San Rafael Swell, UT - May 2024: Part 3

In Search of the San Rafael Swell

Part 2 of 3

Begin with Part 1; go to Part 2

Click on any photo for a larger version—highly recommended

May 19th (continued)

Reds Canyon

After breaking camp I drove past Tomsich Butte and turned left, north, on Reds Canyon Loop Road. Just past the butte was the remains of an old truck, as one sees from time to time out in the boondocks. The truck carcass wasn't photogenic, but I liked the composition of the engine block sitting alone with the colorful cliffs behind.

Insert clever caption here ;-)

Looking north along Reds Canyon

Looking back the way I came

Despite this twist, the road was mostly straight along the tall cliffs

Is this straight enough for you?

The road runs fairly level for a while, slightly sandy and smooth, as it curves around the foot of the towering cliffs on the west. The canyon itself was off to the right. There was a long straight stretch, then it dropped down into the wash. The aroma of the blooming cliffroses was wonderful, though I didn't get a very good photo. 

Aromatic cliffrose

I stopped for an aerial panorama that I recommend you view full screen by clicking the symbol to the right of "INFO" or use the Direct Link.

Interesting formations to the west of the road

Here's where the road dropped into the bottom of the wash;
note how the water has eroded the sandstone over the years

Lucky Strike Mine

One of the noted side trips is a short jaunt to the Lucky Strike Mine and ghost town. I was cautioned that there is no sign, but if you know roughly where it is, it is easy to find the turn. The road is good, though keep a sharp eye out for crosscuts!!! They are hard to see and will mess you up if you hit one at speed. There are a bunch. The road dips into and out of a small wash several times, but it's probably only about a mile to the mine and town. It looks like folks had camped just beyond the town from time to time. If you wanted to really take the time to explore the mine that might be a good option.

Road to the mine area crossing an arroyo

Information sign

Does this qualify as a ghost town? The adits are above the white tailing at middle right

I took a few photos and flew the drone up for a panorama that turned out very cool—view full screen by clicking the symbol to the right of "INFO" or use the Direct Link.

Continuing along Reds Canyon Loop Road

The road, as it continues north, is interesting, though not as dramatic as the southern end. Watch out for oncoming traffic. After several more miles the road climbs up out of the canyon.

You can see the road is still in excellent condition

This side canyon looked interesting, but there is no road only illegal off route ATV tracks

Looking down where the road has climbed up out of the canyon

Just past Family Butte is a road north, but I didn't explore up that way, but continued on. Before long I was back in familiar territory.

Family Butte (a fair distance beyond this ridge)

BTW, I was informed by a friend on our White Rim Trail trip about a safety/courtesy protocol for groups of motorcyclists and/or ATV riders. I came across one group of each type on the loop road and they observed the procedure. Each rider holds up a hand with fingers extended for the number of riders behind; the final rider holds up a fist (no fingers.) It was good to see folks are still doing this.

Temple Mountain Road

I retraced my steps at this point and the conditions were favorable for a better photo of Temple Mountain. I stopped again at the campground next to the reef to re-inflate my tires.

Temple Mountain

On the Highway Southeast

I stopped again in Hanksville for gas then headed southeast on UT-95. The weather was no fun. There were strong winds kicking up large clouds of dust and the sky became overcast. I wondered if I was driving into the front that had just left the Swell. Although there was some oncoming traffic there was not a single vehicle going the same direction that I was. No one passed me and I passed no one the entire time.

I needed to decide where I'd camp for the night. I thought about Radium King Road, but the wind would be just too strong up on Moss Back. Or I could drive up into the Abajos to get out of the hot wind. However by the time I got to Cedar Mesa the temperatures were dropping. Perhaps I was coming up on the front. I thought about North Mule Canyon again. It's a lovely spot, but seemed too soon to return if I had other options.

Cedar Mesa

Then I thought to check my newly discovered campsite in the pines. If it was taken it would be easy enough to then go to Mule Canyon or explore along the road. The drive had been tiring, but it was not yet 4pm.

I turned off the highway where the road follows a ridge. The wind was making itself known. Not a day to camp up there, though I did see one small camp trailer. When the road dropped down off the ridge I was delighted to see the canyon site was unoccupied. The site has seen plenty of use, but it hasn't been over used, either. I am not going to spell out the name of the road here where the search engines will index it for the entire internet. You should be able to figure it out from my descriptions and photos or drop me an email if you'd like a name and directions.

Lovely campsite among the pines

Old tree above the rocks

I drove into the site, which looks like it could hold a small group, and backed onto a level spot. The ground is a little dusty and the wind was swirling a bit, but I was out of the strongest gusts. I did walk around the site a bit and followed one little trail up the canyon floor. It led to a pretty good sized shelf cave. I'm sure it was popular with the natives, but any artifacts were long gone. It showed lots of traffic and someone even left a little campfire ready to light. It looked like a great place for a few scouts to toast marshmallows and tell ghost stories. I meant to go back and get a photo, but forgot, sorry.

As it was cool and dusty I didn't sit outside long. It had been overcast, but around 7pm the wind dropped and the setting sun broke under the cloud layer to illuminate the area. I happily got out my camera and began exploring. It was an easy climb up the east side where I walked around the cryptobiotic soils and blooming cacti. I found a Bench Mark from 1958.

Looking down at my site from the canyon wall

Don't hug this fuzzy cactus

Sandstone "rivers" in the cryptobiotic soil

I don't know what species of fern this is, but there was a whole tiny colony

1958

Don't snag one of those fishhooks

Later that night I could hear the wind in the tall pines and it was way more than a whisper. 

Tuesday, May 20th

Cedar Mesa (continued)

I didn't wander far from the campsite as I wanted to get going. I did note the large number of pine cones that had blown off the trees and fallen to the bottom of the canyon. In a wetter era these might wash down and plant a new grove. These days, not much chance of that.

These cones looked like they had only recently fallen to the bottom of the wash

One of the many pines that had dropped copious cones

The Highway Home

I had to stop twice on UT-95 for road construction where they are replacing the bridges above the washes. Looks like they are straightening the roadway a bit, too, which is much needed. I followed my usual route and experienced more delays on US-64. These required Pilot Cars and longer waits, but not terrible. All this is on the New Mexico side which was getting to be in poor condition. I stopped in Shiprock for a green chile cheeseburger and fries. Yum! 

Hogback

I no longer take US-64 between Shiprock and Farmington as the Navajo bypass is so much more pleasant. But if you do, you probably noticed the highway is squeezed between the San Juan River and a large geological formation called a Hogback. It's peculiar and interesting to those of us who notice these things. You can get a good view of this formation from the Navajo route. The light was good this trip and the torn up terrain to its west showed up particularly well, so I stopped to take a photo. Due to the river and highway being at a lower elevation they don't show up in this image. You can see Ute Mountain on the horizon at left. I didn't photoshop the beer bottle and trash out of the photo as that's unfortunately indicative of the state of things. Here is an interesting PDF about a study on the hogback when they were widening the highway.

Hogback on the other side of the San Juan River

Home

I made it home without incident and with only a few light showers while on US-550. This was a terrific trip. I certainly recommend The Hondu area and the loop road which is easily traversed. I would also recommend April or early May before it gets too hot, or in the fall, and keep an eye on the weather as some sections would be difficult after heavy rain.

Thanks for your attention.

San Rafael Swell, UT - May 2024: Part 2

In Search of the San Rafael Swell

Part 2 of 3

This adventure began in Part 1

Click on any photo for a larger version—highly recommended

May 18th (continued)

The Hondu and Tomsich Butte

The road drops into the canyon where there is a fork. Reds Canyon Loop Road continues to the right. A sign points to the left for The Hondu (arch). This is where I wanted to go.

Tomsich Butte (pronounced Tom-sick, apparently) is infamous for its post WWII uranium mines. It didn't take long until I saw evidence of this. I read that all these claims are still active, but no one has operated the mines in a very long time. [When preparing this blog I was looking at a USGS topo map layer on CalTopo. Curiously, they must have scanned an actual map as it had hand-drawn additions. There were "Y" shaped symbols labelled with the word "adits". Looking this up I learned that is the term for the horizontal tunnels driven into the face of a mine to access the minerals.]

Uranium mines

A closer view showing the mine apparatus and adits

I was curious about this half-buried room; learned it was the old powder magazine

I continued along and soon came out into a broad flood plain dotted with large cottonwood trees and shrubs. The views of the spectacular cliffs and bluffs were all around—fantastic. I was very glad I'd left Hidden Splendor early and came here. There was one SUV-style jeep parked near a mine, but as I drove around looking for a campsite I saw no one else at all.

The Hondu (arch)

Passing the info kiosk and going straight, the road winds between trees and comes to a dead end at Muddy Creek. This looked like a great, shady place to camp, but it also seemed a little closed in to me especially as I wanted big views all around me. I turned around and explored farther, both west and east with what I recollected from the satellite map in mind.

There was a nice site along the road to the west, near the creek which, by the way, runs in a fairly deep narrow channel in the valley. I followed the road a bit farther, but it got narrow and possibly technical. I backtracked and headed out the east end of the road which ran though an area of red dirt. There were side roads leading to cottonwoods where others had camped, but none were calling to me. The road ends in a parking area for the Muddy Creek Trail. The trail leads to Hidden Splendor. In times of high water people float down; in times of low water they hike. It's about 16 miles long.

I drove back to the first road beyond the entrance and found a nice site next to a cottonwood with a commanding view all around. Excellent! I could have the roof-mounted solar cells in the sun, while I relaxed in the shade of the trees. Oh, yeah! It was very warm, but not as hot as the day before.

My campsite

I mostly sat in the shade enjoying the view. A few times someone would drive by in an ATV and stop at the creek for a while. I was glad I hadn't camped right there. Clouds started moving in during the afternoon. This was in line with the Future Radar forecast I'd seen on The Weather Channel before I left home. If that was accurate the clouds would leave tomorrow. 

I walked up to the mines I'd seen on my drive in for a closer viewing. I also read the sign put up by the historic preservation commission, which is how I learned how to pronounce Tomsich and that the little half buried building was the mining powder magazine.

The sun flashed and reflected off this rock which I'm assuming made of gypsum crystals

Along the base of Tomsich Butte

Nakedstem Sunray

Information sign (you might be able to read it if you click it)

I sent up the drone to get a spherical panorama, which turned out very good, though I did have to turn up the contrast due to the clouds. Be sure to view it full screen by clicking the symbol to the right of "INFO" or use the Direct Link

When I previewed the image on my laptop I noticed a rough road leading up to a bench midway up Tomsich Butte. That would be a good walk in the morning. I also noticed the grasses grew in circular colonies—apparently they spread out from a center.

Another view of my campsite showing the shade trees

Muddy Creek

Last of the day's blue sky as seen from my campsite

It was overcast by evening so no sunset to photograph.

Sunday, May 19th

The Hondu and Tomsich Butte (continued)

First thing in the morning I heard the whinny calls of a wild horse. I speculate that a stallion was calling to his mares to finish drinking from the creek and get moving. Cool to hear.

Start of a beautiful day

There wasn't much doubt in my mind that I would spend the day and another night here in this beautiful spot. The morning was gorgeous. I tried to photograph some of the wildlife.

A not so blue bluebird

Desert Cottontail

Audubon's Warbler

About 10am I set out to explore up the old road up to the butte. As I was walking along the road a van with two young women stopped to wish me a "good morning". They were with a group that was going to kayak down the creek to Hidden Splendor as soon as the rest caught up after dropping off their shuttle vehicles. They were pretty excited about it all and it did sound like fun. They staged and launched from the end of the road where I had wisely not set up my camp.

As I started up the old road I noticed the campsite I'd seen the day before was occupied, though they were packing up. The "road" is a designated route, but had deteriorated enough I doubt even an ATV could make it up. A trail bike had as I followed its tracks all the way up. The considerate rider did stay on the road and didn't wander off into native soil.

Left is the lower road near the referenced campsite and Muddy Creek;
on the right is the trail up the butte

Looking back toward the Hondu

Looking upstream toward the next valley

This is an interesting and relatively easy climb up through many different geological zones (if that's the right term.) I especially marveled at all the rounded cobble-sized stones, evidence of long ago rivers. And the views were great which I tried to capture with my camera.

The road split and I followed the eastern branch that lead around the "front" side of the butte. I was hoping I'd be able to spy the mines I'd seen yesterday as I thought it would be fun to photograph them from above, too. Indeed the road did pass above them and I was able to walk out to a point to get a good view. The road began to disappear beyond here, so I was satisfied. My workout app showed I'd climbed 264 feet (and when I got back to camp: 1.96 miles.)

Looking southerly along the line of bluffs toward Hidden Splendor

Looking down at the uranium mines

Another view from the ledge showing the valley and what I named the "stubby mitten" butte;
in the foreground was a lump of orange mineral

On the way back down the trail I photographed this "natural concrete"

The clouds persisted though the day, but at least it wasn't overcast. I relaxed in camp with short walks to look around and even got in a short nap. Interestingly, there were fewer tourists in their ATVs than yesterday. By late afternoon some of the clouds began to look threatening and I wondered if there might be a rain storm, but I was spared anything more than a sprinkle. It partially cleared toward evening.

Dark clouds behind the "stubby mitten"

One bloom today; 25 coming soon

I don't think I've shown you this view yet; I was intrigued by the pinnacle on top

I also thought to myself that it was peculiar that Hidden Splendor, at the dead end of a long difficult road, was full of campers, while this gorgeous spot on an easy road was hardly visited. Maybe this was the place that was lightly visited according to the articles I'd read.

Sunset

There wasn't a classical sunset with reds and oranges, but the sky was absolutely beautiful as the sun passed behind the cliffs. This was emphasized by the rise of the almost full moon.

Moon over the stubby mitten

Monday, May 20th

The Hondu and Tomsich Butte (continued)

This morning I decided to take a short walk along the road to the west, upstream, and check out the area beyond where I turned around due to the sketchy road on Saturday. I walked up the road noting the gap between the rocks could be negotiated by a less than full size vehicle; the sides of the rocks were black with rubber, however. There was a dip or two that would take extra care, but was passable.

The next "valley" upstream

The next "valley" looked much the same as where I had been staying, though I liked my views better. Still, if the main valley was too full, this might be an option. I discovered a couple in a Lexus SUV with a rooftop tent camped there with their big friendly dog. They'd made it through without any big problems. They were interesting to talk to. They mentioned the road didn't go much farther so I wished them a good trip and headed back to my camp after taking a photo of the valley.

Brown-headed Cowbird

This had been a great place to camp. I loved sitting under the cottonwood trees and admiring the tall sandstone bluffs all around, but it was time to break camp and head out. First I'd explore the rest of Reds Canyon Loop Road, then begin the journey home.

Continued in Part 3