[Ron4RNevada]

I've been to most of the places you are visiting in Utah - But many years ago - Gotta' get back.

Newfoundland I'd like to see in person.

Enjoy the trip.

[JohnTheLuck]

Originally Posted by Ray Dunakin

Awesome scenery, and very well photographed!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Ron4RNevada

I've been to most of the places you are visiting in Utah - But many years ago - Gotta' get back.

Newfoundland I'd like to see in person.

Enjoy the trip.

Thanks! Newfoundland is charming, but Utah is awesome!!!

[JohnTheLuck]

Day 6:

Start point: Hanksville, UT
End point: Hanksville, UT

We spent the day arounf Hanksville doing a few trails.

We started by Factory Road (aka Coal Mine Road), leaving early to catch the sunrise on Factory Butte.



We the made a short side trip to Moon Overlook where we witness an incredible view of a spectacular landscape with some fog.



We stopped at the Coal Mine where there isn't much to see except nice gypsum crystals everywhere. Nearby along the road, there is also many interesting rock formations.

Continuying north, we descend toward Muddy Creek. The landscape is amazing, without any vegetation.



We reached Muddy Creek where water was flowing gently, but sign of flood from monday was clearly visible. No way I would cross there with a stock 4Runner, and alone.



We turned around and went onto Salt Wash Road which goes into the San Rafael Reef among colorful formations.







This road is a dead end, but we were stopped again by the wash flowing and with a high step on the farthest bank, making the road impassable.



We turned around and reach West Factory Bench Road which goes back to UT24 while going along the San Rafael Swell. The road follow a narrow wash and we encountered some small challenges like drop-off and washed portions. We finally reached Caineville Wash which was almost dry.



We went back toward Hanksville and turn north onto Cow Dung Road. There we saw the NASA Mars Research Facility. We also encountered German research teams doing test of rovers similar to those of NASA.



Later, we reached the site of Burpee Dinosaur Quarry where digs are done to excavate dinosaur fossils. There is no research ongoing at that time of the year. At the end of the road, we reached a promontory over Muddy Creek.



Tomorrow, we leave Hanksville to go to Capitol Reef NP and Torrey.
.

[JohnTheLuck]

Day 6 photos are up now.

[Swede71]

Amazing trips and great great photos.

[JohnTheLuck]

Originally Posted by Swede71

Amazing trips and great great photos.

Thanks! Day 7 is coming shortly...

[willie2323]

John,
very nice pics n documentation, loved that unimog. I was in Israel in 78 with my CJ5 and saw many unimogs used in their military, great go-anywhere vehicles. His sure looked set up for great traveling.
safe journies amigo,
willie

[JohnTheLuck]

Day 7:

Start point: Hanksville, UT
End point: Torrey, UT

Today was a break from wheeling since my wife enjoy hiking much more. So we left Hanksville toward Capitol Reef NP to hike two trails. We started the day with a lot of sunshine, but scattered clouds moved in early in the morning.

The first trail we hiked was Cohab Canyon to Fruita Overlooks. The scenery of this canyon and overlooks are amazing, with volcanic boulders in every corner.



Arriving at the overlooks, the view was nothing else than spectacular. Down below was Fruita, an historic village founded by Mormons and where the conditions were exceptional for living, when compared with the surrounding. This is looking west.



This is looking east.



Going back to the trailhead, we encountered creative erosion work done by mother nature.



After completing the hike, we decided to take a short break and drove the Scenic Drive to the end and we continued onto Pleasant Creek Road. Sorry but no pictures of this road. The first portion is easy, but after reaching Pleasant Creek things got more interesting. We drove a bit, the turned around since time was passing fast and we wanted to hike again.

We parked at the Amphitheater where the Fremont River trailhead is located. We encountered some inhabitant of this area, not afraid of humans.



The trail follows the Fremont River bank, and then climbs along the river on the cliff.



The trails reaches an overlook with a really nice view of Fruita, the Scenic Drive valley and cliffs high above.



Tomorrow, we should do some wheeling again, with Wolverine Loop Road, Moody Canyon Road, and Silver Creek. My books rate this trail difficulty as 3 out of 10, but the ranger at the Capitol Reef Visitor Center said it is extremely rough. Does someone on this forum already did it with a stock 4Runner?
.

[Ray Dunakin]

Man, I have got to make a trip out to Utah someday!

[JohnTheLuck]

Originally Posted by Ray Dunakin

Man, I have got to make a trip out to Utah someday!

This is my 9th time in Utah, but the first with a descent vehicle for doing some off-road. There is so much to see arouns here.

I remember a sentence from Art Wolfe the photographer who did the show Travel to the Edge with Art Wolfe, an episode about southern Utah. He said: "You would need a life time to explore this region". He was about right!

[jrandom]

Originally Posted by JohnTheLuck

Arriving at the overlooks, the view was nothing else than spectacular. Down below was Fruita, an historic village founded by Mormons and where the conditions were exceptional for living, when compared with the surrounding. This is looking west.

I hope you got to try some of their fresh "homemade" fruit pie

[JohnTheLuck]

Originally Posted by jrandom

I hope you got to try some of their fresh "homemade" fruit pie

Hum, we will be around tomorrow also.. Great idea!!!

[JohnTheLuck]

Day 8:

Start point: Torrey, UT
End point: Torrey, UT

What a beautiful day wheeling on the trail. We were a bit concern about the weather since the forecast was mentionning a slight chance of rain or thunderstorm in the afternoon. We didn't received a drop but there was some clouds.

On the menu today was the Burr Trail from Boulder UT, up to the Wolverine Loop Trail west trailhead. The trail is a mix of nicely graded dirt with many wash crossing and even driving long part of them.



We made a stop at the Wolverine Petrified Forest to hike up to the petrified wood area. The quantity is simply amazing, with even large trees almost complete.



Contrary to Escalante Petrified Forest wood which has a lot of color, Wolverine Petrified Forest wood chunks are darker and almost entirely in hues of black.



Continuying on the Wolverine Loop, we arrived in a region of white sandstone with deep cracks and even small slot canyons.



The scenery from this trail is superb with colorful bentonite hills and tall red sandstone cliffs, almost all around us.



We then arrived at the junction of Wolverine Loop and Moody Canyon Road and we headed south toward Moody Canyon.

We stopped at an ancien mine, probably copper since there was a lot of green rocks left over.



This trail is more challenging an runs lengthy portion inside the wash at the bottom of the canyon. We encountered area with water and soft loose gravel, and we also have to navigate narrow passages between big boulders. The photo does not represent well the challenges we encountered.



Later, we exit the canyon floor to turn sharply and rise along the side of the canyon giving great views of the trail below.



We went all the way to the end which is the hiking trailhead for Moody Canyon branches. We turned back and completed the Wolverine Loop exiting on the Burr Trail on the East trailhead.

While heading back to Torrey, we made a small stop at the Long Canyon Slot, a short but nice slot canyon right on the Burr Trail.

Tomorrow, we should be doing some hiking again in Capitol Reef NP.
.

[Gclark949]

Thank you for these awesome pics and your narrative. I was in some of this area last Oct, but as you said so much to see. You are giving me some great places to go to on my next trip. What book are you using?

[JohnTheLuck]

Originally Posted by Gclark949

Thank you for these awesome pics and your narrative. I was in some of this area last Oct, but as you said so much to see. You are giving me some great places to go to on my next trip. What book are you using?

Thanks!

I have so many books, but from the top of my head, for the 4x4 trails, I use Utah Trails series from APC Publishing. For hiking, I like the Falcon series, and Photographing the American Southwest series.

And of course the Web is in immense source. Sites like AllTrails, The American Southwest, gjhikes, Todd Desert Resource, and many more.

For this trip, I am starting to use Gaia GPS on a 4th gen iPad with Garmin GLO GPS receiver. This works so great.

Preparation is the key. For this 6 week trip, I have an Excel file with more than 1300 points listed!!! I am a planning addict...