Today we did the Potash Trail. Classified as easy with the trail surface being packed sediment. Piece of cake right? Except for the 4 miles of shelf trail at the end of this particular trail - but alas, I'm getting ahead of myself.
The trail meandered along the course of the Colorado River. Very pretty and the colors had changed quite a bit since John and I had rode the pavement along the first stretch of this road a week and a half ago. The pavement ended and the actual trail started. It took us past the potash plant and beside huge redrock buttes. At one point we passed this huge balanced rock and of course, out came the camera. As we carried on down the trail, we came across these huge solar evaporation pools used by the mine. These shallow pools are where solutions of potash and other minerals are concentrated by solar evaporation before refining. They let the sun do most of the work!!
I took several pictures of the red sandstone rocks. There were so many different textures to the rock that I tried to capture it on the film. Some were jagged and looked like frills on a dress while others looked like petrified meringue. Still others were so smooth. The variety was incredible. All through this rock, desert varnish was more than apparent. This is the brown and black color that is splattered across the face of much of the redrock. It looks like someone took a can of dark varnish and poured it across the face of these mountains (much like you would drizzle icing onto a bundt cake). Although no one knows for sure how desert varnish forms, it is believed that when it rains a thin film of water streaks down the cliffs. The water contains iron and manganese picked up from the soil along the canyon rim or from the rock itself. Others believe that it is caused by bacteria living on the rock that has the ability to concentrate the iron and manganese on the surface. How ever it gets there really doesn't matter to me. It looks lovely and is abundant where ever you look.
We took a spur trail and after some classic Utah slickrock four wheeling, we ended up at the rim of an amazing gorge with the Colorado River far below. At one point on this trail we only had 3 tires on the ground with the passenger rear catching some air!! (not my cup of tea - especially when John says "Marie, go out there and stand on that bumper to hold the tire down" YEA, RIGHT!!). Perhaps one should be looking at the angle of the dangle before one proceeds John!! Long story short, we made it to the rim, took some pics and made it back to the main trail without incident. I stopped to pick up a couple of rocks that actually looked like lava. (Added weight in the back so that next time perhaps all four wheels will stay on the ground!!)
The main trail continued to follow the Colorado River gorge and eventually to the base of a high butte and into the Canyonlands National Park where it hooks up to the White Rim Trail.
From here it is 4.5 miles to the visitor center. The only problem with that is we are now at the base of the Shafer Switchbacks. GREAT, everyone by now knows how well I handle shelf trail and switchbacks. It wasn't long before I was praying to all the higher powers and, since there was a bit of snow on the trail, I added Santa Clause to the list!! John loves this kind of trail and was a bit disappointed that I didn't take many pictures on the way up. What a stupid man he is!! How can I take pictures and pray at the same time?? We did make it up and I vowed never to do these switchbacks again. John of course says that is a once a year thing "to do".
The Shafer Switchbacks were named for the cowboys that first used this route to herd their cattle up the mountain. They discovered this way by following an animal trail.
Back on road again we took the Gemini Bridges Trail home with a short spur into Bull Canyon. Both were nice trails and we were soon back home safe and sound.
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