My Trails

Where’s spring?

No charge from my solar panels!

One day before my time expired at Blacksmith Canyon, we were hit with a snowstorm. It only dropped two inches but it was enough that it would have made packing everything a mess. I decided to push departure for a couple days to let things melt and dry out.

Thursday morning dawned bright and clear but very frigid. I didn’t get packed until well into the morning because I was too much of a sissy to brave the cold. Then it was off to town to dump, fill with water, find a place to fill both propane bottles, stock up on groceries, do laundry, and eat at Taco Bell. By then it was well into the afternoon so I rented a movie from Red Box (LaLa Land) and parked at the Logan Walmart for the night.

Next morning bright and early I got on Interstate 15 and headed north. This was the longest day Minnie and I have ever driven together. We travelled 367 miles. Minnie didn’t seem to mind the trip today near as much as she did some in the last few weeks. The roads were wide and smooth, there were no bad hills to pull, the traffic was light, and there was little wind to speak of. I just wanted to get over the Rockies and try things on the east side.

Near Continental Divide in Montana.

We hit the Idaho border early in the morning and crossed into Montana just after noon. Even though we went over the Continental Divide twice the elevation was only about 7000′. The interstate follows the old trail that cowboys drove cattle from Montana to Utah back in the 1800’s. The road is mostly gentle grades and follows a wide green valley for most of the way. A sign at a rest area told that it was made by tectonic plates and a fault line and some other volcanic action too complicated for me to comprehend. You have to expect lots of earth action when you get this close to Yellowstone.

I’m only about 5 miles east of Butte, Montana at a recreation area. There is still some snow here but should be gone in the next few days. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here – no more than a couple days, probably. Minnie did good but I need a rest.

No swimming!

The temperature hit 80 degrees here in Northern Utah today. With all the snow still high up in the mountains, this warm weather has turned the snow into raging rivers below. The stream beside Minnie has become a class 3 rapids, creating waves of water tossed by the boulders, and running so fast and furious that it is muddy! It looks like a perfect place for an adventure kayaker.

Oops!

This morning Minnie told me she felt like something was missing. When I walked around back I saw immediately what I had done. I remembered putting the gas cap up on the pump at the Maverick station when I filled up Wednesday, and also remembered not putting it back on. The station is only 7 miles away, so Honda took me back there quick as a wink. The manager told me he saw it there on the pump this morning, but when I went to look, it was gone.

The town of Logan is only 10 miles away, and they have everything there. I found a new cap at Walmart that only set me back $12. Now I just have to devise a way to remember to put the cap back on after filling with gas. Every since I broke the little plastic cord that lets the cap dangle while you fill, I have set it up on the pump. I’ve done it dozens of times but my luck ran out. I’m thinking I will put my keys on the cap while I fill or place the cap on my driver’s seat before I pump. What are some other ways I can remember?

The only drawback I have found to this place so far is that the neighbors across the road love to shoot guns. Usually camping places are off limits to shooting but maybe Utah is different. The steep walls in this canyon make the gunshots echo like the bullets are flying over my head. Maybe after the weekend they will run out of ammo and go back to work.

I road several miles up the canyon road this afternoon. It is a good thing I found this spot because it was 7 miles untill I came to more dispersed camping. Even though this is national forest, all the land for a long way was privately owned. When you get to more camping the road turns to rough dirt and there is no cell service. It would be OK for a couple days but not someplace to stay for an extended time.

This warm weather has me thinking that I can travel north again, but a look at the forecast tells me to hold still for a while.

Grass, trees, and a river!

Driving up into a picturesque valley of the Bear River Range in the Wasatch – Cache NF, I found this pretty little campsite. I’m still in Utah but getting close to the border of Idaho. This camp looks like a wonderful place to stay for a few days. I have been consistently moving north and looking for someplace warm to let the approach of summer catch up with me. For some reason this idea has not worked out well. I think I may be doing it backwards!

Last week, I fought cold temperatures day and night while I bravely boondocked a snowbank surrounded parking lot in the Uinta NF near Strawberry Reservoir. Snow covered many of the hills and meadows in the area and most of the side roads were not even plowed. Each night the temperature would dip into the 20’s. I never unloaded Honda and spent a lot of time burning propane inside Minnie. I didn’t feel like the only crazy person because another Class C was parked beside me all the time I was there.

This is the road where I stayed last time.

Parking lot

Strawberry Reservoir is over 7200′, and even in this first week of May, winter is still very much in command of this high-altitude lake. I walked down to the visitors center one day and discovered it still closed for the season. There was a boardwalk close by to the center with signs telling about the foul in the marshes. Other than a few walks I spent time reading, watching TV, video games, Netflix, and renting a couple movies on Amazon. One night I rented the movie “Lion”. It was good.

Looking northeast.

My new camp is along the Blacksmith Canyon Fork River. I’m only 7 miles from the town of Wellsville where I found a free dump and water at the the Maverick service station. Three miles before I entered the canyon I passed by a large grocery store and McDonalds. I am tucked in out of the wind, and the elevation of 4900′ should make the nights about 20° warmer than Strawberry Lake. I should have everything I need for a few days. I might even unload Honda and go exploring tomorrow.