4 days and 3 nights in the Coal Wash area
Thursday, June 3:
With the heat of summer fast approaching, I really wanted to get in one last camping trip to the San Rafael Swell, so I took last Friday off work and headed to the Coal Wash area on Thursday after work. My family and I camped just east of the Coal Wash staging area--it was a little wide-open, but it was close to all the action. After setting up camp, we had time for a short 4-wheeler ride before dusk, so we checked out the Yellow Seep area.
Our camp
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Wildflowers on the trail
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More wildflowers
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Not much to see at Yellow Seep except for this old water trough
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View east from Yellow Seep at sunset
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View southeast
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Friday, June 4:
The following morning we rode the Little Wedge loop, which follows the north rim of North Salt Wash, then the south rim of the San Rafael River, then follows the bottom of the Red Ledges back to Coal Wash. We stopped for a short 1.2-mile hike from the McCarty Canyon trailhead to the rim of North Salt Wash, and another 2-mile hike along a canyon that ends in a short slot before exiting above the San Rafael River. After lunch and again after dinner we spent some time less than half a mile from camp in North Salt Wash looking for frogs and enjoying the little oasis in the desert.
There were carpets of purple lupine all over the desert
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View from the McCarty Canyon trailhead
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North Salt Wash
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Some flowers that I'd never seen before
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A canyon that drains into the San Rafael River
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A bend in the canyon ahead
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View up-canyon
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A tree in a sand-filled pothole
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The very short narrows section
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More narrows
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The last bit of narrows before the canyon's end
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View of the San Rafael River from the end of the canyon
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More lupine along the Red Ledges
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Looking for frogs in North Salt Wash near camp
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Bradley holding a frog
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A frog
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Torrey hunting water skeeters
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Frog eggs
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The family in North Salt Wash at dusk
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