I’ve driven the Flint Trail in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area several times, but usually I’m on my way Under the Ledge (below the Orange Cliffs) and don’t have time for exploring along the road itself. I spent a weekend in the area recently with the express purpose of wandering around the upper Flint Trail, between Hans Flats and the switchbacks. During the drive in on Saturday morning I was surprised to see major road work going on at the sand dunes near Middle Canyon. The sand often drifts across the road, causing problems for those who venture out into the desert using inadequate vehicles. Apparently either Wayne County or the BLM has decided to raise the road bed high above the dunes to keep the drifting sand from being deposited.
Road equipment along the Lower San Rafael Road
Henry Mountains above the sand dunes
Dozer work on the road
Just before Hans Flats, I stopped to inspect some cliffs on the north end of Twin Corral Flats that have always caught my eye when I drive past. There I found several inscriptions, including some from Faun Chaffin (an early cattle rancher in the area) (with illegible date), Paul Moynier (sheep herder from Price, Utah) 1935, and T. Hudson Apr. 14, 1911.
Faun Chaffin inscription with an unreadable date
Fremont’s Mahonia about to bloom
T. Hudson, Apr. 14, 1911, and Paul Moynier, 1935
P.A.A., Nov. 21, 1938
A single, tiny potsherd at Twin Corral Flats
I passed the ranger station and followed the road as it curved south, stopping again on Gordon Flats. In Google Earth I’d seen a cliff there that appeared to be overhanging and could potentially hold some Indian rock art or cowboy writings. Sure enough, I found both! I first encountered some faint scratched glyphs, and then an inscription by J.A.R. with a possible 1880s date. Farther along the cliff were more petroglyphs, but none of them were terribly interesting.
Floor mat from Sunflower GMC, Joplin, MO
Faint, scratched-in glyphs near Gordon Flats
J.A.R. inscription with a possible 1880s date
Small overhang near some petroglyphs
Patinated petroglyphs
View from Gordon Flats, across Happy Canyon, toward the Hat
Worked point
I hiked back to the Jeep and drove on. I parked at the Flint Seep camp and hiked to a few points of interest from there. First I revisited the Flint Cabins, which I’d already been to somewhat recently last November. However, since that trip I learned about an inscription, likely made by E.T. Wolverton, on a stone in one of the cabins. The inscription reads “Nequoia MCMXIX [1919]”, referring to the name of Wolverton’s oil exploration company that drilled for oil in Elaterite Basin but never struck any. I noticed a few artifacts on the ground that I hadn’t seen the last time, but there’s so much stuff lying on the ground there that one would likely see something new each time they visited.
The Hat and the Henry Mountains
Bagpipe Butte
Flint Seep parking spot
Flint Cabins
Unknown brand on the left, Chaffin brand on the right
Nequoia MCMXIX (1919)
Exhaust flapper(?)
Button
Flint Cabin made of stone
I continued my hike to Flint Seep, where a constructed stock trail leads down to a nearly-dry seep at the head of Happy Canyon. I was surprised at how little water there was!
View down Happy Canyon from near Flint Seep
Constructed stock trail to Flint Seep
Overhang at Flint Seep
Tiny bit of water at Flint Seep
Next I wandered over to Harness-Up Spring which was just over a mile beyond Flint Seep. Much of my route was along an old, closed dirt road (upon which the Park Service was kind enough to stack tons of firewood for its entire length!), but whenever I wandered off the road I found abundant flint chippings littering the ground. At Harness-Up Spring I found an overhang with perhaps some signs of prehistoric occupation, a couple of inscriptions from the 1930s, a constructed stock trail leading to the spring, and just a bit of water flowing from the spring itself.
Flint littering the ground
Worked flint
Old, closed road leading to an abandoned drill hole
Cliffs above Harness-Up Spring
L.M., Jan. 19, 1936
Overhang hear Harness-Up Spring
South Fork of Happy Canyon
Faint A.Y.J. inscription, belonging to Albert Jeanselme of Price, Utah (probably from the early- to mid-1930s)
Lone cottonwood tree at Harness-Up Spring
Harness-Up Spring
Trail construction leading to Harness-Up Spring
Potholes above the South Fork of Happy Canyon
Southern Phlox (Phlox austromontana)
I hiked back to the Jeep and it was uncomfortably warm. I had the A/C on high while driving to the Flint Trail Overlook, where I would begin searching for the old, old Flint Trail. There have been at least three iterations of the trail. The most recent is the current road that was built/improved by the Atomic Energy Commission in the 1950s. The next oldest is a wagon road built by E.T. Wolverton and his Nequoia Oil Company in 1919 so that a drilling rig could be lowered down the trail. I visited and photographed the remaining portion of that trail on my November trip last year. The oldest trail is one I only recently learned about, but didn’t know its exact location. It was reportedly a constructed stock trail, with old cans and a stove somewhere near the top. Before I could start hiking from the Flint Trail Overlook to search for this portion of the trail, a man on a mountain bike approached from the direction of the switchbacks and asked if I had any water to spare. I had plenty, so I shared with him and we chatted about what we were each up to. His name was Bill, from Springdale, and had just ridden his bike from Hans Flats, down the Flint Trail to the Land of Standing Rocks, and then back up the Flint Trail, all since earlier that morning! He even hauled his bike up the Golden Stairs trail hoping to save time, but he said it ended up being harder than just riding the road. After Bill got back underway, I began hiking the rim above the Flint Trail looking for signs of a cowboy camp on top or a trail leading down the Orange Cliffs. I found the trail right about where I expected it to be, near the largest break in the cliffs. Just below the rim was an overhang with flint chippings, indicating it was a hangout for Native Americans at one point. I followed the trail, which was quite faint but obviously had some small amount of construction, until it ended just above the current road. There wasn’t much to it, unfortunately, though I did find a piece of broken plate along the trail. Back on top I searched for the cowboy camp and found it within a few minutes. There were a lot of rusty cans, broken plates and bottles, a tree carved into a watering trough, and part of a stove that didn’t actually look very old.
Flint Trail Overlook
View toward the Land of Standing Rocks
Top of the Old Flint Trail
Overhang below the rim
Where I lost the trail just above the current road
Old Flint Trail
Broken plate
Rusty cans
Salt or pepper shaker
Broken plate
Part of an old stove
Tree trunk carved into a watering trough
Once I felt satisfied that I’d thoroughly checked the remainder of the rim between the overlook and the top of the switchbacks without finding anything else of interest, I walked back to the Jeep and drove past the ranger station to find a camp spot on BLM land. Camping alone is always boring, but I’d made good use of all the available daylight. I spent a couple of hours lying in the back of the Jeep reading a book before going to bed.
Camp at Hans Flats
Orange sunset behind the PJs
The next morning I headed back into GCNRA and parked near French Spring, then hiked down the East Fork of Millard Canyon. I didn’t have any specific plan there–just wanted to poke around and see what’s what. I got to a big pouroff in the East Fork, then crossed over a short divide and peered into a branch of the main part of Millard Canyon. I considered climbing to the top of Observation Rock, but the top bit looked a little steep. With as warm as it was already, I wasn’t inclined to exert myself that much so I headed back to my vehicle.
At French Spring, with Observation Rock and Cleopatra’s Chair on the horizon
Cottontail at French Spring
Water tank at French Spring
Frenchie’s Seep survey marker
Water troughs at French Spring
Man-made tank in the slickrock
Shasta cherry cola can
Observation Rock
East Fork of Millard Canyon
Observation Rock
Painted potsherd
Millard Canyon
Broken worked point
I left GCNRA and started heading toward home, but I still had two places I wanted to visit. The first was some old corrals on Twin Corral Flats. Two of the corrals are close together and are probably how the flats got their name. The other two, which I call the Round Corral and Square Corral, were within easy walking distance from the Twins. There wasn’t much in the way of old cowboy trash at any of them, but a lot of work certainly went into constructing the corrals.
One of the Twin Corrals
Round corral
Swell Jeep and the Henrys
Square corral
My final stop before heading home was at Runt’s Knob, which is mis-marked on the latest USGS topographical map. The map shows Runt’s Knob at or just southeast of point 6340T, when it is in fact a short distance to the north, right at point 6316T. A road goes right to the Knob and it seemed like a likely candidate for a cowboy to have scratched his name into it. I did find a couple of inscriptions, but nothing exciting. One name appeared to be Arrel Jensen, with no date, but the lettering appeared more old-fashioned and the writing was covered in the same amount of light-colored minerals as the rest of the surface of the cliff. Another inscription simply read Ayala 1-6-03, which again judging by the letter style and mineralization, it must be from 1903.
Runt’s Knob
Jensen
Ayala 1-6-1903 and 7-1-1905
That wrapped up my relatively easy weekend of driving, hiking, and exploring around the upper end of the Flint Trail. I managed to get in one night of camping to help with my goal of camping at least once each month this year–I won’t count the five nights earlier in April that I camped in the trailer–that seems like cheating. 🙂
Photo Gallery: GCNRA Wandering: Upper Flint Trail