Utah trip - day 4 - May 7, 2022 (Sa)
Norm and I both were up about 6:00 and no one else was stirring. We had already loaded our bikes into the truck the evening before and now we packed up our tents and other equipment, ate breakfast and double-checked things before we left. By the time we were ready to leave, others were up and about.
We drove out of the Temple Mountain campground area, heading east, and then turned south and then again back west. We stopped a little before 8:00 in the parking lot for the trail head for the Little Wild Horse and Bell Canyons, somewhat near Goblin Valley State Park. (Another web page for these canyons.) We were fed, watered, and rested and ready for an 8 mile loop. Going counter-clockwise, we would go up Little Wild Horse canyon and then hike to the opening of Bell canyon and back to complete the loop. We were done about noon.
Map of loop
Starting the loop
There were many "S" curves within this canyon
Sometimes obstacles blocked the narrow path
It was nice to be mostly shaded
A couple with a dog caught up and passed us and now ahead of Norm.
The texture of the walls was always interesting to view
This part of the wall seemed to have some iron portions.
This photo shows two distinct types of rocks embedded together
This is the view of the region at the top of the loop between the two canyons
Intersting gnarled tree in the same region
I think this is the opening to Bell canyon
A site within Bell canyon
An old but stunted cottonwood. These were a common occurrence.
Same tree from afar
Forecast for this region for the rest of the week
From there, we got back on UT 24 and headed north to Green River. We ate at a Subway there (with me foolishly bringing in one of my bike water bottles to fill up and I left it there) and stopped briefly at a grocery store. We then took I-70 east to the exit for Canyonlands National Park, driving south from there. There were three campsites on BLM land that we were going to check out. The one closest to the park entrance, Cowboy Camp Campground was small (6-8 sites), only allowed tents (a plus for us), but it was full. Next, we backtracked to Horsethief Campground. This had one side with tents, trailers, RVs and one side with tents only. As it was midday on Saturday, we did not have high hopes of finding a place, but there were actually at least 5 empty sites. Our first choice (#3) had some shelter for the tents and table from the strong winds that were blowing (and expected to continue), and so we settled in. After registering the site ($10/night), we set up our tents and then did some biking on the local trail system (which was actually somewhat extensive). We ate supper, talked about the next two days before we were to ride the White Rim Road, read parts of a booklet on the White Rim and just rested some.
Published 2022-05-20