Monsoon season is still causing problems here in southern Utah, with significant storms moving through the area almost daily. Of course, everyone says, "we need the moisture," and I agree; however, I live in the desert for a reason: the sun. If I wanted to go weeks without sunshine, I'd move to Seattle.
I decided to try a loop ride in the FJ today, starting first on UT-130, heading toward Minersville, UT, and turning left on ATV trail p25 (Horse Hollow Road). ATV trail p25 is a small connector trail that runs between The Parowan Gap and across UT-130 for about 1 mile along Horse Hollow Road before changing into Color Country trail p02. The roadway is maintained gravel and connects UT-130 with Lund Hwy in almost a horizontal line heading west.
I exit trail p02 onto Lund Hwy and follow the highway westward. I've spent a lot of time in this area over the past couple of years hiking peaks and looking for the "casting of the lot's" site of the Dominquez - Escalante expedition.
I am turning right again, following the clay and dirt path along Schoppmann Rd (8500 W) in anticipation of hiking to the summit of Monument Peak. However, I'm required to turn right again onto the Mud Springs Shopman Alt road, where I first notice that traveling along these more minor non-maintained roads will be harder going than anticipated.
The graded route has been acting as an irrigation channel for all the recent storm runoff and is now covered in rocks and gullies, making the way forward difficult. Not impossible; however, with storm clouds already on the horizon, I decided to wait for clearer skies before getting stormed out and trapped in the back canyon of Monument Peak.
“Lund Hwy near Schoppmann Road turnoff” copyright BrickBarnBlog2022
I loop pack and pick up Schoppmann Road again, continuing north toward Blue Knoll. Unfortunately, I haven't climbed Blue Knoll, my final summit in a tiny triplet of peaks along these foothills. Upon reaching the cut-off road, I discovered "no trespassing" signs along the way I had hoped to take. I drove slowly around the new construction in the area, but it is unlikely they own the entire mountain. I'll have to do a little more research before coming back out.
Finally reaching the railroad tracks, I opt to turn left and follow the road back along the eastern side of the ways to Lund, UT. However, I didn't want to head home just yet, so I decided to give one more attempt at climbing a mountain peak today and headed toward Table Butte Mountain.
Another left turn on Avon Road, and I soon find myself making good time along this wide, smooth road. I wasn't overly concerned about not seeing any tire tracks on the road until I came over a slight rise and found the entire road underwater.
“Junction of Lund Hwy and Color Country Trail p02” copyright BrickBarnBlog2022
I finally relent and turn around once again. Heading along Lund Hwy, I stopped near where I had exited from trail p02 to fly my drone. A slight rise exists at the juncture, so I pulled the jeep off to the side and spent about 45 minutes practicing flying the drone in big circles, some flybys, and hovering into a landing. I am improving at the minor adjustments to pass the small drone; however, picture-taking is still tricky. It seems best to capture the occasional still from the video for memories.
Written August 16, 2022