The Manti La-Sal National Forest Adventure - Part Three.

FR 079 aka Johnson Creek Road is approximately five miles from the Monticello Welcome Center, just past the Dalton Springs campground. It is a well maintained graded gravel and dirt trail that leads from Abajo Drive (Monticello) to North Blue Mountain Road (Blanding); 4 wheel drive vehicles are preferable, but a car can make the drive, just more slowly.  While I can tell you which peak is Abajo Peak (radio towers on top) or Horsehead Peak (trees form a horse's head), I'm totally lost as to which other mountain is which; they basically all look the same to me.  Once again geolocation, hiking, and mountain climbing sites on the internet offer me lots of information on GPS coordinates or longitude/latitude points; no photos, not a single one, not even of the popular Abajo and Horsehead Peaks.  Anyway, it is a spectacular drive full of scenic viewpoints and it is highly recommended  for seeing what it's all about in this section of the Abajo Mountains and Manti La-Sal National Forest.

On the map, FR 079 is highlighted in bright red; while it is only a little over 30 miles to complete the route, expect to be up there for about an hour to 1 and /2 hours for a good viewing.

The photos I'll be posting are a combination from two trips up there, one in June and the other in September; you'll get a good idea of the summer and fall up in the forest.  Now our first trip up in June, we had only just gone about a half mile down the trail when we were surprised with such an endearing (no pun intended) sight...a fawn grazing on the side of the road.  As we drove by, very slowly, it leaped up into the forest and standing just beyond was its mama; we made sure to say hello in soft voices and to thank her for letting us see her baby.









A good amount of the trail is lined with Aspen trees; the sunlight streaking through the forest gives a grand light show.  At one point, a fallen tree created an archway for us to drive through.

Elderberry

The are many twists and turns, an occasional hairpin turn, on this road; at some corners, nature has created a lovely garden to admire.  Actually, all along the trail are a variety of flowers and bushes; and maybe the occasional bunny will come into view.




Richardson's Geranium

Iris



Chokecherry

Now lets climb higher into these mountains; grand pastures climb upwards towards the peaks while mule deer graze in the open.  As much as we wanted to park and climb upwards ourselves, there was just no room and blocking the road didn't seem a good option.  Actually, both times we did not see another vehicle until we came close to the end of the trail, near Nizhoni Campground.  Let me tell you though, when you're standing at the very bottom, looking up, you can experience vertigo.

In September there was a good amount of cloud traveling through the mountains, just in case you're wondering about some of the photos; they were so close that we could drive right through them at points.  When you get to North Canyon, the road becomes very narrow; if it's wet, take it slow as it will be quite muddy.  Stop, however, and get that grand view of Cooley Pass with Horsehead Peak in the distance.  Oh, that winding road to the right of the North Canyon/Cooley Pass photos; yes, you will be traveling down, down and round, round, and it will be fun, fun.





Summer View

Autumn View

Speaking of the Horsehead, there was a point on the trip that we stopped to look at something and when we looked upward, holy moly, there was the actual horse head up close and personal.





Ready for more spectacular scenic mountain photos?

Looks like terrace gardening, but it's a natural effect.

You'll get a chance to catch your breath and relax that over active heartbeat when you re-enter the canopy of the forest.  As you begin one curve to the left, to the right will be a gigantic field of broken, flat stones; this is actual mountain that has broken apart from the peak and slid down the side.  We walked over it only a little bit as it is quite uncomfortable, and those jagged edges gave us something to think about; mainly, "how stupid are you!?!"

 

 

 

Back to that curve in the road; it will go down slightly before curving to the right; but do not miss that little creek on the left hand side.  That is one of the offshoots from Indian Creek, and the sign for Indian Creek and one of the many trails is just ahead on the trail.  Many of the trails through this section of the forest are ATV friendly only.  Anyway, this is just a lovely spot to take a break in; we have two dogs that love the water, so bring them up here to enjoy a good splash in the creek.  If you cross the creek, there is a clearing ahead and it makes a great spot for a picnic.



You'll see pastures here and there again also; one we passed by had horses resting in them.

Riding upwards again on the trail, there will be an overlook; more of the rubble that you saw near the creek offshoot will be around the pull-in point.  Talk about "on a clear day you can see forever"; in the far distance is Comb Ridge.  This is an absolutely beautiful viewpoint area, so don't miss it!



Comb Ridge at upper portion of photo.

You're going to begin the downward trek out of the mountains now; don't be scared by the steep winding road ahead of you, it's really not that bad.  At one twist of the road, these gorgeous red sandstone hills will be to the left; I'm presuming these are the Red Bluffs, since the location matches the map.

Red Bluffs

The road will level out and be graded gravel for the long stretch to Blanding; you will pass by several pastures as you approach Nizhoni Campground, and see the junction to FR 095 - The Causeway Road. 

Three wondrous trips through the Manti La-Sal National Forest; the question is, "Which one are you going to tackle first?"

Mary Cokenour

Known and Unknown Sites In and Around Monticello, Utah.

So, here I go again being a tattle tale and telling secrets about sites to see and/or visit in the Monticello, Utah area.  I've already given away the big secret about the Abajo Mountains; all those wonderful, and FREE, campsites up in the mountains: two run by the National Forestry Agency(Dalton Springs and Buckboard), around the three lakes (Loyd's, Foy and Monticello), and hidden amongst the forest down unmarked dirt roads. Now it's time to reveal more secrets, some known, but most kept quiet about and not in guidebooks or detailed on maps.

The Abajo Mountains

Abajo Peak

I'll begin with two known details about the Abajo Mountains; Abajo means "down" in Spanish, but many refer to them as the "Blue Mountains" as the greenery plus sky give the range a bluish tint.  The first known item is about Abajo Peak, height reaching to 11, 360 feet; there is a rough, dirt road which can be traveled to the very top (where the antennas are), but a smaller 4 wheel drive vehicle or ATV is recommended...no huge trucks or RVs. 





The Horsehead

The second known item is called "The Horsehead", a grouping of evergreen trees surrounded by a field that resembles the head of a horse.  Look at it sideways and the nose of the horse is near the top of the mountain, then follow down to get the entire view of the head.  Now remember, there are loads of free campsites in these mountains, so take advantage of it while the weather is warm; once winter blows in, the roads basically shut down up there.  That is pretty much a shame too, as winter sports would help the city of Monticello bring in funds during that time of year.  Snowmobiling, skiing, cross-country skiing, even ice skating on the lakes would have folks looking forward to a nice hot meal and drink at any of the restaurants in town.  I'll eventually be doing a write up on winter in this region, so you'll see what I mean about snow, and how winter sports would be a big boon to the area.

Now I have mentioned in previous write ups about the Abajo Mountains that Mule Deer roam the roads quite freely.  At this time of year, the does and bucks have been bringing out their fawns; unfortunately, nearby the entrance to Loyd's Lake, some jackass hit two fawns and left them to rot on the side of the road.  Nearby to the bodies was the local cleanup crew...Turkey Vultures; incredibly ugly, and yet beautiful creatures in their own right.  Massive birds with a wingspan between 5 to 6 feet, about as wide as my car!  So, when you're up in the Abajos, you never know who or what you'll meet up with.

Is she ever going to stop taking pictures and go away!?!

We're going to leave the city of Monticello and begin traveling south on Route 191; past the entrance to Bull Hollow Raceway, down a curvy hill; about six miles down (around mile marker 65) is the "ghost town" of Verdure.

There is a plaque at this site that explains the location, but I was able to find out a few more details from a University of Utah website.  In March 1886, Francis A. Hammond, the LDS Stake President  (the leading LDS regional authority) of San Juan County, sent scouts from Bluff to find locations for settlements near the water sources of the Abajo Mountains. The scouts found the land was already being used; probably by cattleman Patrick O'Donnell (1879), the first white man known to have built a cabin in the area. The scouts first set up camp at Verdure (which refers to "lush, green vegetation") near the South Fork of Montezuma Creek on March 11, 1887.  By early July, 1887, the men had begun to plant crops, survey an irrigation ditch, and layout a town site for "North Montezuma".  Conflicts soon began with the Carlisle cowboys and Ute over water and land rights; lawyers decided that the cowboys had basically no legal claim to any of either.  The Mormons, therefore, claimed all the water from the South Fork and 3/4 of the water from the North Fork. In the spring of 1888, the Adams and Butt families remained in Verdure while the rest of the settlers moved to North Montezuma to begin construction of the town. Early names for the settlement were North Montezuma Creek, Piute Springs, and Hammond (after the LDS stake president) and Antioch, but none of those names were approved by the members of the community.  Hammond recommended Monticello, in honor of Thomas Jefferson’s estate; it was approved and accepted in the latter part of 1888.  Eventually Verdure was abandoned, and the residents all moved to Monticello. 

However, in 1903, the Utah State Agricultural College in Logan established an experimental station in Verdure where various dry-farming techniques were tested for thirteen years; that is the origin of many of the structures on the property that are there now.  Long history lesson, but the story needed to be told to understand why it was originally there, and why it was now a "ghost town".

 

 


The nearby walls do have "caves", similar in looks to possible cliff dwellings; however, all I could make out with the zoom lens were fallen stones inside the openings, no built structures.  Could these caves possibly been simply hideouts for outlaws, or look out posts for Native Americans?  Anything is possible.






Last, but not least, and still traveling south on Route 191, by mile marker 56 (on the east side of the roadway) are little known about Cliff Dwellings.  I'm giving credit to Monticello for these, as we still haven't reached Recapture Reservoir yet, not the Blanding town limits.  During the warm months, these ruins cannot be easily seen, except with a zoom camera lens or binoculars, due to the growth of vegetation.  When the vegetation is gone, there are the ruins in all their ancient glory!

By the way, four miles south of Verdure is Devil's Canyon and it has campgrounds; you'll have to check out the informational board there for size limitations, fees, rules and regulations.  It is a very beautiful and serene area, and perfect if you would prefer not to camp out in the Abajo Mountains.

There you have it, a couple of awesome sites to see that are in guidebooks or on maps, and then those little secret places that ghost town and/or ruin hunters love to look for.

Mary Cokenour