Shannon Visits the Central Part of Utah
Ever get and itch that must be scratched?
I get them all the time. Its called wander lust. I think in a past life I may have been one of those unnamed voyagers that discovered America centuries before it was fashionable and we were considered idiots for leaving Norway. Then again maybe my boat sank just as we plunged off the edge of the Earth.
Well this particular itch is in a part of central Utah most people never visit. They get close but the lure of Capitol Reef National Park to the South and the San Rafael Swell to the north distract them so its largely left alone. Not much to do there really but drive insanely fast down your own personal race course for miles and miles and miles.
Okay sounded good to me, itch itch itch. Off I go to the small town of Fremont. You are not alone if you have never heard of it but it does exist. Fremont is located North of Loa and east of Capitol Reef NP and south of I-70 which splits Utah like the Mason-Dixon line.
From Fremont I cruised a decent enough dirt road up Thousand Lake Mountain and crossed the soon to be famous Great Western Trail which will eventually run North to South Canada to Mexico. Unfortunately large segments are 50″ or less. I didn’t care I was there for a different itch. So I’m sitting there enjoying a vista stretching east over the horizon and looking directly into Cathedral Valley of Capitol Reef National Park I’m thinking how great it is to see this alone, in peace without a bunch of other riders. Ah that feels good. Scratch, scratch.
Of course nothing wonderful lasts all that long as I hear the distant familiar rumble of ATVs. More than one to be sure but the forest can deceive you on such things. I wait and eventually a line of ATVs emerge from the Great Western Trail. About 40 rigs all equipped for a long haul. Suddenly I start recognizing rigs and riders and realize I have stumbled into “The Big Ride” led by my older brother Gary and his ATVUtah pals, an annual event covering 300-400 miles. So much for my solitude.
After they finally leave and I am left alone and I have time to contemplate important things. Things like the name “Thousand Lake Mountain”. Here is a bit of trivia. There are only a few lakes, ponds really, on Thousand Lake Mountain. In fact Thousand Lake Mountain is covered with huge boulders. I mean really big truck sized boulders and billions of smaller boulders. And to the south is another mountain. They are separated by the Fremont River which also cuts Capitol Reef National Park in half. The other mountain is “Boulder Mountain”. Well as it happens these two mountains traded names. Not on purpose mind you but once upon a time the mountain I was on was aptly called Boulder mountain (it fits better), and the mountain to the south was call “Thousand Lake Mountain”, because it has like a thousand lakes. Makes sense to me. So how did this happen? Its not like one sued the other to change its name. It seems that when the cartographer was making the maps of this remote area he somehow interchanged the names. And you know our government. It just stayed that way. Anyone need a cause to rally behind? Yes, my mind works in deep and mysterious ways.
Enough of this cool mountain air. Who wants to hang out at 10,000 feet on a perfect blue sky day when you can launch down the mountain and be in the 106 degree desert in 30 minutes? Me apparently…thats what happened. Note to self, remember sunscreen next time. This is a scary ride in spots, the edges seems to drop off a long way in areas. In others it spans a ridge top and drops off on both sides. But it is a wide fast road with good traction that sort of begs for more speed. I oblige. Scratch scratch. Soon enough the Aspen trees thin out and then firs are replaced by Juniper and the alpine meadows turn to sparsely vegetated sand and rock and near the bottom there is only enough water for the salt grass and sage. But the road gets wider and sandier and my foot seems to inch forward on the throttle. The distance you can see gives you confidence of not meeting a surprise on a blind corner. Scratch, scratch.
After an hour or so I have to start making decisions, which way to go. So many options. Aw just pick one. I do. Its a great decision. I’ve run out of throttle and my mind wanders towards strange things like turbos, and Webbers and performance exhaust and I have to contemplate often just how quickly can I slow down? Ah slow is for another day.
There are plenty of offshoot roads in this area, nearly all the ones to the south drop into Capitol Reef National Park. Not worry the Park Service is nothing if not hard at work putting up signs to make you keenly unwelcome. And so it goes. I stay north and I’m not disappointed. From here you can easily ride into the San Rafael swell but after a long day of cooking in the August desert heat I head back up the mountain to sleep in the cool air at 10,000 feet. Scratch, scratch, scratch.
By Shannon Bushman. Shannon is the author of the “Paiute ATV Trial Guide”. He can found anywhere from Colorado to California driving recklessly and shooting video or broadcasting LIVE from the trail for XXXoffroad. Check out XXXoffroadTV on the front page of XXXoffroad.com.
Category: Featured, Trail Rides
