Immagini Belle : paesaggio, natura selvaggia, a passeggio, collina, avventura, valle, catena montuosa, montanaro, cresta, vertice, geologia, altopiano, abbattere, lago, holeintherockroad, landform, henrymountains, Passo di montagna, tripreport, mcmillancampground, caratteristica geografica, morfologie montane 5341x3454

Getting to Escalante and Back, Part I There are basically two ways to get to Escalante, Utah, from Placitas, New Mexico. Due to the mighty ravine carved out by the Colorado River and the existence of the Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, there is no direct route. Both routes start out the same; one proceeds up US550 from Bernalillo to Bloomfield, then over to Shiprock on US64 to the Arizona state line. Then, past Teec Nos Pos, the route splits. One way turns north to Bluff, Utah, and almost to Blanding where it turns and runs northwest through the NRA up to Hanksville. Then through Capitol Reef it proceeds to Torrey, where the route drops down to Boulder and then west again to Escalante. The other route continues west through northern Arizona, from Teec Nos Pos, past Kayenta and over to Page. From there it runs north into Utah and then west to Kanab, up past Bryce Canyon, and then back east through Henrieville and into Escalante. There are several variations to these basic routes, with shortcuts on dirt roads of various quality; but however you slice it, you will arrive in Escalante about ten hours after leaving Placitas, give or take an hour. For last week’s trip I decided to split it into a two day affair. I took the eastern route through Bluff. For some time I have been aware of a shortcut through the Henry Mountains called the Bull Creek Pass Scenic Backway that turns west about 20 miles south of Hanksville. It’s 45 miles of dirt road that exits onto Notom Road, which you can then take to the Burr Trail and on to Boulder and Escalante. The Henry mountains are a north-south spine that runs for maybe 50 miles and are the last-explored part of the continental US. McMillan Springs Campground sits about 25 miles in along the Scenic Backway. I decided to camp there for the first night. I am no stranger to rugged mountain roads. This one started out smooth and flat but soon rose into the steep mountains. There were several intersections that weren’t well marked, but I could usually guess the correct one to take. Then I arrived at a gate and a big sign with warnings about private property and DO NOT ENTER and PROPERTY OF XXX MINE and so on. At this point the road was narrow and bermed up pretty high on both sides, so turning around looked to be a problem. The gate was open and I decided to continue on despite the warnings, until I could find a wide enough spot to turn the truck around. After about a quarter of a mile a crewcab pickup truck truck followed by a dump truck came down in the opposite direction. So I bit the bullet and back-and-forthed the truck for what seemed like five minutes until I got it turned around. After exiting the private property, I stopped and went back to ask the folks in the pickup truck if they could tell me how to get to the campground. I found two wiry young guys with huge bushy black beards like the men on a Smith Brothers cough drops box. The driver had a twinkle in his eye and a broad smile as I spoke. After hearing my question he turned to the other person and they both smiled at each other. Neither said anything. Finding this to be a bit creepy, I apologized and turned away, when the back window of the truck rolled down and another man explained that I had missed a turn about a mile back. I thanked him and hastily departed. I easily found the turnoff that I had missed earlier. A sign was clearly visible from this direction, but not from the original direction. The road ascended steeply over two passes. At times my speed was slower than walking pace. It was very rutted and bumpy. (One thing I’ve noticed about my new Tundra is what when the wheels lose traction, a power limiter kicks in that prevents the wheels from spinning. Sometimes you just need to throw some rocks to continue your forward motion, and it’s disappointing to push down on the gas pedal in those situations and nothing much happens. I guess I won’t be turning any donuts on the Interstate!) Eventually I began to wonder if I might be lost again. So I stopped and put the campground GPS coordinates into my Garmin. It was about 300 yards away, just around the next curve. The campground was typical BLM, with picnic tables, fire pits, and a pit toilet. Surprisingly, there were several other parties there. The next day I found that the rest of the route down to Notom Road was not nearly as bad as the first part. I suspect the other visitors had come from that direction. In terms of getting to Escalante, this road is a shortcut in distance but vastly longer in time. I will not be taking it again. The views, though, were nice. Well, maybe I could talk myself into trying it once more. The next day I took the Wolverine Trail loop road from the Burr Trail and stopped at the Little Death Hollow trailhead, where I made a 14-mile hike down the slot canyon and back. It wasn’t a difficult hike. As I returned I found a young woman from Colorado at the trail head preparing to spend the night and hike the slot the next day. We chatted for a while and then I left and spent the night a couple of miles away in the truck. The next day it was on to Escalante to fill up the truck and proceed 42 miles down Hole in the Rock Road to the Willow Gulch trailhead, where I put on the heavy pack and hiked down to Broken Bow Arch. To be continued ...

La foto ad alta risoluzione gratis paesaggio, natura, natura selvaggia, a passeggio, montagna, collina, avventura, valle, catena montuosa, montanaro, cresta, vertice, geologia, altopiano, abbattere, lago, holeintherockroad, landform, henrymountains, Passo di montagna, tripreport, mcmillancampground, caratteristica geografica, morfologie montane

, prese con un DSC-RX100M3 01/23 2017 La foto scattata con 26.0mm, f/5.0s, 1/640s, ISO 100