The trail passes four picnic grounds from Copleys Cove
upstream to Pistol Rock. The cool shade of the cotton woods and
the babbling of the creek make this stretch of the canyon a
favorite picnicking area. Because of this use, there can be
considerable traffic along this segment of the trail. Near
Pistol Rock picnic ground the rocks are contorted and in places
stand vertically. The folding of the rocks resulted from the
collision of two continental plates, forming a range of high
mountains in this area about 70 million years ago. The front of
this mountain range is still visible a short distance up the
trail.
Near Pistol Rock picnic ground the trail enters several
switchbacks as it climbs out of the canyon along the steep north
side. Leaving the lush vegetation of the stream bottom the trail
winds past stands of pinyon juniper and mountain mahogany. At
first the rocks are brown quartzite, these give way to black
shells that are easily eroded, and these in turn give way to
grey limestone. This is the core of the ancient mountain range
that once occupied this site. About a mile and a half beyond the
canyon bottom the trail comes out on a promontory that affords
spectacular views up and down the canyon. Across the canyon the
rocks are grey limestones similar to the ones at the overlook.
However, the red cliffs to the east are composed of cobbles and
boulders, the debris shed from the ancient mountains. The
contact between the red and grey rocks is an ancient landscape
that has been buried for about 70 million years.
After half a dozen more switchbacks the trail breaks onto the
gentler ground of the ridge top. It continues to climb, but the
gradient is gentler. Here the thin red soils support grasslands
interspersed with clumps of mountain mahogany and of aspen. As
the trail nears the junction with the main Paiute Trail there
are views of parallel trenches across the hillsides. These were
constructed in the 1960's to retard flood runoff from this land,
which had been denuded by overgrazing around the turn of the
century. Then just before the junction there are views of
Beehive Peak to the east and the Sevier River Valley beyond.
From the Bear Hollow Road southward to White Pine Peak the
trail alternates between open sage meadows and cool groves of
aspen, spruce, and fir. Since the ridge top is fairly narrow,
there are sweeping panoramas from the meadows. Here one can see
all the mountain ranges traversed by the Paiute ATV Trail.
At the turn to White Pine Peak the trail starts down the
southern leg of the Fillmore Loop. About a half a mile along
this road there is a branch to the north that leads to White
Pine Peak, a radio facility at 10,215 feet with sweeping views
of the surrounding valleys. The south branch of the road is the
south leg of the Fillmore Loop, which continues on down the
mountain. At places the road is relatively steep, gravely, and
has sudden turns so caution is necessary to keep the vehicle in
control. Near the top the vegetation is spruce and fir trees
with clumps of aspen. This gives way to aspen, then mountain
mahogany, then oak brush before breaking out onto the sagebrush
slopes above Fillmore.
Along this leg of the Fillmore Loop there are several grassy
clearings that would make good camping spots. In one clearing
there is an old rain gage that was used to measure the amount of
precipitation needing control by the watershed protection
trenches. After breaking out onto the gentler and more open
lower slopes of the mountain the trail provides views west to
Pahvant Valley, which was once flooded by Lake Bonneville, and
east to spectacular yellow rock outcrops. From there the loop is
completed by following county roads into Fillmore.
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