Hanging Tree Trail, Sanpete county Utah


Parking is now available for the Hanging Tree Trail in Sanpete county.

It is at the parking for the West Campus of Snow College.

Some of this I am posting here I cut and pasted from what I said in another forum (url removed because I don't have enough posts) –

...Well, tonight I talked with Derek. He's the chief of police for Snow College. So here’s the deal....

As of tonight is anyone going to the Hanging Tree Trail can use the Snow College West Campus parking lot. ON WEEKENDS ONLY. And when there is no shindig going on, like the car show or whatever. The catch is, EVERY vehicle that goes to park there must (1) call Derek and make sure it’s ok, first. (2) Then you must register with the campus security when you get there. They might have you park a certain way or in a certain location. Those two are the simplest requirements to meet. If anything it’s a show of respect to the school. It’s the least you can do.

There are video cameras present, unsure how much is on camera, but your trucks and trailers are safe there. Also, as required, tell them when you plan on returning to your trucks. This is good, really, because if you’re staying over night on the trail, and you don’t show up as planned, someone has an idea where you’re at and can call Search and Rescue if needed. A win-win situation.

Now, I said “on weekends only”. Who knows, maybe they’ll let one or two park there during the week and maybe they won’t. The key here is to call Derek first and ask.


In General—

Also, when going to the Hanging Tree Trail, please close the gates if you open them.
Please do not park west of the main gate without permission, that is private property. The owner has authorized me to charge a fee for parking west of the gate. Call me or the owner for more information.
Please do not litter.
Please do not vandalize anything, including the camp in Dry Canyon.
Please consider the surrounding area when you are shooting. You “might be” on BLM land, and you “might not” be on BLM land. There are locations along both XL and Dry Canyon roads where the boundaries are not clearly marked. And the ranch hands are not wearing reflecting vests, nor are the sheep.

Also, some people have taken it upon themselves to shoot the pipeline in the canyon, and that carries culinary water. Please do not shoot the pipeline, in fact, no shooting in XL Canyon (at this time) unless you know you are on BLM or SITLA properties.
Be cautious as mountain lions and rattlesnakes are in the area.


Derek Walk, Snow College Chief of Police, (435)340-1311.
That’s his cell phone. If he asks, tell him I gave you his number.


Also, if anyone needs any help or has any questions, feel free to call and ask. 435-299-0498. You can also text me.

Carl
 
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There was another encounter today. And here it was confirmed what I saw last week, when I saw signs of others havingparked on private property without consent. That time I was not able to get any information on who did what other than when and where. Today, four trucks with rock crawlers.

Initially I took pics (attached) and took notes. Then a little bit ago I was going back out and encountered the drivers on their way out.
I'm an a**hole. I have a job to do. I have been trying hard for several years to get the owner to allow people to park there. You guys know the routine. But today is like what I normally enounter- I'm not a nice guy because the sign is very clear. We have no obligation to have signs all over God's creation just because some people are *%&#^%*'s. I tried being nice about this, it's in the video, as much of an asshole that I am, I started of nice. 20 minute video, too large to transfer anywhere (for now) other than SD ram chip or thumb drive.

It is clear-
"Public Access Road Over Private Property".
"Do Not Leave The Road".

Seth, you and Cory, Jinx and Greg have been super to work with. I have no ill feelings about you guys. But because of the previous trespassings that has been happening my boss came back from Alaska early. Imagine yourself there.

All I can do is shake my head.

I have not ignored you guys when you talked about a pay station, but also my boss is gonna ask "will it at least pay for itself?" And that's what I have to ask you guys. Will it?
 

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Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
I know at least one of the guys, based on the trailer... I wonder if they understood the sign? Perhaps they thought they weren't parking off the road? What did they say when you confronted them? I'd be curious if they feel like their trucks were safer behind the fence/gate.

Unfortunately RME doesn't reach ALL the people who rockcrawl in Utah.... it sure would be nice, but I'd bet the guys pictured had no idea this was as big of an issue as it has become.
 
That is what they claimed, "Zeke" said he has a membership here, but couldn't remember his handle. Yeah, they felt their stuff was safer there. I found two of the trucks unlocked and the box trailer unlocked. I never entered them, however. They argued about how stupid it is, claiming the sign said public access, over and over. Yes, public road on private land, and they kept skirting it. So yeah, they knew where they were. Posting the video isn't as much of a problem as the connection I have. I'm hot spotting right now. It eats up my "unlimited" internet big time.
 

Greg

Make RME Rockcrawling Again!
Admin
That is what they claimed, "Zeke" said he has a membership here, but couldn't remember his handle. Yeah, they felt their stuff was safer there. I found two of the trucks unlocked and the box trailer unlocked. I never entered them, however. They argued about how stupid it is, claiming the sign said public access, over and over. Yes, public road on private land, and they kept skirting it. So yeah, they knew where they were. Posting the video isn't as much of a problem as the connection I have. I'm hot spotting right now. It eats up my "unlimited" internet big time.

Zach, yeah he's registered on here but not active that I'm aware of.

Is a simple parking lot & pay station something the owner will consider? If people could park behind the fence in a designated parking area for a fee, of say, $5 per vehicle I think you could have a winning situation. People could feel more secure about leaving their tow rigs behind for the day. It would be wise to mark out the parking area so it doesn't grow over time (railroad ties, fence?). Perhaps we could round up some help and provide labor for a day to get it done.

I'll work on getting the info about parking out in some other places, try to get everyone on the same page.
 
That was looked at when "BigSgt" and I were talking, then I guess he was reassigned or something. Man, right now...man. I was polite. Really, I was. And the way that one fella talked to me....Greg, I'm sorry man. If folks are there with consent, I'll bend over backwards to be nice. If they are trespassing, I am not a nice man (got references that will verify that, too (tic)). And I was doing my best to be nice and get this resolved. Greg, you know a lot of this already. What am I missing here? S**t. Ask some of the members here how often I'm nice to anybody....
 

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
E464ABD7-B488-4978-B2C9-48F54AFFBF13.jpeg


What about installing T-posts where the red lines are with barbed wire or even string line? Would that cause a problem for the landowner? I'm guessing that is why the T-posts on the right were installed. I'm sure we could arrange a work party to get it done.
 

Johnny Quest

Web Wheeler
Location
West Jordan
i havent gotten the chance to run HT, so i cant chime in with any experience. is there room on those roads for a truck/trailer to park, and still allow traffic to get through? maybe they thought they were parking somewhere that would not impeded traffic?

although, "do not leave the road' seems pretty clear to me....
 

TheJeepGuy

Active Member
Location
pleasant grove
We parked at what I have known as the trail head of Hanging Tree for the last 10 years or so. There was a gate like usual that said "stay on road" "private property" the road Y's right there and we parked in the dirt where everyone has parked for as long as I've know known the trail to exist. We took the signs to mean to stay on the road and not make trails or that type if thing like all the others typically do. The guy that works for the property owner blocked us when we went to leave and said he was going to "citizens arrest us" heated words were exchanged but we all calmed down and explained it was an honest mistake. I suggested a no parking sign or something. I also offered to help setup a pay station or anything to let people know that it is not okay to park there anymore. I just wanted a peaceful and sensible resolution to the situation.

We ended on what I thought were friendly terms with a handshake and Carl saying we were welcome to park there as long as we called him first.
 
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Jinx

when in doubt, upgrade!
Location
So Jordan, Utah
I like the collaborative, make this situation better for everyone, vibe this thread is taking.

It is amazing what the off community can do to help people/situations.

We ran this trail back in July and Carl was great to work with, really organized, clear with expectations, I wouldn't think twice about running the trail again...

We had the kids pick up all the trash we could see around the gate as we were loading/unloading, just to try and keep things on the up and up. Carl seemed to appreciate that.
 

Jinx

when in doubt, upgrade!
Location
So Jordan, Utah
We parked at what I have know as the trailhead of Hanging Tree for the last 10 years or so. There was a gate like usual that said "stay on road" "private property" the road Y's right there and we parked in the dirt where everyone has parked for as long as I've know known the trail to exist. We took the signs to mean to stay on the road and not make trails or that type if thing like all the others typically do. The guy that works for the property owner blocked us when we went to leave and said he was going to "citizens arrest us" heated words were exchanged but we all calmed down and explained it was an honest mistake. I suggested a no parking sign or something. I also offered to help setup a pay station or anything to let people know that it is not okay to park there anymore. I just wanted a peaceful and sensible resolution to the situation.

We ended on what I thought were friendly terms with a handshake and Carl saying we were welcome to park there as long as we called him first.

Kudos for owning the mistake. Mistakes happen, best you can do is admit and try to make it right.
 

Jesser04

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville Utah
I think a “no parking inside this gate sign” would go along ways in this situation. The “stay on the road” could be easy to misunderstand. Even add violators trailer is be booted and charged xxx.00 to have removed. These people aren’t trying to be assholes they just don’t realize they are doing anything wrong. You need to be clear about what the property owner wants.
 
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Jesser04

Well-Known Member
Location
Kaysville Utah
Kudos for owning the mistake. Mistakes happen, best you can do is admit and try to make it right.

But did they really do anything wrong? 9 our of 10 people would do exactly what they did the signage is misleading at best. I’ve never been to this trail can you park on the outside of the gate in the pic with no problems?
 

Jinx

when in doubt, upgrade!
Location
So Jordan, Utah
But did they really do anything wrong? 9 our of 10 people would do exactly what they did the signage is misleading at best. I’ve never been to this trail can you park on the outside of the gate in the pic with no problems?

There are other places to park but they are closer to town...

I am pretty sure they knew they were off the road, but like Jeepguy mentioned it was the way it has been for a while. He didn't have to mention anything here, but he had the class to own it, explain his situation, and offer to help make it better.

I don't think a lot of people would have the class to do so...
 

Hickey

Burn-barrel enthusiast
Supporting Member
But did they really do anything wrong?
Anytime you are crossing private property on a public right away, leaving the roadway is considered trespassing unless you have permission from the private property owner. I understood this as common knowledge.

I agree that better signage would help with the confusion. I'm assuming there was more signage on some of the other T-posts inside the gate, but has since been blown off by wind or been removed by jerks.
 
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We parked at what I have known as the trail head of Hanging Tree for the last 10 years or so. There was a gate like usual that said "stay on road" "private property" the road Y's right there and we parked in the dirt where everyone has parked for as long as I've know known the trail to exist. We took the signs to mean to stay on the road and not make trails or that type if thing like all the others typically do. The guy that works for the property owner blocked us when we went to leave and said he was going to "citizens arrest us" heated words were exchanged but we all calmed down and explained it was an honest mistake. I suggested a no parking sign or something. I also offered to help setup a pay station or anything to let people know that it is not okay to park there anymore. I just wanted a peaceful and sensible resolution to the situation.

We ended on what I thought were friendly terms with a handshake and Carl saying we were welcome to park there as long as we called him first.
Well, there is a communication problem clearly. I don't remember it like that. But then as I learned years ago for every incident you have three stories- my story, your story and the truth. The joys of being human. I saw a few of my own misinterpretations as well. We can sit and go over the video if you want, I don't care.
 

rockreligious

NoEcoNaziAmmo
Location
Ephraim
exactly, the problem with proper signage is it might smooth out all the wrinkles of misunderstanding and eliminate all reason for controversy. who would want that? just leave it as is so we can continue to the battle of keeping this trail open, because of all the hardships it creates on everyone involved. Its obvious to me that the tactic here is to make it so awkward to do this trail, that people will just give up, lucky for me I can just leave from my house and do the trail and drive home and don't have to park near this guys watch tower. any of you guys that know me are welcome to park in my back yard to unload, just pm me prior. You all have the right to do this trail, so do it, but make sure when you do this trail you are respectful to the adjacent landowners and go about your business.
 
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