3 Seasons

April 5, May 10-11, and June 27-28 2014

Logan Peak, Coyote Gulch, and Steam Mill Lake
Logan Peak Gallery and Video

Coyote Gulch Gallery and Video

Steam Mill Lake Gallery and Video

We live in a dynamic place and find that seasons vary considerably. It has been a busy year. We have many more words to describe our experiences at these 3 places but will leave most of the descriptions to the photo galleries.

  

Climbing Logan Peak at the end of winter was one of the more grueling day trips Melody and I have taken, 10 miles roundtrip and about 5000 feet of elevation gain. The bottom of Dry Canyon was virtually snow free, while the top of the peak had about 9 feet of the fluff. As soon as we made our way out of the canopies of evergreens we were met with steep grades and required snowshoes.

The further we traveled upward, the more powdery the snow, and even on snowshoes, we sank feet with every step. The crampons on our shoes did little. Each movement was earned and the summit took hours to achieve. At the top of Logan Peak is a radio tower and 9 foot tall bunker. The bunker was completely covered and we ate lunch on its roof.

  

Careful to avoid terrain traps, we made most of our descent hugging the ridgeline between Logan and Dry Canyons until heading back toward the bottom of Dry Canyon. At this point in the afternoon the snow surface was melting and unstable, so we took our time and space from one another while traversing below steep snowfields. There were occasional slips but we were comforted by the green avalanche warning for that day, a day where we earned our cheeseburger dinners.

Coyote Gulch is a canyon oasis in the Escalante area of southern Utah. We started our journey at the Red Well trailhead, camped at the Escalante River, and trekked out the following day. The entire canyon has a perennial stream running through it which we walked in for most of our journey.

  

I cannot think of a better way to enjoy the desert than to be surrounded plants, water, red walls, and wildlife. We saw multitudes of deer and tiny fish in the stream, not to mention abundant bird life. It was not long into our journey that we noticed sand being trapped between our feet and sandals wearing sores into our skin. We hiked most of 30 miles barefoot to avoid these sores.

We saw the Jacob Hamblin Arch, Coyote Natural Bridge, Cliff Arch (which looks like a jug handle), and Stevens Natural Arch (on the Escalante River). We also saw cottonwood trees, small waterfalls carving paths through the red rock, and a surprising number of wildflowers.

  

Upon our return, we stayed at a small, KOA style cabin. Melody's arches collapsed and I ate peanut M&Ms from the vending machine.

Steam Mill Lake is one of few lakes in the Bear River Range. We hiked from Franklin Basin, starting out about 7:30PM on a Friday, mostly in the dark.

It poured rain on the drive up to the trailhead, but thanks to Gore Tex and gaiters, our feet stayed dry through the mud and foliage reaching arms out to us. Thankfully, we have had a rainy summer. Steam Mill Lake is actually 2 lakes, a lower and upper portion. We camped next to the smaller, lower lake.

That morning, I woke up extra early to enjoy my coffee and wildflowers. Melody rose a couple of hours later. We set out across damp meadows to Doubletop Mountain on the main crest of the Bear River Range.

  

The sight from the summit is the best in these mountains as it affords great views of Naomi Peak and the north face of Cherry Peak. These places are not often visited by non-locals, and we are lucky for that. The Bear River Range is a gem.

We hiked back down to the lake and to the trailhead. On the way, we saw a rusted old steam engine on the side of the trail, Steam Mill Canyon's namesake. We also saw the only other backpackers making their way up to the lake.

 

The route is hard to follow at times and we ended up taking an unmapped equestrian trail out of the canyon. Melody fell into the creek 20 feet from the car and we laughed. We walked a bit over 12 miles with 3200 feet of elevation gain.

-Grasshopper