Spring trip to The Swell--Day 1

Somehow, one of Utah's greatest geological oddities and most scenic areas--the San Rafael Swell--has managed to escape becoming part of the U.S. National and Utah State Parks systems. While its beauty and recreational opportunities rival those of nearby National Parks, you don't have to deal with the over-regulation that plagues the popular parks. High admission fees? How about no entry fees whatsoever. Camping fees? Nope, just find one of countless previously used campsites throughout the Swell and you're good. Standing in line at 6 am to get a limited hiking permit? No hoops to jump through here.

I was joined by my Dad, brothers Matt and Eros, Eros's son Aaron, and nephew Hector for my latest excursion into the Swell. Our short 3-day trip was centered around a 15-mile hike through The Chute of Muddy Creek. There was also one mountain bike ride, with most of the remaining time devoted to rock art.

Realizing that I'd beat the rest of my family (coming from the Salt Lake City area) to the predetermined meeting spot at Castle Dale, I figured I had just enough time to stop and photograph the Rochester panel east of Emery.

There's lots to take in at the Rochester panel.

Some common elements we noticed in San Rafael area rock art are snakes, winged figures, and figures with wide-set E.T.-like eyes.

Even though everyone on the trip are not bikers, I convinced everyone to bring whatever bike they could find so they didn't miss the opportunity to ride one of Utah's newest and most scenic singletracks--the Good Water Rim. The trail starts near The Wedge overlook and follows the rim along the "Little Grand Canyon" gorge of the San Rafael River before continuing on along the rim of Good Water.

Man, I'm loosing my nerve in my old age. Here, I'm completely freaking out about a foot from the rim. I used to be able to tight rope cliffs like this without blinking. Don't worry, the real trail never gets this close to the edge, it's just me being stupid. Matt Photo.

The San Rafael's Little Grand Canyon.

Eros goofing around at the Little Grand Canyon overlook.

Aaron and Eros cruise along the Good Water Rim. Despite all of the Navajo Sandstone exposed in the canyon walls, don't expect Moab-like smooth slickrock.  A thin layer of Carmel limestone capping the Navajo makes the trail surface fairly choppy.

Looking down Good Water Canyon.

Hector got this sweet sequence shot with his fancy new camera. I'm well overdue for a camera upgrade myself.

After the bike ride, we hit several points of interest down the Buckhorn Wash Road as we made our way toward our camp at Tomsich Butte.

I purposely left out the details when I mentioned to everyone prior to the trip that we'd be visiting the Morrison-Knudsen tunnels. You see, my brother Matt Knudsen married a Morrison, and I knew everybody would be scratching their heads as to what I could possibly be talking about out here in the middle of nowhere. There's not as much to see these days now that they have sealed off the tunnels. Still a bit of interesting history though (try and read the print in this photo of an information kiosk in Buckhorn Draw). Rumor has it that if the Navajo Sandstone would have passed the "explosives test," NORAD and other military facilities very well could have ended up here in the San Rafael Swell instead of deep within a granite mountain in Colorado.

Known as the "cattle guard" rock art site, these petroglyphs are rather unusual because they are not pecked into a dark desert varnish like most other carvings I've seen in the southwest. The lack of contrast makes them a little hard to see and even harder to photograph.

This single huge dinosaur track in the Navajo Sandstone can be found a few feet off of the the Buckhorn Wash Road.

Outlaw-turned-Peace Officer Matt Warner first met then-19-year-old Butch Cassidy in Telluride Colorado in 1885.  Together they raced horses with some rustling on the side until successfully robbing a Telluride bank in 1889. They later went their separate ways with Butch eventually forming the Wild Bunch Gang.  After a string of robberies and nearly 4 years in prison, Warner gave up the outlaw life. By the time he crawled up this ledge in Buckhorn Draw to write his name in 1920, he had been elected Justice of the Peace in nearby Price.  Warner died in 1938.

Although heavily vandalized in the past, the Buckhorn Draw pictographs are still an amazing sight.  The Barrier Canyon style of art seen here is at least 2,000 years old.

One interpretation of the bizarre Buckhorn panel is that the scene depicts Shamans transforming into supernatural or animal-like beings.

Buckhorn Wash pictographs.

Buckhorn Wash pictographs.

Buckhorn Wash.

The red angels of Buckhorn Wash.

Despite being in hurry to get to our campsite at Tomsich Butte in the southern part of the Swell, I insisted we make the short detour to view the exquisite Head of Sinbad pictographs.

More Barrier Canyon style art at Head of Sinbad.

Although several thousand years old, the Head of Sinbad pictographs are extremely well preserved and have yet to be vandalized.

Look into the hollow eyes of this ancient E.T. and you may be caught in a hypnotic trance.

We arrived at Tomsich just before sundown, through up our tents, had dinner, and fell asleep anxiously awaiting our big hike in the morning through "The Chute."

Camp along Muddy Creek in the shadows of Tomsich Butte.