The White Rim (Day 3)

Morning view from near Candlestick Camp. Stillwater Canyon and the Green River in mid-distance. The Buttes of the Cross are illuminated in far distance below the moon.

I purposely designed day 3 of my White Rim trip to be more on the relaxing side. I even allowed myself to sleep in until the sun came up, and what a glorious sunrise it was.

A had a relatively easy 31 miles left, with interesting side trips to Fort Bottom and Hell Roaring Canyon. The weather this day was perfect, and without the slight hint of wind! I felt strong, and even managed to climb the Horse Thief Trail non-stop.

Candlestick Camp. The large sage brush between my bike and bivy served as a decent wind break until the wind finally subsided at about 2 am.

Wide-angle view of the Orange Cliffs and Buttes of the Cross above Stillwater Canyon.

The Holeman Spring slot canyon is just below the White Rim Road, adjacent to the Wilhite Trailhead.

Exploring the short but sweet Holeman Spring slot.

On the edge in Canyonlands National Park.

Wide open canyon below the Holeman Spring slot.

Potato Basin and the Green River.

Watching the Green River go by.

Wow, I never expected my childhood dream of finding a hidden treasure chest in the middle of the desert to come true! Well, this is as close as I'll ever get. Turns out the old trunk was packed into this overhang camp around 1930 by cowboy Art Murray. More details are found in Michael Kelsey's book.  Kelsey implies this cowboy camp would be difficult to reach nowadays (with the tamarisk jungle covering Potato Bottom), and that's certainly true if starting from the river, but I had no trouble getting to it from the White Rim. 

Examining the 85-year-old trunk at Art Murray and Kenny Allred's cowboy camp near Potato Bottom.

Chugging up the Walker Cut and Hardscrabble Hill.

Changing from biking shoes to running shoes at the Fort Bottom trailhead.

Running above the Green enroute to Fort Bottom.  Bighorn Mesa rises overhead.

Somewhat similar to the Citadel Ruin at Cedar Mesa, the "Moki Fort" above Fort Bottom is an Anasazi ruin with limited access making it easily defended. and s likely stronghold.

At nearly 1,000 years old, the Moki Fort is holding up pretty well.

Mark Walker's cabin on Fort Bottom.  This well-built (Mark was a carpenter by trade) cabin is now over 110 years old, and represents one of the oldest relics of cattle ranching in Canyonlands.

Mineral Canyon.

Relics of the uranium mining boom are plentiful near Mineral Bottom.

On March 3, 1836, American trapper Denis Julien took a break from boating on the Green River to etch his name into the canyonside at Hellroaring Canyon. This is one of eight known Julien inscriptions that help establish him as the first non-native to explore the lower Green River and Cataract Canyon (more than 30 years before John W. Powell's expedition). The progression of his dated inscriptions implies he boated upstream against the current in the spring of 1836. Amazingly, many historians believe he accomplished this with a mast (depicted on his boat sketch to the right of his name) and sail. While Julien is credited with the "flying sunburst" sketch at lower right, it looked older to me.

 The final thigh-crushing switchbacks of the Horse Thief Trail. 

The big climb up Horse Thief is a fitting conclusion to an epic ride. 

It felt great to finish strong. After dreaming about and planning about my own White Rim trip for a couple of decades, I felt a bit sad it was over.