Since Chris was just beginning to prepare for moving to Germany, we chose a trip this weekend closer to his place so he could be home early on Sunday to do more packing and moving things into storage. We met on Friday in Spanish Fork and he piled his gear into my Jeep, leaving his car at a friend’s house. Then, before heading into the West Desert we stopped at the Forest Service office in Fillmore to see a couple of the Chalk Creek hieroglyphs that had fallen from their original location and were on display there. Then we drove up Chalk Creek to see the rest of them.
Hieroglyph at the Forest Service office in Fillmore
Chalk Creek Hieroglyphs sign
Chalk Creek Hieroglyphs
Next we drove north and west into the desert. I’d long wanted to sleep on a dry lake bed so we headed for Pahvant Dry Lake. We arrived after sunset but the sky was still lit up a pretty pink color. With no rocks around to build a fire ring, I dug a hole and we huddled around the sunken camp fire late into the evening. With nothing to protect me from the flames, they lapped at my synthetic pants and slightly melted them.
Pahvant power poles
Pahvant Dry Lake
‘Round the camp fire
It was cold at night and we awoke to frost on our sleeping bags. I was up before sunrise and watched again as the sky turned a pretty pink color as it had the previous evening. One of my Jeep tires had gone flat so I used my new air compressor for the first time. The tire held air just fine for the rest of the weekend and well beyond, so I’m not sure what caused it to go flat.
Chris sleeping in
Frost on my sleeping bag
Our first destination of the day was Pahvant Butte. First we visited the Lace Curtain on the north side of the butte then drove to the top to see a strange old structure.
Lace Curtain
Lace Curtain
Parked at the Lace Curtain
Last night’s camp spot
Pahvant Butte structure
Pahvant Butte structure
Chris on the roof
Inside the structure
We headed toward Devil’s Kitchen and found a lot of petroglyphs along the way. Many of the figures were unusual compared to what I’m used to seeing closer to home but there were a few that appeared to have some Fremont influence.
Devil’s Kitchen petroglyphs
Devil’s Kitchen petroglyphs
Devil’s Kitchen petroglyphs
Devil’s Kitchen petroglyphs
Devil’s Kitchen petroglyphs
Devil’s Kitchen petroglyphs
Devil’s Kitchen petroglyphs
Devil’s Kitchen petroglyphs
Devil’s Kitchen petroglyphs
Devil’s Kitchen petroglyphs
Devil’s Kitchen petroglyphs
Devil’s Kitchen petroglyphs
The rest of the day we spent exploring several lava tubes. First we checked out Flowell Ice Cave which I’d seen on Google Maps, but there really wasn’t much to see there except a small hole in the ground. Next we went to the many lava tubes at Tabernacle Hill. It was the only place all weekend where we’d see many people. We went through a couple of the lava tubes and when we emerged, there was a familiar vehicle parked near my Jeep. We walked back and chatted with Regan and Georgia, whom we’d gone canyoneering with earlier in the year. After a little more driving we arrived at the Scout Tubes and went as far as we could inside before turning back.
Flowell Ice Cave
View from Flowell Ice Cave
Lava tube entrance
Chris inside the lava tube
Inside another lava tube
Lava tube
Lava tube
Regan’s truck next to my Jeep
Cairn marking the Scout Tubes
Lava tube
Dead end
We fueled up in Delta and then set out west on US-6 to find a place to camp. We ended up at Gunnison Bend on the Sevier River, where Captain John Gunnison and several of his men were killed in 1853. We’d arrived early enough to set up our cots even before starting a fire–usually we don’t set up beds until right before we hit the hay.
Monument at Gunnison Bend
Sky after sunset
Gunnison Bend camp
Notch Peak
Sunday morning was another frosty one. We packed up camp and first drove to Tule Valley to look for some pictographs. We found a single picto that wasn’t all that great.
Another frosty morning
Parked at Tule Valley
Tule Valley pictograph
Our next destination was Crystal Peak, which we’d planned on climbing. On the way there, in Blind Valley, the road was badly washed out. We spent some time walking around finding the best route past the washouts, having to use 4-low to crawl over some pretty rough spots. We arrived at Crystal Peak and it looked more daunting than either of us had expected. There was no way we could hike to the top and get Chris home in time so we skipped it. The Jeep had already burned through a lot of fuel and I wasn’t confident we could make it back to Delta on what was left so we headed farther west into Nevada.
Washed out road
Approaching Crystal Peak
View north from Crystal Peak Pass
Ferguson Desert
Just north of Garrison
Welcome to Nevada
I filled up in Baker and then we hopped back on the highway heading east. We had time for one last stop, a short hike to the Hermit’s Cabin near Marjum Canyon. After that we started driving back toward civilization, and I dropped Chris off at his car and we parted ways.
Notch Peak
Hiking to the Hermit’s Cabin
Hermit’s Cabin
Hermit’s Cabin
Hermit’s Cabin
Hermit’s Cabin
Photo Gallery: West Dez II