I went for a hike in the hills near Humbug Flats in the northeastern San Rafael Swell yesterday, mostly just to exercise myself and Torrey and Boulder while checking out an area I’d never hiked in before. I began planning the trip about 30 minutes before I left the house. The drive was comparatively shorter than most hiking trips I’ve done recently, which was necessitated by the late start. I planned a route that crossed through several different rock layers, starting in the Summerville Formation and crossing through the Entrada and Curtis formations. I’d hoped to find some interesting rock formations among the Curtis sandstone like I’d done in the central Swell several years back near Cat Canyon, but it turned out to be rather bland.
Near an alcove I found some interesting dinosaur bone fragments and chert flakes. The views from there were quite nice–I was able to see the peaks above Little Park, and the Price River canyon to the southeast. I took a slightly different route back to the Jeep. Along the way I found a heart-shaped mylar baloon–one of many that I’ve hauled out of the backcountry. The hike wasn’t spectacular but it allowed me to check off an area that I’d been curious about.
Photo Gallery: Humbug Hills