not much else.

The next canyon to the west.

Fishhook cactus—don't get caught!

A top-down look at the fishhook cactus and its rosette of blossoms.

I'm always in awe of the delicate beauty of these Mariposa lilys.

About a mile farther along I was fascinated by a field of Navajo sandstone that had been deeply eroded over the years, perhaps eons. Looking at the satellite maps from home there appears to be a very large sheet that is exposed in this area at about 5700' elevation—an old sea bottom, perhaps. Storm water here would drain into Wolverine Creek. I took several photos trying to capture the narrow, deep fissures, but they don't come close to the reality of the scene. There was standing water way down there.

Parked beside the large strata of Navajo sandstone that has been deeply etched.

Carefully looking down into the fissure.

I also found what I would consider as a super-bloom of Evening Primrose and Golden Mariposa Lilies. Those familiar with super-blooms in California may scoff, but this was very cool.

I pulled into the Wolverine trailhead, but didn't stop. This is apparently a popular location to day hike to a petrified wood area. No collecting allowed. A place to explore another time.

I also turned off onto the road leading to Horse Canyon. This narrow canyon is much wetter than the other areas with many cottonwood trees. There is a clearing near the junction where folks have camped. The primitive road leads into the canyon. I started that way, but quickly turned around as it looked sketchy. I've found very little info subsequent to my trip. One report says it's an old cowboy road; another that it runs about 12 miles to an abandoned cabin.

Wolverine Bench—last landmark before turning north.

I should have taken at least a few photos of the last section of the loop road as I traveled out, but the light was poor and the scenery not very exciting. A section of the road was along a dry wash, so caution in rainy weather.

Note the entire loop road was in very good condition. There were a few small sections where you need to go slow and though high-clearance is recommended, it wouldn't have been necessary this time. Heavy rain, however, could cause trouble as long sections both east and west are through the bottoms of arroyos; and there is one section of clay that might be impassable. 

A last word on dispersed camping along Wolverine Loop Road. Other than the nice site I stumbled across, the only area where I saw a few possible campsites was between Little Death Hollow trailhead and Horse Canyon trailhead. There seemed to be several along there, but I did not explore them. I also didn't drive the Cutoff Road which connects the main loop a couple of miles down the eastern section to the southern section just east of Little Death Hollow trailhead. And just like the eastern section, there appeared to be two dispersed sites, suitable for travelers, near where the loop connects to the paved highway.

Continuing West on Burr Trail

Long Canyon is always a scenic drive, even in cloudy conditions. This time I remembered to stop at the semi-official vista point at the top, east end. The view is really too expansive to photograph, so I settled for just a small piece to share.

Looking east from the top before descending into Long Canyon.

When I got to the place where the highway climbs out of the canyon I swore I wouldn't stop for a photo like every other time... good intentions.

Looking up the canyon after the road climbs up and out.

Burr Trail comes out at UT-12 in the village of Boulder. I turned left and stopped at the Hills & Hollows Mini Mart/Sinclair Gas at the western edge of the village to fill my tank before continuing west. I didn't sample the fare at the Wild Indigo Cafe (which is a food trailer with a couple of picnic tables), but there were others there chowing down with enthusiasm.

Years ago I'd camped at the first dispersed campsite off UT-12 on Spencer Flat Road. The road had been recommended to me by the ranger at the Escalante visitor center. That day had been pouring rain with more to come and I enquired where I might camp without fear of getting stuck in the mud or washed away. It was a very nice spot, though close to a cattle guard on the highway that sang with every passing vehicle. Fortunately there was little traffic after dark. This trip I would explore a bit farther down that road to see if there were any good campsites, preferably with a view of the sandstone dunes to the east.

Spencer Flat Road

There were actually quite a few folks camped along the road, more than I'd seen yet on my trip. The "best" sites were already taken. The road was smooth and would not be a problem for passenger cars when dry. A little over four miles in I turned around as the road dropped down into a open basin, Big Spencer Flat. Heading back I turned into a site I'd passed on earlier as it had offered a choice of deep sand or uneven white sandstone. There was also a wide site on the other side of the road which I was sure would fill up with (possibly) noisy neighbors. (I did get a small RV and pickup truck as neighbors, but thankfully they were quiet.)

My level campsite

I chose the sandstone side and was actually able to position my camper perfectly level with no rocks or other assists. It turned out to be a good place to camp. There was a modest view of a Little Spencer Flat to the south and it had a small bluff to the east. I discovered a bit later that a short walk took me to the top of a modest cliff with a great view off to the northeast. My photo, below, doesn't do that view justice as there is no sense of the elevation differences. If only someone sold AR goggles with the capability of taking 3D photos. [wink, wink]

A northerly view from near my campsite.

Thursday May 18

Spencer Flat Road (continued)

Morning light with Little Spencer Flat in the background.

I woke up to clear skies, which was a delight. I crossed my fingers that it would stay that way for the rest of my trip. I leisurely broke camp with the idea of stopping at my old campsite just before the highway. I thought that might make a good spot to take my drone up for photos. 

Head of the Rocks

No one was in the site, so I could fly without disturbing anyone. I took a couple spherical panoramas and a series of stills. The pano turned out pretty well and conveys a little of the amazing sandstone vista. The 5 image pano turned out good, too, but I've never found an acceptable way to display a very wide aspect photo in this blog, so I'm afraid you won't get to see that.

View on the Kuula site or in the frame below, In either case, click the Full Screen icon in the upper right corner to get the full experience.

Head of the Rocks is the name of the overlook on UT-12 near the top, before the highway turns toward Escalante. So this is the name I've given to the whole amazing wide canyon of white and red sandstones. There's a spot at the eastern, lower edge where you can park off the highway, though it's not official. From there you can walk the sandstone south to get a spectacular view of the rock dunes if you wish.

The Hogback

I also stopped at one of the overlooks along The Hogback on the east side of the Escalante River to fly my drone. This is another amazing spot featuring the white sandstone, plus Calf Creek Canyon to the west. These photos came out well, though I was glad I took two spherical panoramas as one had fatal stitching errors. Still, an amazing job done by the M2P which is 5 year old technology at this point. One of the stills turned out good, complete with a distant Navajo Mountain with clouds looking like an erupting volcano.

Looking south along The Hogback. Enlarge to see Navajo Mountain on the horizon.

View on the Kuula site or in the frame below, In either case, click the Full Screen icon in the upper right corner to get the full experience.

Boulder Mountain

I drove through Boulder village and up across the mountain. I'd forgotten how high that gets — the pass is well over 9300' with small patches of snow still around. I'd researched a few of the campgrounds along this stretch as a "just in case." Glad I didn't need one as they were all still closed for "winter" despite what the Fishlake National Forest website displayed. There were clouds gathered over the mountain, perhaps unsurprisingly, and I could see rain falling to the east. I stopped at two vista points to take photos of the expansive vista across to Capitol Reef National Park and surrounds. Unfortunately, looking toward the sun with the rain and clouds the light was unforgiving. No way I could salvage those for you even with my advanced Photoshop skills. Maybe next time... or better yet, go see for yourself!

Go to Part 3 and Cathedral Valley