November 19/09 Spring Canyon Point/Hey Joe Canyon/10 Mile Wash

Today we set out to do the Spring Canyon Point Trail. This is a spur trail classified as easy with packed sediment, drift sand and slickrock. It would be best to describe this trail as a road and not a trail. It was wide and in some areas looked graded. The only actual trail we found was when we explored trails off this main one. It was on one of these little spurs that we came across the Secret Spire. This is a single sandstone tower that is perched on the rim of one branch of Spring Canyon. As you can see from the pictures, it is quite unique looking.

We took another spur which lead us to the rim of Hey Joe Canyon. This was the same canyon that we had explored with all the remains of a uranium mining settlement a few days ago.

We accessed the main road again and made it to the tip of Spring Canyon Point. From this overlook, the Green River can be seen 6500 feet below us. We could also see some of the trail that John and I were on when we did the Spring Canyon Trail.

This being a dead end trail, turned around and travelled back until we were at the trailhead for Freckle Flat Trail (also known as Dripping Spring). This trail was mostly sand and was a connecting trail to Tenmile Wash Trail. At one point along the trail John stopped and I took a picture of the drift sand. There is miles and miles of these waves in the sand. There was even some snow on the sand so I couldn't resist the opportunity to capture this as well. Yes there is snow in this desert. Tenmile Wash is a delicate riparian area. This is a sensitive area where fauna and flora live in a precarious balance. There were some fenced off areas for reclamation and signs to keep vehicles on the designated trails. There were old corrals in the area and a small "seep" from one of the sandstone cliffs. Apparently a very dangerous area when raining, as flash flooding occurs here regularly. It was here that we met a couple of cowboys out rounding up some cattle. (And here we thought we were alone!!) They had their horses, their dogs, their chaps and their bedrolls - just like in the old west!!

We carried on down the trail and eventually accessed Red Wash Trail. This trail was the prettiest trail of the day. It took us over a bit of white slickrock, white sand, red sand and red rock. The red colors were deep and rich. It was a color that you would not see in Saskatchewan. A color unique to Utah. We eventually accessed a road which ultimately led us to the highway and home. Although we saw some pretty sights today, none of these trails would really warrant another trip along them.