Elk Ridge
Our plans for the day got a bit messed up when we found Elephant Hill closed, but our new plan included Stevens Canyon and that worked out well. We'd have to do the top portion of Elk Ridge twice to get the entire trail but we didn't mind. It was really nice in the trees.
We started where Stevens Canyon ended and headed north. We saw deer here and there and the trail was easy. We passed the trailhead for North Long Point in both directions but there just wasn't time to do it. It's a big trail that we'll save for another time.
We opened the gate near the north end and closed it behind us. Then we went up to the trailhead and turned around at the intersection with Beef Basin. Then we headed back to the gate to open it again. An SUV got to us as we were going through it so we asked them to close it when they were through. That worked out well.
When we got back to Sego Flat at the intersection with Stevens Canyon we stopped again. It was getting chilly and we put tops up and put windows in. The temperature really drops in Utah when the sun goes down. There were many deer in the pasture and it was very scenic. We saw lots of hunters working their way through the trails, though it was elk season and the deer were safe for now.
We finally got back in our vehicles and headed south. The trail worked its way through the trees and we saw people returning to camp sites for the night. We were a bit jealous because we still had so many miles to go.
It was pretty cool when we came out of the trees and started working our way through the canyon to The Notch. The sun was setting and we pulled off at a wider spot so Hoa could get pictures of it. It was very colorful and gorgeous. We got lucky and didn't see any other vehicles on the narrow shelf road.
The south end of the ridge was in the trees again and the sun finally set on us. It was completely dark when we came to the end at the intersection with the Woodenshoe Buttes trail.
We were glad that we rearranged our plans for the day. It really ended up being a scenic and fun trip.
