The Shafer Trail - Continuing to Potash Road - Part Two

After reaching the junction of Shafer Trail/Potash Road or the White Rim Trail; we did continue onto the White Rim Trail, but I'm going to post about that in Part Three of this write up. For now, lets just pretend that we made that left turn and decided to head on out to Moab; we're still in San Juan County and, technically, would not enter Grand County until we passed by the potash collection pools. 


Almost immediately we entered into what we decided to call "Valley of the Hammers", as that is what the formations reminded us of.  At any moment, we expected to see armored dwarves from Mithral Hall (R.A. Salvador reference); from Lord of the Rings fame; or even Thor himself carrying Mjolnir.  Shafer Canyon certainly presented us with pleasant surprises!

 




One sign you will see is about the Bighorn Sheep Lambing Area; unfortunately we didn't see any of these majestic creatures walking the ground areas, or among the rocky ledges.  We did, however, see the Colorado River and the famous "gooseneck" that lies below Dead Horse Point.  By the way, one of these shots is supposed to be of "Thelma and Louise Point", but I can't figure out which one.



The Gooseneck 




Shafer Canyon has a lot more interesting rock formations besides what we called "Valley of the Hammers"; I found not one map nor site that gave names to them, but that's not unusual.  There are so many formations throughout the area, that giving each one a name, well who could keep track!?!

Here's where the road gets a bit interesting, it's one of those riverbeds that we didn't just cross, but had to drive through for a bit before we came to an actual road again.  A couple of times I had to get out, scout out a more level driving area, and direct Roy over it.











Now that storm coming in from the south and west I mentioned in Part One; somehow we kept just missing it; in other words, we didn't get rained on, but saw an amazing lightning show in the distance.  I can never seem to get those lightning shots timed exactly though, so no photos of the show, just memories.

There were more formations of course, the most prominent being "Chimney Rock"; couldn't help but take shots of it as we got closer and closer.  Yes, another formation called "Chimney Rock", but this time in San Juan County, Utah.

We did find an information board at one point which explained about the Shafer Trail, Bighorn Sheep and various dos and don'ts.  Too bad those people we had seen driving cars up from Potash Road didn't stop and bother to read it.  Don't be fooled though, there are still several miles to go before you see pavement again; this ride is not over yet!

The potash collection pools are not too far away; once you get past them, you'll enter into Grand County.  Still a ways to go yet till you reach Potash Road itself; there will be various trails to the left and right, but "no trespassing" signs will keep you going in the correct direction.

Potash Collection Pools

Now Arches National Park has its "Balanced Rock" and so does the Shafer Trail; across from it, a small cave can be seen within the wall.

Once you see these rock formations, you're almost to Potash Road; ahead will be the boat basin and immediately the paved road. Don't be too keen to get off Potash Road quickly; you don't want to miss out seeing Jug Handle Arch, Wall Street (a mecca for "crack" climbers) and several areas of rock art.

We surely lucked out this day; the storm that had gone through dumped enough water onto the cliffs to form a waterfall.

We did it!  We drove the Shafer Trail!  Now this was a special day for us, not just because we drove the trail, but we were celebrating our anniversary too.  We treated ourselves to a most awesome dinner of prime rib and baked sweet potato at The Cowboy Grill at Red Cliffs Lodge; the view from our table did not disappoint.

Part Three will be the next installment of this most excellent adventure...the White Rim Trail.

Mary Cokenour

Riding by Old Mines into the Mountains of La Plata Canyon.

The La Plata (meaning "silver" in Spanish) Canyon is located between the Animas Valley/Durango to the east and Mancos to the west in Southwestern Colorado; the closest town being Hesperus. Simply go east of Hesperus towards the Hesperus Ski Lift on Route 160, then turn north onto Route 124 (The Kennebec Cafe will be the corner property). This road is paved for about the first ten miles; you'll be passing by many ranches and lovely homes, but the scenery behind them is the best of the viewing.

 

 

 

 

As you enter the forest, there will be a home tucked into the trees here and there; but it is a lush forest area of Douglas Fir, Engelmann Spruce and Colorado Aspens. You will be following alongside the La Plata River, come across La Plata City which was an old mining town established in 1875, and also come across remnants of other old mining claims.  We were there in October, so were lucky to experience the changing of greenery into fall colors.

Along the way we saw a small waterfall on our left hand side, while on the right we were following parallel to an apparently dried out river bed.  I say "apparently" as we saw patches of water here and there, so once the snow thaws on the mountains in the spring, this river probably becomes quite active.

 

 

 

 

Traveling along, you might not notice that you're steadily climbing upwards; but you certainly will notice those beautifully majestic mountain peaks again...Burwell and Spiller Peaks.  Only October and already wearing thick cloaks of snow; the clouds creating crowns around the tops of the peaks.

 

 

The road itself will begin to get a bit rougher when you begin an even steeper incline; to the right will be a creek and a pretty impressive waterfall.  Past this area the road is layered in roughly cut rocks and while a 4 wheel drive vehicle can make the trek, it will be a very bumpy ride.  We simply parked and walked for awhile; a massive pickup truck passed by us; more than likely coming from the mine that the Wildcat Mining Corporation was working further up into the canyon.  When you pass those homes, when you first get onto Route 124, don't be surprised to see many a sign protesting the opening and running of the mine.

 

 

 

 

About a quarter of a mile up the road, from the waterfall, is the only solid remnant of a mining camp, a tall stone chimney.  Located high up in this canyon area, it's a surprise to come upon, and yet starkly surreal; wander around a little and you will see a piece of wood planking, perhaps from a wall or floor.

Sunlight and Shadows at Play in the Forest

This entire canyon trek is filled with beauty; there were many trails that could be hiked, and pieces of history to explore.  While we wanted to keep hiking ourselves, the cold mountain air was creeping into our bones; the rough stone road ahead kept us from going further on with the SUV as we just didn't want to get stranded with flat tires, or damage an axle.  That certainly does not mean that we won't come back and try again; hopefully those rocks will have worn down a bit.

Mary Cokenour