Saturday, May 14, 2016

Bull Valley Gorge


Saturday morning Kent and I headed towards Kanab, Utah.  There was no rain this past week so it was a good time to explore Bull Valley Gorge in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  We enjoyed the back country drive through scenic Johnson Canyon before merging onto Skutumpah Road (Scoot-um-pa).  This area is quite remote so, if you go, be prepared.

Bull Valley Gorge is impressive when viewed from above, the gorge is at least 100 ft. deep.  One unique feature is a truck wedged high above a section of the narrows, since it could't be removed it became the base for a wider bridge over the gorge.  Once you descend into the gorge it is noticeably cooler, the deep sandstone walls sculpted by water form a pretty impressive slot canyon.  If you go be ready to face a few obstacles - one being a 10 ft. chockstone . . . there is a rope and you will need it!


Old movie set used for Gunsmoke, Death Valley Days,
 How the West was Won and a few other westerns

Johnson Canyon Road is paved and quite scenic

We left the pavement and turned onto Skutumpah Road

We have arrived at Bull Valley Gorge

Starting out on the trail......

This is a deep gorge, it's best to stay on the trail

Do you see Kent? He's trying to take a peek into the 100 ft. gorge



This is where we entered the gorge....

Starting to descend into the unknown

The walls get higher as we go

The walls twist and turn

It's nice and cool in the gorge

We're in the gorge, hope we can find our way out

Three men died in this truck


62 years later, it still has a license plate and tires

The truck is now part of the newer sturdy bridge, along with logs, boulders and dirt

Bull Valley Gorge is worth the trip, it's quite amazing!

Mud from recent rains


Beautiful


You definitely need upper body strength here!

It's only a 10 ft. rockfall ....whew!

Heading back out of the gorge

It is very deep

Here's a view of the truck from the trail up above the gorge

This shows the road that is built on top of the truck

Looking at the gorge from the road

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