Moody
Needs to get out more
I am back the 21st for meetings and all the legal crap, but I don't start until the 26th.
(checking the other thread)
Skyline Drive/Great Western Trail – Tucker to Salina, Utah 120 miles of dirt roads.
- Thread starter ttora4runner
- Start date
I am back the 21st for meetings and all the legal crap, but I don't start until the 26th.
(checking the other thread)
Skylinerider
Adventurer
When we stayed at the guard station, the only bugs were a few horseflies.
spressomon
Expedition Leader
Nice post and pics! I've had this trail on my "list" for a couple years. Hopefully I'll get on it some day!
ttora4runner
Expedition Leader
Update: Camping Trip 8/23/09
At the beginning of the month I ran central portion of Skyline Drive between Tucker and Salina, Utah but due to a time constant (had to meet my mother before she flew back home) and the loom of night I opted for baja speed to make it back. Leaving the southern portion of the trail undocumented (for my sake)and thus a camping trip was in order to photograph the rest of the area. I already had an area in mind to spend the night of said trip a little lake near the end of the trail.
As luck would have it (I fiqured it might happen, partly due to an error on my part)the dispatcher for my work had forgotten that I wasn't going to here this weekend and I had to remind her that I wasn't going to be. Needless, to say I got my butt chewed a little but I didn't really care since there was some information left out when I was hired on about time off (namely being married to my cell phone/work 24/7: schedule issue, etc.). Ultimately, I was still able to get off and the trip was still on (got to love last minute issues).
Saturday, I headed out the door to Tucker (felt kind of bad since dispatch needed me to work and someone had to give up their weekend. We've been busy at work – had about a 15+ hour of O/T). Along the the way I thought about skipping Skyline and to head to the Moab area instead (Arches) but I hadn't budgeted gas money or planned for it. So I stuck to the orginal plan.
Since I was last at the Tucker rest stop a lot had changed (lots of earthwork done) and new route had been temporaryliy built to access Skyline Drive. For the first two sections of this trail I really didn't take too many photo's since I had done so in my first trip but I did manage to explore down to ridge lines (one with off-camber and nasty in the mud, the other had ups and downs to being then head back down the canyon). The number of hunters/atv's had nearly doubled since I was here last and the road had grown extremely dusty in some area's.
The difference a little less than a month can make:
Before
After
Garret Ridge
Johnson Ridge (a little off-camber in areas and would nasty in the mud)
Gooseberry Reservoir (pardon the CB antenna)
At the beginning of the month I ran central portion of Skyline Drive between Tucker and Salina, Utah but due to a time constant (had to meet my mother before she flew back home) and the loom of night I opted for baja speed to make it back. Leaving the southern portion of the trail undocumented (for my sake)and thus a camping trip was in order to photograph the rest of the area. I already had an area in mind to spend the night of said trip a little lake near the end of the trail.
As luck would have it (I fiqured it might happen, partly due to an error on my part)the dispatcher for my work had forgotten that I wasn't going to here this weekend and I had to remind her that I wasn't going to be. Needless, to say I got my butt chewed a little but I didn't really care since there was some information left out when I was hired on about time off (namely being married to my cell phone/work 24/7: schedule issue, etc.). Ultimately, I was still able to get off and the trip was still on (got to love last minute issues).
Saturday, I headed out the door to Tucker (felt kind of bad since dispatch needed me to work and someone had to give up their weekend. We've been busy at work – had about a 15+ hour of O/T). Along the the way I thought about skipping Skyline and to head to the Moab area instead (Arches) but I hadn't budgeted gas money or planned for it. So I stuck to the orginal plan.
Since I was last at the Tucker rest stop a lot had changed (lots of earthwork done) and new route had been temporaryliy built to access Skyline Drive. For the first two sections of this trail I really didn't take too many photo's since I had done so in my first trip but I did manage to explore down to ridge lines (one with off-camber and nasty in the mud, the other had ups and downs to being then head back down the canyon). The number of hunters/atv's had nearly doubled since I was here last and the road had grown extremely dusty in some area's.
The difference a little less than a month can make:
Before
After
Garret Ridge
Johnson Ridge (a little off-camber in areas and would nasty in the mud)
Gooseberry Reservoir (pardon the CB antenna)
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ttora4runner
Expedition Leader
The third and final section the vehicle traffic/number of people had die off, except where there was an access road to a city, which made traveling a little easier. The goal was to reach the lake by 5:00 pm. Again, I didn't take too much time to stop and take photo's since I had done so previously but I did manage to hit a side trail or two that I didn't the first time around. I ended up reaching the lake a little after 5 and after a little exploring I found my camp for the night.
Horseshoe Flats
-Taken from an overlook on Horseshoe Flats. There's a hiking trail just right past where I took the photo.
Shameless vehicle plug
The lake I saw on my first trip around that just called to be camped at:
Camp for the night (the lake from close up). It was fairly quite except for the occasional laugh from the campers across the lake.
Horseshoe Flats
-Taken from an overlook on Horseshoe Flats. There's a hiking trail just right past where I took the photo.
Shameless vehicle plug
The lake I saw on my first trip around that just called to be camped at:
Camp for the night (the lake from close up). It was fairly quite except for the occasional laugh from the campers across the lake.
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ttora4runner
Expedition Leader
My view of the lake from here:
Found this little guy while cleaning out the fire pit – any idea what type of Salamander he is?
Don't worry he wasn't harmed. He was taken about 50' from my camp and place in the grass.
Found this little guy while cleaning out the fire pit – any idea what type of Salamander he is?
Don't worry he wasn't harmed. He was taken about 50' from my camp and place in the grass.
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ttora4runner
Expedition Leader
With a nice 6am wake up call (went to bed about 830pm the night before being exhausted from work and driving), I was packed and back on the trail about 700 am. During the night storm clouds had rolled and was littley sprinkling when I had reached the main trail. Luckily, that all it was and it didn't last long. The final stretch of the trail wounded back though the aspens, open field then back down into cedar/juniper trees before hitting the main stretch of road back home.
Island Lake
Ended up becoming a sheep herder you a few hundred feet. Tons of sheep to right of the photo.
Island Lake
Ended up becoming a sheep herder you a few hundred feet. Tons of sheep to right of the photo.
ttora4runner
Expedition Leader
Another shameless vehicle plug. The section though the aspens and back to the main road would be a blast in a rally car.
Detour #1 -
Detour #2 (tried to get a fully 360* view but a small portion of the photos came out to dark to stich together) -
Detour #3 -
Detour #1 -
Detour #2 (tried to get a fully 360* view but a small portion of the photos came out to dark to stich together) -
Detour #3 -
ttora4runner
Expedition Leader
Rock formation that caught my eye -
In the end it was a great trip and sorely over due: completely, forgot about around lunch time and din't think of it today until dispatch called me today with my work assignment for tomorrow. A future trip will be in the works but when and where I will have to see (Moab, Zions/Bryce - hikig here). What I do know is that I hope I don't come across groups of ATV riders/hunters stopping in the middle of the trail or coming around the corners at crazy speeds or seeing people falling trees across the roadway to chop up for fire wood.
Hopefully, next time I'll have some company. People give you weird looks when you talk to yourself “Wilson!!!!!!”.:smilies27
Rest of the photos can be found here (233 photo's taken most for panaromic photos, the others didn't make the cut): http://s162.photobucket.com/albums/t257/wormholegamma/Skyline Drive 8-1-08 GWT/Camping Trip/
In the end it was a great trip and sorely over due: completely, forgot about around lunch time and din't think of it today until dispatch called me today with my work assignment for tomorrow. A future trip will be in the works but when and where I will have to see (Moab, Zions/Bryce - hikig here). What I do know is that I hope I don't come across groups of ATV riders/hunters stopping in the middle of the trail or coming around the corners at crazy speeds or seeing people falling trees across the roadway to chop up for fire wood.
Hopefully, next time I'll have some company. People give you weird looks when you talk to yourself “Wilson!!!!!!”.:smilies27
Rest of the photos can be found here (233 photo's taken most for panaromic photos, the others didn't make the cut): http://s162.photobucket.com/albums/t257/wormholegamma/Skyline Drive 8-1-08 GWT/Camping Trip/
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cruiseroutfit
Well-known member
Blue Lake is a rocking place to camp, we've camped in the exact spot you parked your rig 
Skyline does get a ton of traffic, but given its huge span its still pretty easy to find a nice place to tuck in for the night.
Great trip report!
Skyline does get a ton of traffic, but given its huge span its still pretty easy to find a nice place to tuck in for the night.
Great trip report!
ttora4runner
Expedition Leader
Blue Lake is a rocking place to camp, we've camped in the exact spot you parked your rig
I was surpised of the lack of bugs at the lakes. I was expecting to get pesttered with bugs but not so.
I do reget not bring my fishing pole though.
Next, time around I need to get a sleeping pad. It's not very comfortable sleeping with one of the cargo tie down loops in you back.