San Rafael Swell - Spring 2011
This was my 14th semi-annual geocaching event in the San Rafael Swell, and it was a great one, with almost 30 people in attendance. The group camped near South Salt Wash just off exit 108 on I-70, and we went to a lot of nearby places, including Lone Tree Wedge overlooking the upper Muddy Creek gorge, the Dike and Horizon Arch, Kimball Draw and Cat Canyon, and the Sid and Charlie rock formation.
http://castlecountry.org/geo/SanRafa...Spring2011.kmz
I arrived Wednesday evening to stake a claim on our campsite, but spent the evening in the trailer because of some nasty wind and a bit of rain. The next morning I went for a 4-wheeler ride south to Lone Tree Wedge and eventually found myself overlooking the upper Muddy Creek gorge. That afternoon people started showing up, and we had a nice night around the campfire.
Alone at camp on Wednesday evening
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Bridge over Muddy Creek at Lone Tree Crossing
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Muddy Creek north of Lone Tree Wedge
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View along Muddy Creek from the eastern point of Lone Tree Wedge
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Interesting clouds
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Slab of pavement in Devil's Canyon left over from an old I-70 gravel quarry
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Camp on Thursday evening
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Campfire on Thursday night
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On Friday a few of us rode/drove out to the Dike, hiked around the Horizon Arch area, and found a few geocaches near the end of the road. It's a very interesting drive to the arch, and the views from there are amazing. That evening we got crazy around the campfire and blew some stuff up.
Driving to Horizon Arch
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Near the end of the road at Horizon Arch
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Horizon Arch
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The canyon north of Horizon Arch
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Cliffs southwest of Horizon Arch
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Horizon Arch
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Jeep on the way back to camp
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Kimball Draw
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Camp on Friday evening
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Around the campfire
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A 1-gallon can of green beans in the fire
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn5VkjmF8n4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jn5VkjmF8n4
Everybody split up into little groups on Saturday, and since I only needed to find two geocaches within 20 miles of the area, my wife and I rode our ATVs from camp through Kimball Draw and Cat Canyon. We saw some pictographs right along the road in Kimball Draw, and stopped at an awesome area at the head of Cat Canyon. Somebody had build a steel dam at the end of a small slot canyon there, and there were tall ponderosa pine trees surrounding the area. It was a beautiful place, one that I'd like to return to and camp for a few days while hiking around and exploring.
Setting out for a ride on Saturday
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Pictographs in Kimball Draw
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Pictographs in Kimball Draw
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Pictographs in Kimball Draw
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The road where it enters Cat Canyon
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Cat Canyon
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Near the head of Cat Canyon
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Steel dam
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My youngest climbing the steel dam
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The kids heading up the canyon above the dam
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The dam canyon
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The dam canyon
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My dog got really crazy at camp Saturday night
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On Sunday I only went for a short 4-wheeler ride north of the Moore Cutoff Road, along Sand Bench toward Sid and Charlie. After returning from the ride, I pulled my camp trailer home, then fueled up and returned to pull a friend's trailer home because his truck was having engine problems. It was an awesome, fun filled weekend.
The Red Ledges and Lookout Point on the way north along South Salt Wash
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Crossing a wash near Sid and Charlie
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Sid and Charlie
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Gopher snake in the rocks near a geocache
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Sid and Charlie
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Pulling my friend's trailer to Price
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https://picasaweb.google.com/Dennis....ellSpring2011#
