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| Dark Canyon |
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| Scorup Cabin |
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| Tuerto Canyon |
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| Ancient stove |
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| Indian Benchmark |
⦁ Blanding and Monticello each have a Family Dollar and supermarket. Blanding has a bigger supermarket but both are closed on Sunday. I didn't have any trouble with brush on the 10000+ peak hikes. Posted 2022.
⦁ ABAJO PEAK el 11360 has a good road all the way from Monticello. It turns to graded dirt at Loyds Lake and goes 11 miles to the summit as FR87. At 2 and a half miles along the way is where camps under the pines start at el 7900 with a Verizon signal. At mile 5.3 el 8750 there is a good spring on the left. Any ebike that can make it up can use OHV trail #52 to cut over to North Creek Pass then coast back to town. That trail starts where the topo shows and goes over peak 10660 where it gets rough. But an easier dirt bike trail skirts around the east side of that peak and and comes back to the OHV trail. SOUTH PEAK el 11122 can be climbed from Dickson Pass el 10452. I went up over peak 10988 on good but steep terrain. The final 300 feet has a game trail switching up it and topping out a few feet west of the reg. I retraced back to the north saddle el 10752 then walked level to the left on a trail then down to N37 48867, W109 27555 and on to the road at 49088, 27803 el 10350. That descent route is rocky soil and OK for downhill travel but I wouldn't care to go up it. That took 103 minutes with nearly 1000 gain. This peak has better views than Abajo. Posted 2022.
⦁ MOUNT LINNAEUS el 10969 can be done as part of a loop including peak 11010 and peak 11014. Take the maintained FR79 to FR354 which is easy 4wd and mtn bikeable. It ends at the Shay Ridge ATV trail el 10300 shown as #27 on the topo. The topo also shows trail #454 starting there but it's a fiction. It's easiest to follow the ATV trail to the south side of peak 11010 and climb that then go south on an ATV trail following a fence. It soon becomes a foot trail and skirts peak 110014 but it's an easy detour to that summit. Then the trail goes over peak 10998 and fades but it's easy to walk the bald ridge down across trail #15 and on up to Linnaeus. Trail #15 can be used for the return. It had a tiny stream crossing it in the next gully west of where the topo shows a spring. It's a 3 hour hike with about 1000 gain, no brush. Only peak 11014 had a reg. Posted 2022.
⦁ HORSEHEAD PEAK 11209 is a twin peak with both summits the same elevation down to the foot. I can't recall another such example. There are three ways up. Going up from North Creek Pass starts the highest but is steepest with talus. A second way is up from FR79 on a grassy slope into the main saddle between the summits. I went a third way up an east ridge. I walked FR5002 to the end then up the ridge thru a pleasant forest. At el 10900 I veered right to N37 51379, W109 28270 and leveled off over a talus field and on to the north summit. Then I went to the south summit and retraced back down. 2 and a half hours, 1500 gain, no brush. This is the best of the summer peaks in the range. Nearly pristine. The pipeline on the topo seems to be a fiction. Posted 2022.
⦁ TWIN PEAK EAST SUMMIT el 11012 has a dirt bike trail up from the north saddle. It's not legal to ride but that doesn't stop anybody. Dirt bike trail #20 starts where the topo shows and goes to the north saddle then it's easy to follow the outlaw trail on up. I walked from the summit directly east down near the treeline but that's too steep. Use the SE ridge. That took 70 minutes with 1000 gain. Posted 2022.
⦁ JACKSON RIDGE el 11164 is an easy climb from the OHV trail that connects North Creek Pass to FR87. The ridge from Cooley Pass has no issues. I started at North Creek Pass and it took me 90 minutes with 1000 gain. Posted 2022.
⦁ SHAY MOUNTAIN el 9989 has a bad ATV trail all the way. A paved road goes to Foy Lake (shown as Spring Lake on the topo) then FR104 is a major dirt road that goes on to FR5082 then to FR5081 and that ends at the Shay Mountain ATV Trail el 8350. I walked it to N37 55525, W109 33369 el 9500 where a closed trail goes on up. 3 hours, 1700 gain. 4wds and ebikes can easily make the 6 miles of dirt road from Foy Lake, but only when dry. The lake has dispersed camping and a restroom. Posted 2022.
⦁ TUERTO CANYON has a trail that is accurately shown on the topo. Cars can make it to the TH el 8100 on FR95. I walked the trail to a good stream el 7800 in the canyon. There are good camp spots under the pines along there. I came back by way of the trail in Trough Canyon. The only significant strain is the 600 gain back out of Tuerto Canyon. No recent cattle is one of the main attractions but that could change. Dirt bikes might show up on weekends. Posted 2022.
⦁ ATV trail #16 connects FR79 to FR84. I rode my 125 up FR79 then cut over to FR84 on the ATV trail then down to the highway and back to Blanding. I could do this on an ebike but would have to walk some rocky patches on the ATV trail but most are downhill. Posted 2022.
⦁ HAMMOND CANYON has two trails as the topo shows. A loop can be made down Posey Trail #116 and back on #12 and using a bike for a 5 mile shuttle.Trail #116 starts slightly north of where the topo shows and goes down to the stream el 6100 in Hammond Canyon with spectacular views along the way. It crosses to the far bank and is spotty, sometimes just in the creekbed. At N37 41896, W109 45163 there is a trail forking to the right. That goes to a ruin and is why most people come down the trail. It's a heavily used trail beyond there up to the TH. A gushing spring is near the ruin fork at 41981, 45288. Stay on the trail until reading 400 feet from it and cross the stream and go at it from the east. It took 6 hours, 9 minutes to walk from TH to TH with no side trips except to the spring. The gain is a bit over 2000 but a big chunk is along the easy canyon bottom. All roads and trails are on the topo but the trails are not exact and there are signs and cairns.This is one of the best trail hikes in the state.ONE WAY VERSION- starting at the #12 TH and walking all the way down to an exit near point 5710 is easier but less scenic. Below the junction with the Posey Trail there are animal trails on down along the stream. Near the exit point there is a trail on the far right edge leading to a game trail at 40460, 40263 el 5800. I went up and stayed left of peak 6228 and curved to FR5311 that leads to point 6188 on the south rim road where my cycle was parked. That took 6 and a half hours with 400 easy gain at the end in a nice pj forest. The app has it at 12.5 miles. I might have made it all in shorts but biting flies were out for the second half. Horses have been in the lower part but not lately. Posted June, 2022.
⦁ DARK CANYON has trails in the upper end that can be used for one way hikes. A shorter one is down trail #25 thru Horse Pasture then up trail #6 to The Notch TH. A bike can be used for the nearly 5 mile shuttle. Trail #25 runs way higher than the topo shows and a mile or more can be cut off. It runs past the end of FR5161 el 8500 and on north by a spring. FR5161 is a fiction but that route can still be walked down from FR5160 which is easy 4wd. Game trails drop off it at N37 47204, W109 47734 el 8550 and a route weaves down to the trail at 47219, 47827 el 8450. It may also be possible to find a route thru brush and hit the trail at the spring. Once on the trail it goes down and meets trail #6 at the Scorup Cabin and that goes up to The Notch. I didn't check for water around the cabin but Drift Trail Canyon had a tiny flow and next was a better flow along the trail at a fork east of point 7330. It took nearly 4 and a half hours for the hiking part. The 700 gain at the end plus a few trench crossings are the only parts that aren't easy. A lot of itchy grass is along the trails. Posted June, 2022.
⦁ DRY MESA BENCHMARK el 8835 has a game trail up the SW ridge from point 8201. FR108 runs 18 miles to it. It's maintained but has sand. The trail starts at N37 46442, W109 56648 and goes up the ridge staying right of center. The ridge levels off at el 8600 then there are paths left of center. I went to 46687, 56301 then 46773, 56141 then 46891, 56034 and walked under the pines to the BM at 47226, 55932. No reg. 96 minutes, 600 gain, very light brush. Nice hike. The road goes on another 3 miles to an abyss at Warren Canyon but not maintained. RIG CANYON is on the east side. It's an easy 20 minute stroll down that trail to the rim with a view of the canyon. Cooper Spring is kaput. Posted 2022.
⦁ FR79 is a major dirt road that can be used to drive over the mountains from Blanding to Monticello. Take 100 EAST out of Blanding. It goes paved for 8 miles. At mile 13 is Nizhoni Campground. At mile 22 is the first pass el 9691. At mile 27 is North Creek Pass el 10312. Then it's downhill to the paved North Creek Rd el 8500 at mile 31 then down to Monticello at mile 36. I could have drove a 2wd pickup all the way that day. Most of the route is good for ebikes. Camping is not allowed above el 8400. Posted 2022.
⦁ MONTEZUMA CANYON has a good dirt road down it for 35 miles. Take highway 191 to mp 66.6 about 5 miles south of Monticello. Turn on an improved road that runs for nearly 17 miles down the canyon where it becomes a graded as needed road. At mile 24 ruins and rock art start appearing including the Three Kiva Pueblo. At mile 35 there is T at the improved Perkins Rd. It goes nearly 19 miles to pavement at Blanding. I wouldn't count on taking a car thru but I could have that day. An ebike could coast down the first 35 miles then power up for the Perkins Rd. I didn't see any water not polluted by cattle but a cabin in the lower end had the best looking water crossing under the road. Posted 2022.
⦁ NORTH CREEK ROAD goes paved out of Monticello and cuts across the north side of the range to over 8000 feet then down to highway 211. Campgrounds and dispersed camps are along the way with a Verizon signal. One ebike loop ride is to ride up to Monticello Lake then turn right and coast down to highway 163 on a good dirt road. It's 3 miles back to town on a skinny shoulder. That loop is about 20 miles. Posted 2022.
