cja89
Member
- Location
- Springville, UT
I've been out of the scene for awhile (got married, graduated college, had a kid), but decided it was time to go on a camping trip and hit some dirt. I ended up getting a friend and his family as well as my cousin and his wife to go with us. My friend wouldn't make it down until late Friday night, so the first day we had a smaller group.
Day 1 - Right Fork Hobble Creek
Left shortly after work and went to a little campsite up the right fork of Hobble Creek. I had sent everyone a map of the route we'd be taking and the camp sites, but we didn't have service and they'd all be getting there after dark. We got a little worried when they hadn't shown up by 9:15, but a few minutes later my cousin pulled in. It was a nice place to camp and we probably only saw 2 or 3 other people that night/morning.
Day 2 - HC to Gooseberry Reservoir
We followed the road out and decided to go out Sheep Creek instead of Diamond Fork just to get a little more dirt in. We ended up stopping and hiking 5th Water, but only made it a little past the first water fall since it was really hot and my 11 month old wasn't loving that. The area behind Spanish Fork peak is beautiful. I hadn't spent much time back there, but I was impressed.
After a quick jaunt on Highway 6, we turned onto Skyline. Neither of us had ever been on it, but I was just in awe of the views. We took a couple little side roads (including at the big radio towers) whenever we felt like it and tried to have some fun as we drove down to Gooseberry Reservoir. Forgetting it was a holiday weekend, we were shocked at how many RVs and people in general were up there. There had to have been at least 5 or 6 family reunion signs on the road.
We finally arrived at Gooseberry Reservoir and tried to find a place to camp. We went down toward the reservoir and then turned on a little side trail (which apparently from the other side is marked private?) and found good spot among a grove of aspens with a view of the reservoir.
It then rained off and on the rest of the day so we didn't end up doing a whole lot except setting up camp and playing some bocce ball. My friend arrived at almost midnight that night, but luckily had just built a sleeping platform so they just pulled over, threw some stuff in the cab and settled in for the night.
Day 3 - Gooseberry Reservoir to Joe's Valley
We woke up, packed up and headed down to the reservoir and contemplated fishing. We decided to get on the road instead and see what we could find along the way. Our plan for the day was to take Skyline to Potter's Canyon Road and then take Miller Flat down to Joe's Valley. After that we'd head up into the mountains above the switchbacks and find a place to camp.
Potter's Canyon Rd turning back up the valley...
Once we reached Joe's, we decided to go for a swim. We picked the wrong place though as it was really muddy to the point it was hard to walk. Can't say it wasn't beautiful though.
Our final campsite ended up being near Grassy Lake. We wanted to avoid all of the RVs and other people, so we took what was probably an ATV trail and squeezed (I mean literally barely fit) between some trees to get back into a small clearing. It ended up being our favorite camping spot of the trip.
We had a fire and some great dutch oven cooking and played some more bocce ball and called it a night. We were all exhausted and sunburned from swimming.
Day 4 - Grassy Lake to Ephraim and Home
After packing up the next morning, we went and briefly fished at Grassy Lake. I wish we had gone earlier so we had more time, but we didn't know what we were missing out on!
As we headed over the mountain, we saw the sign for "Ephraim Tunnel" and decided to check it out. I can't find out much about it, but it ended up just being a rocky trail down to a waterway that was built in the 1930s. Kind of anti-climactic, but a nice little detour. It was the only spot I actually needed 4WD and it was just for trying to turn around on those soccer ball sized rocks.
It was a great trip and hopefully the first of many. Monday morning after getting back I found myself planning other trips and looking for different routes, so I guess you could say I'm hooked again.
Day 1 - Right Fork Hobble Creek
Left shortly after work and went to a little campsite up the right fork of Hobble Creek. I had sent everyone a map of the route we'd be taking and the camp sites, but we didn't have service and they'd all be getting there after dark. We got a little worried when they hadn't shown up by 9:15, but a few minutes later my cousin pulled in. It was a nice place to camp and we probably only saw 2 or 3 other people that night/morning.
Day 2 - HC to Gooseberry Reservoir
We followed the road out and decided to go out Sheep Creek instead of Diamond Fork just to get a little more dirt in. We ended up stopping and hiking 5th Water, but only made it a little past the first water fall since it was really hot and my 11 month old wasn't loving that. The area behind Spanish Fork peak is beautiful. I hadn't spent much time back there, but I was impressed.
After a quick jaunt on Highway 6, we turned onto Skyline. Neither of us had ever been on it, but I was just in awe of the views. We took a couple little side roads (including at the big radio towers) whenever we felt like it and tried to have some fun as we drove down to Gooseberry Reservoir. Forgetting it was a holiday weekend, we were shocked at how many RVs and people in general were up there. There had to have been at least 5 or 6 family reunion signs on the road.
We finally arrived at Gooseberry Reservoir and tried to find a place to camp. We went down toward the reservoir and then turned on a little side trail (which apparently from the other side is marked private?) and found good spot among a grove of aspens with a view of the reservoir.
It then rained off and on the rest of the day so we didn't end up doing a whole lot except setting up camp and playing some bocce ball. My friend arrived at almost midnight that night, but luckily had just built a sleeping platform so they just pulled over, threw some stuff in the cab and settled in for the night.
Day 3 - Gooseberry Reservoir to Joe's Valley
We woke up, packed up and headed down to the reservoir and contemplated fishing. We decided to get on the road instead and see what we could find along the way. Our plan for the day was to take Skyline to Potter's Canyon Road and then take Miller Flat down to Joe's Valley. After that we'd head up into the mountains above the switchbacks and find a place to camp.
Potter's Canyon Rd turning back up the valley...
Once we reached Joe's, we decided to go for a swim. We picked the wrong place though as it was really muddy to the point it was hard to walk. Can't say it wasn't beautiful though.
Our final campsite ended up being near Grassy Lake. We wanted to avoid all of the RVs and other people, so we took what was probably an ATV trail and squeezed (I mean literally barely fit) between some trees to get back into a small clearing. It ended up being our favorite camping spot of the trip.
We had a fire and some great dutch oven cooking and played some more bocce ball and called it a night. We were all exhausted and sunburned from swimming.
Day 4 - Grassy Lake to Ephraim and Home
After packing up the next morning, we went and briefly fished at Grassy Lake. I wish we had gone earlier so we had more time, but we didn't know what we were missing out on!
As we headed over the mountain, we saw the sign for "Ephraim Tunnel" and decided to check it out. I can't find out much about it, but it ended up just being a rocky trail down to a waterway that was built in the 1930s. Kind of anti-climactic, but a nice little detour. It was the only spot I actually needed 4WD and it was just for trying to turn around on those soccer ball sized rocks.
It was a great trip and hopefully the first of many. Monday morning after getting back I found myself planning other trips and looking for different routes, so I guess you could say I'm hooked again.
