Warner Valley, Toroweap, Silver Reef

[Udink]

I left the snow and mud behind and spent this past weekend in southern Utah. Along with my wife and some friends, we visited Warner Valley, drove out to Toroweap to see the Grand Canyon, and spent some time exploring around Leeds and Silver Reef.


http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=http:%2F%2Fudink.org%2Fgeo%2FWarnerValleyTorowea pSilverReef.kmz&aq=&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.626896,86.572266&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=9
http://udink.org/geo/WarnerValleyToroweapSilverReef.kmz


My wife and I stayed at a friend's house in Hurricane. When we arrived on Friday, we piled into our friend's Jeep and headed toward Warner Valley. We planned to check out Fort Pearce, then the dinosaur tracks, but a flat tire cut our plans short. After returning to town to have a spare tire mounted, we got back on the road and hiked around the Fort Pearce area, but darkness kept us from going to see the dino tracks.


Changing the flat tire on the Jeep
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXH1Zc28SI/AAAAAAAAR8c/HPOAvhx-jlQ/s640/IMG_1760.JPG

Ruins of Fort Pearce
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXH4bgNeDI/AAAAAAAAR8o/8itQhxRfFso/s640/IMG_1773.JPG

Pioneer names in Fort Pearce Wash
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXH7g18eoI/AAAAAAAAR80/0mMicHC29mo/s640/IMG_1784.JPG

Hurricane Cliffs east of Fort Pearce Wash
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXH-0Gk0MI/AAAAAAAAR88/JUU5_9gWiAQ/s640/IMG_1795.JPG

Sunset on the cliffs south of Sand Mountain
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXIACXjJmI/AAAAAAAAR9A/w7e5ORm1-tg/s640/IMG_1797.JPG

Petroglyphs in Fort Pearce Wash
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXIInq_OVI/AAAAAAAAR9Q/IVXbOI1E0Cs/s640/IMG_1804.JPG

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXIMzu1EKI/AAAAAAAAR9c/81tB2CwahLY/s640/IMG_1824.JPG

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXIPDmWgDI/AAAAAAAAR9g/CS55XcV6EkE/s640/IMG_1826.JPG

Looking for more rock art
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXILep6kXI/AAAAAAAAR9Y/radxAhSKxCM/s640/IMG_1819.JPG


On Saturday we joined a huge group of geocachers for breakfast in St. George, then left for an excursion to Toroweap and the Grand Canyon. We had 11 vehicles in the convoy, and I felt out of place without a Jeep. :lol8: We stopped to top off the fuel in Colorado City, then hit the dirt roads heading south, taking the Clayhole Valley route (BLM road 5). We made a few stops to find geocaches along the way, which took a while each time considering the number of people in the group. It took about three hours to reach the overlook at Toroweap. Roads were mostly dry and in decent shape, with a few lingering mud holes from rain earlier in the week. Upon reaching the Grand Canyon National Park boundary, the road got much rougher. A passenger car could have gotten to the park boundary if carefully driven, but beyond that you'd really need high-clearance. The overlook was just awesome. From the end of the road there are great views upstream, and a very short hike from there will give amazing views downstream toward Lava Falls.


Jeeps lined up before breakfast in St. George
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXIhCQamII/AAAAAAAAR-I/xqcyUyRjhDI/s640/IMG_1847.JPG

Fueling up in Colorado City
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXIk51yNAI/AAAAAAAAR-U/AbkaYqBfCvU/s640/IMG_1851.JPG

Just south of the UT-AZ border
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXImf2pzxI/AAAAAAAAR-Y/FrQD7Zw5tm4/s640/IMG_1856.JPG

The convoy
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXIsp8kHxI/AAAAAAAAR-s/vBs7e0DbzJg/s640/IMG_1872.JPG

Heading south toward Clayhole Valley
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXIt2Q1oQI/AAAAAAAAR-w/5p2UjXsd7tg/s640/IMG_1874.JPG

Stopped just outside Grand Canyon National Park
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXI7mbsSsI/AAAAAAAAR_Q/kZwa3ZouuYg/s640/IMG_1906.JPG

Toroweap Point
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXI97OV1kI/AAAAAAAAR_Y/Iuy8Lt-Zge8/s640/IMG_1910.JPG

The Grand Canyon from Toroweap Overlook
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXJAs2JKTI/AAAAAAAAR_g/WnTmMowG_kw/s800/IMG_1918_stitch.jpg

Chris sitting on the edge
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXJE87jV_I/AAAAAAAAR_s/TiO9oEUNz8s/s640/IMG_1935.JPG

View downstream toward Lava Falls
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXJTMG6vlI/AAAAAAAASAQ/Lh-70a3KUaY/s640/IMG_1996.JPG


We tried taking a different route back to town, crossing over the south slope of Mt. Trumbull. Very shortly after we left BLM road 5, we ran into snow which only got deeper as we climbed in elevation. My friend was in the lead with his Jeep and I was following in second place. The Jeep did a good job of staying on top of the snow, but my hog of a truck was digging in deep. I eventually bogged down and couldn't go further, but the Jeep continued for a short distance before hitting some downed trees which would have halted everybody's forward progress anyway. As everyone tried turning around, a couple of us got stuck, including me. It took two Jeeps with winches, and several attempts to finally free the truck. After I got unstuck, I had to pull out one of the Jeeps that had freed me because he'd gotten stuck turning around too. :haha: We had to backtrack and retrace our original route to get to civilization, and setting sun lit up the western sky on the way back.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI1cOMRMnqk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZI1cOMRMnqk


On the way to Mt. Trumbull
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXJY_OtbaI/AAAAAAAASAg/FsQXeuZiwGg/s640/IMG_2021.JPG

My truck, good and stuck
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXJjZ-wICI/AAAAAAAASA4/l2o_fpWqZ_E/s640/IMG_2035.JPG

Preparing to winch out
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXJmhUAVvI/AAAAAAAASBA/QmL4mRysivQ/s640/IMG_9416.JPG

Me pulling a Jeep out
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXJqA8KKQI/AAAAAAAASBM/bcFmKJtddJE/s640/IMG_9438.JPG

Sunset on the way back north
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXJsH4XYxI/AAAAAAAASBY/zCToMdqmPxM/s640/IMG_2055.JPG


Sunday was an easy day of exploring around Leeds and the Silver Reef area. We checked out some old buildings, cemeteries, and abandoned mines.


Pine Mountain behind Red Reef
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXJvfJcj5I/AAAAAAAASBk/umZ6rxnv8fY/s640/IMG_2067.JPG

Old stone buildings at Silver Reef
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXJzFEyxkI/AAAAAAAASBs/pvSqrjPwG4I/s640/IMG_2083.JPG

Abandoned mine near Silver Reef
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXJ09jXtUI/AAAAAAAASBw/OzprV_bztrE/s640/IMG_2086.JPG

View down into the shaft
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXJ7KQPzTI/AAAAAAAASB8/UNXLYmKyDLU/s640/IMG_2096.JPG

Unknown graves at the cemetery near Big Hill
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXJ_lZTQfI/AAAAAAAASCE/WG8SbsOEHxk/s640/IMG_2100.JPG

Mine shaft near Big Hill
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_JpEWXOITrzw/TXXKAqPORcI/AAAAAAAASCI/z7Cgo-i7vrI/s640/IMG_2101.JPG


You can see all the photos here:
WarnerValleyToroweapSilverReef
https://picasaweb.google.com/Dennis.Udink/WarnerValleyToroweapSilverReef#

[tanya]

That's a lot of vehicles! You think you guys got close enough to the edge at Toroweap? :mrgreen:

[Don]

Nice. Looks like a lot of fun! That winch vid looked like it was an adventure!

[Win]

Looks like you had a great weekend. Silver Reef is pretty interesting, we'll be going back there pretty soon. I had a few good pictures from last Spring but must have deleted them.

Win

[accadacca]

Awesome report! This is on my top 10 list for 2011. :popcorn:

[Big_E!]

I need to do this trip again in the fall planning to stay overnight out on the rim. Who's in? :mrgreen:

[tanya]

:2thumbs:

[Udink]

I need to do this trip again in the fall planning to stay overnight out on the rim. Who's in? :mrgreen:
Ooh ooh, me, me! :lol8: I would love to spend at least one night out at Toroweap, and do some exploring on foot.