 |
Roadtrippin’ Through Castle Country
By Greg Aitkenhead
The trip started with a call from Sr. Rojo. "Hey, whatta ya doin’ next weekend?" All of his hardscrable adventures seem to start so simply, but I'm no foolio. This time I'll be prepared. Better restock the first aid kit and pack the corkscrew. Rojo's experience with wine might impress even the twitchiest connoisseur, but his experience with Utah's backcountry shows him to be more than just a student of the vine. Sr. Rojo knows Utah's backcountry, and this trip was heading right for its heart--Castle Country.
One easy option for sampling Castle Country's splendor traces a circuit beginning on Interstate 70, heading up Highway 10 to Price, and then looping back to I-70 through Buckhorn Draw. Awesome scenery, endless opportunities to hike, bike, climb, and car camp, and ease of travel, make this loop a classic. Only the well-maintained Buckhorn Draw portion of the drive takes you off pavement, but possible knobby-tire and four-wheeling sidetrips abound.
Let's start with the charming towns found along Highway 10. Beside necessities like gas, food and water, you'll find an amazing array of top-notch museums like Price's College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum, Helper's Western Mining and Railroad Museum, and the Emery Pioneer Museum in Castle Dale. There's also my personal favorite, the Museum of the San Rafael in Castle Dale, with displays of local artwork, dinosaur exhibits, archaeological artifacts and a wonderful staff.
Rock climbers will recognize Castle Dale, or more specifically Orangeville, as the gateway to the bouldering of Joe's Valley. At close to 7,000 feet, the area lends itself to spring and fall visitation. The boulders, scattered throughout the pińon-covered foothills, offer dime-edged slabs, crimpy vertical faces, and juggy overhangs. The sandstone itself, tan overall but tiger striped with a dark patina, appears course grained and gritty at first, but finishes like a fine wine with a grippy, friendly smoothness. I'm a big guy, so pulling hard on some of the rock's delicate features felt unnerving, but it wasn't long before I trusted everything I grabbed, edged, and smeared.
Price, the next stop on the tour, offers bouldering at Price Canyon, and a small selection of roped climbs in Spring Canyon, just outside the nearby town of Helper (see Stewart M. Green's Rock Climbing Utah). In addition you'll find museums, eats, sheets, and access to Nine Mile Canyon, one of the most treasured Native American rock art sites in Utah. Recognized mainly for imaginative petroglyphic portrayals of geometric designs, bighorn sheep, "shaman," and the oft portrayed "Hunter Panel," Nine Mile's ancient images stand in the face of extensive natural gas exploration as a poignant reminder of quieter times. Opportunities still exist for exploring wild side canyons on foot, horseback or mountain bike (see sidebar), and luckily, the excitement of finding Nine Mile's world famous glyphs remains untrammeled.
Heading south on Highway 10 watch for the Cleveland Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry sign. Bring a map, or the Emery County brochure, as things get a little confusing near Elmo. Find and follow homemade signs through the marshlands of the Desert Lake Waterfowl Management Area, past boulder-covered hills with climbing similar to Joe's Valley (see Baldwin, Beck, & Russo's Bouldering Guide to Utah), to the quarry entrance. Mountain bikers can pedal the easy dirt road from the gate to the visitor center, hikers can dig the one-hour "Rock Walk," and paleontology buffs can check the digs. Over 15,000 bones have been excavated from the quarry's Jurassic "predator trap," and many more await discovery.
To get from the quarry to Buckhorn Wash, drive back 6.2 miles, passing Dry Wash, and turn south on the Desert Lake Road. It’s 7.8 miles to Buckhorn Reservoir, and another 5.6 miles to a four-way intersection at Buckhorn Well. Drive east for 2.2 miles and then turn south onto the Buckhorn Wash Road.
If you want to avoid the dinosaur quarry and the roundabout desert drive, then continue past the turnoff south on Highway 10 toward Castle Dale, and turn east on the Green River Cutoff Road, just 1.5 miles north of town. Set your odometer--its 14.9 miles to the Buckhorn Wash Road.
Not far from this last turnoff the road breaks into a swirling sandstone gorge and everything changes. Welcome to the scenic finale of the trip. This is the land I love. Towering domes of Navajo sandstone surmount gothic vertical columns and walls of burgundy Wingate, the rock of a desert climber's dreams. Dark recesses form backdrops for shimmering cottonwoods, the smells of sage and sand and dusty gravel fill the air, and the view past every road bend reveals potential for a hundred other adventures. And here, right beside the road, you'll find one of the most fascinating rock art sites in the world. I had the good fortune on this visit to sit undisturbed and watch the shifting shadows of waning daylight just as the painted images of Buckhorn Wash had for thousands of years.
Add to all of this a historic bridge crossing of the San Rafael River, a drive past monolithic Bottleneck and Window Blind Peaks, and the spectacular openness of the final miles atop the Limestone Bench, and you've got the perfect wrap-up. Of course, you might decide to stay and play. There's great camping all along the Buckhorn Wash Road, in well marked, established sites. You won't find any facilities (except an occasional pit toilet), so come prepared for desert camping. If you don't know what that means, then the rooms and restaurants of Green River and Price aren't far away.
Days after it began, the Sr. Rojo roadtrip ended with pick-ups and SUVs scattering into the dusty sunset. If you take on Castle Country like Sr. Rojo and the gang, you'll probably need to pop a few aspirin and limp home to nurse your wounds. And like this crew, you might find, as you throw a CD in the player and drive away, that you're already dreaming up another trip to Castle Country.