BruteForce
04-02-2009, 05:13 PM
Decided that since its going to continue rain:snow for the forseeable future, I'd take today off and scout out Ophir Canyon (now named <by> MercOphir Canyon Trail).
Still quite a bit of snow up top, in some places well over 3' of hard-packed snow. I found out how deep it was when I stepped in a hole covered by snow and literally found myself sitting and the legs fully outstretched on rocks deep below! :-?
I parked and staged at Sunshine Canyon and decided to explore a nearby trail heading North/East.
I was pleasantly surprised to find this canyon just kept climbing and heading into the mountain. About 1/2 way up, I surprised a huge herd of deer and parked to snap a few photos:
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/burn4.jpg
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/burn2.jpg
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/burn3.jpg
From this point, I turned around and proceeded North toward Mercur Canyon Road, crossed it and continued past the Airsoft gaming area and continued onward toward what I'll now call MercOphir Canyon trail.
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/merc1.jpg
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/merc2.jpg
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/merc3.jpg
At this point, there wasn't much snow but I was starting to see signs that the snow would become problematic.
Did I mention that I only had 2 miles clocked on this brand new ATV before embarking on this scouting trip? What an awesome machine!
At any rate, I continued Eastward up into the canyon and the snow continued to get deeper. Fortunately, it was hard-packed and I easily rode over the top of 1' of packed snow until almost 3/4 of the way toward the top. At this point, the snow was now 1-3' packed in spots and was quickly becoming more difficult to plow through.
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/snow1.jpg
Again, I continued to plow through, but at this location, it was simply too deep and I was stuck.
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/snow2.jpg
I then decided to place a geocache at this location, entitled: First Tracks on the MercOphir Trail . In a spot near the geocache placement, I sunk into a hole well past my knee. The snow is still really deep out here!
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/snow3.jpg
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/snow4.jpg
All-in-all, it was a great ride on the only day where we haven't seen snow, rain or high winds (or all at the same time). With the amount of snow up there, the ATV/Geocaching event will need to probably be pushed until May or another location determined.
Still quite a bit of snow up top, in some places well over 3' of hard-packed snow. I found out how deep it was when I stepped in a hole covered by snow and literally found myself sitting and the legs fully outstretched on rocks deep below! :-?
I parked and staged at Sunshine Canyon and decided to explore a nearby trail heading North/East.
I was pleasantly surprised to find this canyon just kept climbing and heading into the mountain. About 1/2 way up, I surprised a huge herd of deer and parked to snap a few photos:
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/burn4.jpg
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/burn2.jpg
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/burn3.jpg
From this point, I turned around and proceeded North toward Mercur Canyon Road, crossed it and continued past the Airsoft gaming area and continued onward toward what I'll now call MercOphir Canyon trail.
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/merc1.jpg
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/merc2.jpg
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/merc3.jpg
At this point, there wasn't much snow but I was starting to see signs that the snow would become problematic.
Did I mention that I only had 2 miles clocked on this brand new ATV before embarking on this scouting trip? What an awesome machine!
At any rate, I continued Eastward up into the canyon and the snow continued to get deeper. Fortunately, it was hard-packed and I easily rode over the top of 1' of packed snow until almost 3/4 of the way toward the top. At this point, the snow was now 1-3' packed in spots and was quickly becoming more difficult to plow through.
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/snow1.jpg
Again, I continued to plow through, but at this location, it was simply too deep and I was stuck.
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/snow2.jpg
I then decided to place a geocache at this location, entitled: First Tracks on the MercOphir Trail . In a spot near the geocache placement, I sunk into a hole well past my knee. The snow is still really deep out here!
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/snow3.jpg
http://utahbruteforce.com/images/snow4.jpg
All-in-all, it was a great ride on the only day where we haven't seen snow, rain or high winds (or all at the same time). With the amount of snow up there, the ATV/Geocaching event will need to probably be pushed until May or another location determined.