Desert Exploration

Me and a couple of my brothers took advantage of an extremely mild Fall here in Utah and headed out to explore some new (and old) haunts in the West Desert. Matt's Jeep performed flawlessly as we completed a world-wind tour through the House, Confusion, and Wah Wah Ranges. 

Sawtooth Canyon camp in the central House Range.

Matt enters the Hell'n Moriah narrows of the central House Range.

There are two things that make the Hell'n Moriah narrows special (and a little scary). First, the canyon is carved into Cambrian to Ordovician-age limestone of the Notch Peak Formation. A limestone slot canyon is relatively rare compared to the hundreds of sandstone slot canyons found in the Southwest. Second, the deepest, darkest part of the canyon is a known lion's den. It is a little unnerving to be hiking through the slot and have dozens of disarticulated animal carcasses laying around!

Eros negotiates a smoothed pour-over in the Hell'n Moriah narrows.

Cabin in Sawtooth Canyon.

The mind-boggling Desert Sink Hole east of Orr Ridge of the House Range.  Large sinkholes don't normally form on alluvial fans. This sink is most likely rooted in underlying Cambrian limestone (where sinkholes typically do form) of the Weeks Limestone and Orr Formation.

Relic of mining operations in lower Amasa Valley in the House Range.

Derelict equipment used in a large-scale placer mining operation in lower Amasa Valley. Matt Photo.

Death Canyon Junction in Tule Valley. Howell Peak of the Middle House Range in distance.

Camp at Painter Spring.

The Ibex Crags of the Barn Hills.

The Tule Valley Hardpan holds water from a recent rain storm. Barn Hills in the distance.

The desolate Tule Valley Hardpan.

Hardpan mudcracks. Matt Photo.

Ordovician Eureka Quartzite make up the interesting canyon country near the abandoned Ibex ranch.

Easy-to-miss pictographs near Ibex, Utah.

Quartzite narrows at Ibex.

Crystal Peak of the Wah Wah Range.

Crystal Peak is composed of the 35-million-year old Tunnel Springs Tuff -- an volcanic ash-flow deposit that erupted from a large caldera to the east. The unusual cavities (tafoni) eroded out of the tuff are unreal.

Dolomitic "zebra rock" of the Cambrian-Ordovician Notch Peak Formation, Lawson Cove, Wah Wah Valley.

Loading bins at the Tasso Mine at Pine Grove, Wah Wah Range.

It is sad to see the carelessness of visitors to the abandoned mining district at Pine Grove. I biked through this area back in 2007, and there are several noticeable changes since then. Sure, some of the decay is due to time and heavy snowfall, but much of the destruction is clearly people ripping the cabins down for fire wood or just for fun. Compare the 2007 cabin photo above with recent photo below.

The old Revenue Mine bunkhouse in Spring 2007.

The bunkhouse today.

Revenue Mine cellar -- 2007 on the left -- door gone in 2014. Sad.