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By taking a short walk up the slope to the east, you
can get a sweeping panorama of Mount Baldy, Mount
Belknap, Gold Mountain, and Copper Belt Peak to the
north. To the west is the Basin and Range Province, with
mountain chains marching off to the west. To the south
are Shelly Baldy Peak, Big Johns Flat, Circleville
Mountain, Mt. Holly, and Delano Peak. On a crisp
September day the view is like a fine white wine; clear
and exhilarating.
South of the pass, the trail leads down a series of
six switchbacks to Mud Lake and Big Johns Flat. After
Big Johns Flat the trail leaves the road to follow a
true trail down Sawmill Ridge. Here it passes through
aspen and conifer with manzanita and prostrate juniper
on the ground. There is the sweet smell of pine and in
the fall the splash of color as yellow aspen leaves fall
on green conifer boughs. As this is a trail, roots and
rocks make travel more difficult than on the roads.
South of the trailhead in Merchant Valley is the first
of a series of short steep stretches in the trail.
After crossing the pavement on Utah Highway 153,
where you should be careful of traffic, the trail heads
downhill on a wide road. Then above the meadow on Lake
Stream, upstream of Three Creeks Reservoir, the trail
takes a sharp turn back to the right. This turn is easy
to miss. At the lower end of this meadow Lake Stream has
cut a 30-foot high slot through an outcrop of the
volcanic rocks that comprise most of the Tushars.
Leaving this meadow, the trail again becomes narrow and
steep until it reaches the south end of Big Flat.
Big Flat is a rolling opening in the forests that
cover the Tushar Mountains. It is a dry grassland at the
south end and wet meadows at the north. During the
summer months, it is an excellent place to observe deer
and elk as they come out to graze at twilight. As the
soils are easily eroded, travel is not permitted on Big
Flat, to protect the grassland. Utah Highway 153 is also
closed to ATV travel.
From Big Flat to Bettenson Flat the trail follows old
logging roads through tunnels of conifers and cool,
tall, straight aspen, and then out through openings onto
grass meadows. At places the trail passes old logging
operations that are slowly re-vegetating with conifers;
at other places it passes old burns that are filled in
with dense stands of aspen. The trim line at the base of
the aspen is from deer and elk browsing on tender
shoots. There are scattered areas for camping along this
section of trail and along the old logging road on the
east side of Big Flat. This side trail leads to a
trailhead and comfort station at Tippits Spring, near
the north end of the flat. There is also a trailhead
along the trail at the south end of Big Flat.
At the approach to the South Fork of City Creek there
is an area of little vegetation and eroding soil. This
degraded watershed is a small example of what much of
the country looked like around the turn of the century,
when lack of management allowed transient livestock to
overgraze. This practice led to severe problems for
valley residents because of floods and lack of summer
pasture for their livestock. Local valley residents then
petitioned the federal government to solve the problem;
resulting in the eventual creation of the National
Forests. Although there has been tremendous improvement,
for example in some areas grazing was seven times what
it is today, problem areas like this one remain.
At the south end of Bettenson Flat there is a
tremendous view northward toward the higher peaks of the
Tushars. These are the peaks the trail goes between
several miles to the north. The trail turns eastward
into the woods toward the south end of Bettenson Flat
and quickly becomes steep and narrow. After a short rise
it starts down a series of eleven tight switchbacks.
Some are so tight that it may be necessary to back up to
complete the turn. It would be extremely difficult to
get a trailer through this section. Rocks on the inside
of this section add to the difficulty. Most of this
section is tree lined, but at the openings there are
spectacular views of Circle and Panguitch Valleys to the
south. The vegetation through this section leads from
conifer down through mountain mahogany to snowberry with
lupine. Finally the trail crosses a sagebrush slope
studded with wild flowers before entering Wades Canyon.
Wades Canyon is bordered by steep cliffs of volcanic
conglomerate. Vegetation in the canyon is fir, spruce,
aspen, ponderosa pine, and cottonwood. The wide variety
of species is due to the cold air drainage which allows
species normally found at higher elevations to exist
here. It also makes for cool riding. At the mouth of the
canyon the trail breaks out onto an alluvial fan
composed of the material eroded from Wades Canyon. Here
the vegetation is first oak brush, then pinyon-juniper;
and finally sagebrush. This road across the fan and into
Circleville can be fast, but be cautious of the mounds
created to divert water off the road. Also watch for
oncoming traffic and sudden rough spots.
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