Road Trip - Day Two

The second and final day of the road trip we got up early and were on the road shortly after six am. We drove south out of Hanksville on highway 95 for about 10 miles, then cut off on a dirt road to the west. There are several ways to get where we were going and we eventually ended up on Sawmill Basin Road which leads into the heart of the Henry Mountains. The road is pretty rough at first, the soil has been washed out by recent rains leaving mostly rocks. As you climb higher the road improves and so does the scenery. The bare Mount Ellen ridge line loomed above us, bathed in sunlight as the sun rose behind us. It looked awesome. The vegetation changed from desert to Juniper and Pinion, to pine and aspen lush with grass.

As we reached the higher elevations we began to see deer in abundance. At first it was does and fawns, then bucks! The first group of bucks had 6 ranging from small to medium. They were only 50 or so yards off the road and they ate and glanced at us without fear as I got out and took pictures. Further along we saw more bucks. Some far away on the top of the ridge looked large as they raised their heads to show off their huge antlers. Rounding a corner we came upon another herd. This group had 13 bucks, some of them nearing trophy size.

Another bend or two in the road and we reached our destination, the Mount Ellen trail head. We parked and loaded our pack and headed out the ridge. The hike was fairly easy though you could tell the air was thin at 10,500 feet. Around another bend we spotted another herd of bucks, 14 in all. There were some monsters in this group. I watched them through the binoculars for a while, took some photos, then continued on up the trail. We also saw two coyotes, a couple of marmots and a horny toad!

Arriving at what we thought was the high point, Ellie decided to wait rather than risk turning an ankle on the loose rock. I went on to fine that actual high point was two more peaks to the north, about 1/3 mile further. I quickly hiked over to it, took some photos, signed the log and joining Ellie returned to the vehicle.

Our road trip continued, leaving the Henry Mountains by continuing on the same road to the west which eventually lead us to the bottom and a junction at a place called Sandy Ranch. Here we took the Notum Road to the south for about 20 miles where it meets the Burr Trail. We are back in Capitol Reef National Park for a few miles, and they are spectacular. The road here makes the switchbacks to the Zion Tunnel look like kid's stuff, and this is a dirt road! It winds through awesome rock formations and where it finally leaves the park we find asphalt again. About this time Ellie is thinking we should call this a Dirt Road Trip!



The Burr Trail is about 40 miles of road winding through a spectacular part of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and ending up at highway 12 in the town of Boulder. Highway 12 from Boulder to Escalante is equally spectacular. It is 30 miles carved through mostly solid rock, and in places there is just the width of the road with drop offs of several hundred feet on both sides.

In Escalante we stopped at the telephone office and visited with a friend Brant Barton. We wanted to also say hello to Mark Mclemore but I guess he heard us coming and disappeared. After lunch at the local park we paid a visit to old friends Dan and Lois Spencer, then headed on, passing through Henriville, Cannonville, Tropic, Bryce Canyon and Red Canyon, eventually connecting to highway 89. We went down 89 to Todd's Junction and took highway 14 over Cedar Mountain to Cedar, then I-15 to exit 24 and highway 144 back to New Harmony, arriving

around 8:00pm.

If you have read this far you are probably fairly bored with all the highways and directions, I guess I included that as much for my memory as anything. I thought it was a great trip. We got to see a lot of new country, I got to bag a couple of county high points, and we were able to do it together. I especially loved seeing the bucks and am now trying to figure out how to get a tag and someone to hunt there with me. (Joel, hope you read this). Watch for another blog in the near future with some 'big buck' photos.