Horseshoe Canyon

It is part of the National Park System, so, for that reason, it should be banned.  But VSO has wanted to see the Great Gallery for many years and I did say, in a moment of ill-judged bravado, that I would take her there mid-week, during the winter.  So, we went today.  I can't imagine what it is like during camping season because there were loud, fast-driving tourists in abundance.  The road is good and, I don't know, there is probably cell service:  Remote workers?  At any rate, I did my duty and need not return.

Aside from the world famous rock art, what caught my attention were the winter cottonwoods.  I made a lot of pictures of pictographs, but I probably made more pictures of trees.  I can almost forgive the Disney crowds if they are coming to see these beauties.  More images here.

Farnsworth

Today, all three of us started up Farnsworth Canyon.  After 90 minutes, when we were nearing the top, EDO and I decided to try climbing over the saddle and into North Temple Wash.  VSO agreed to return to GC2, parked at the mouth of Farnsworth, and drive shuttle to the mouth of North Temple.

It worked perfectly:  EDO and I scrambled to the top, dropped off the rim, and hustled down the road.  We popped out of North Temple Wash and found GC2 waiting, just as the sun set.  A seven mile loop.

Rim Winds

With EDO, I climbed one of the canyons to the rim this afternoon.  We got there just as the sun set.  It was beautiful.

It was also cold.  We've got the Carbon County north wind with us for the next few days.  Thirty miles an hour with chills in the teens.

Rock Art Hunting

This week, VSO wanted to go rock art hunting.  All three of us went to the Ferron Box and to the Molen Seep.  There are other places, like Short Canyon, but we didn't have time for them.

I bet we saw 30 or 40 rock art panels at the two sites—from single figures to complex tableaux—but this one (above) may have been the most beautiful and interesting.  Guarding one of the panels along Ferron Creek was this horned owl (below).

Cmas Tree '23

We got a late start on the Christmas tree this year.  But, once we reached the woods, we didn't have any difficulty picking one.  As soon as VSO saw this little beauty, it became her top choice.  Normally, the subalpine fir is tall and narrow, but this one is short and full.

Tracks

Yesterday I went up the Second Water Trail for an hour before sunset.  All was normal except for the tracks.  There were plenty of boot tracks for the first mile and several of them continued up the trail at the point where I turned back.  It seemed strange.  It is a long way from town.  Who is walking around out there in the crusty snow?

Gap-like

When we first moved to Iron County in 2008, there were several small washes between the Little Salt Lake and the Parowan Gap that we used to walk in, sometimes every day.  You could go out for an hour and walk to the top of the Red Hills and not see or hear anything.  Then, as the population of Iron County boomed and the motorized use spread, especially during the COVID induced outdoor recreation infestation, people started pushing the motors up the washes.  Motorized recreational vehicles have become so powerful that they can go just about anywhere, even up steep narrow washes that you wouldn't expect.  With the motors comes the trash.  If you have to carry it, you're not so trashy.  But, if the vehicle carries it, why not?  Beer cans, toilet paper, mustard squeezies, old TVs.  Finally, I quit.  The zone is banned and I won't go back.

The cross country motorized use in Carbon County is just as bad, or possibly worse.  But rough country can stop the motors if it is steep enough.  Yesterday, I was out by Pinnacle Peak and I parked the Chev to look at this little canyon.  Lower down there were a couple of hand-over-hand rock falls that were pretty steep and, about halfway up, was a 25 foot pour-over that was too sheer to climb, even on foot.  I found a cheater route up the side wall and made it to the top.  It was quiet in the late day sunshine, and not much more than 30 minutes from the truck:  A Gap-like out-n-back without the motors.  On the other hand, Carbon County is one big gas field.  At the top of the canyon was a well pad with a pump jack!