ATV Adventures: Riding through burned-out woods on the Paiute ATV Trails
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- Riding into Dry Canyon, always a treat on this trail.
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- Traveling through the burned-out woods on the Big Table Trail.
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- More evidence of fire on the mountain.
It was the second day of our stay at the Moore’s Old Pine Inn. After two nights in the “Fallen Dove Brothel” room at the Inn, we were ready for adventure. We met in front of the original Hotel for a briefing and line-up. I think it is essential to review the drop system and start with a prayer.
We left Marysvale on a road just south of Liz and Charlie’s RV Park, which took us by the Lazy L Ranch. On this property, the jail that was supposed to have held Butch Cassidy resides. I don’t know, it is hard to separate the truth from folklore.
Our ride took us across Marysvale Valley on the Dry Creek Road to the mouth of Dry Canyon. This is a pretty canyon with impressive rock walls, where the trail took us up 700 feet out of the valley on some switchbacks into the Fishlake National Forest.
We stopped at the top to view a waterfall recently discovered on Dry Creek. They call it Dry Creek for a reason. The flow in the fall is a disappointment compared to the amount of water splashing down in the canyon in the spring. Still, it was a good place to take a break and regroup.
Refreshed, we moved on to a junction with the main Paiute trail. We turned north for a couple of miles, then turned south onto a trail that does not show on the Paiute trail map. This trail took us into a massive section of burned-out woods. There was nothing straight about this narrow track – we weaved in, out, and around eerie stands of burned trees. We were fascinated by the destruction of this fire.
We worked our way around Big Table Mountain to the edge of a canyon on the south side. We didn’t know it at the time, but we were looking down into the Dry Creek Canyon – the canyon we rode through to get to this point. We had climbed to 9,800 feet and decided to take a break for lunch. A view this good needed some time to be appreciated.
We looked down into the canyon and west into the valley. We could see Piute Reservoir and Marysvale nestled up against the base of the Tushar Mountains. To the east, we could see some patches of fall colors- a different kind of fire on the mountain.
The trail out to the edge of the canyon was faint and not well-traveled. Had I looked more closely at the map, I would have seen that the trail continued around the mountain, connecting with the trail we came in on to make a loop. We missed that opportunity and rode out the way we came in.
Back on the main trail, we turned north toward Manning Meadow Reservoir. We were on the south edge of the Monroe fire, the largest fire this year in Utah. It burned a total of 73,000 acres. As we passed the reservoir, we could see how close the fire had come to the cabins in Manning Meadow. This one fire accounted for 44 percent of the total acres burned in Utah this year.
I have been following the fire information this year, especially fires that affect the ATV trails I love to ride. This is what I have learned:
- Total number of fires: 1,131 — Total acres burned: 164,699
- Human-caused fires: 679 — Total acres burned: 10,226
- Naturally caused: 358 — Total acres burned: 55,996
- Unknown causes: 94 — Total acres burned: 98,477
You can monitor this information yourself at https://utah-fire-info-utahdnr.hub.arcgis.com.
We continued on our loop, dropping down to Upper Box Creek Reservoir. We stopped for a break because a vault toilet was available there. I have stopped here before because it is such a pretty lake. Not that day, the reservoir was empty. I have never seen it in that condition before.
Coming to the junction that closed the loop we had ridden, we turned left. The last time I came to this point, I turned right and was almost to Manning Meadow Reservoir before I realized my mistake. Backtracking, I found the group I was supposed to be leading, waiting at the turn. That is so embarrassing.
We made it back to the Inn in Marysvale, finishing a ride of 67 miles, with one more night to spend in the “brothel” room. When you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down, and find a room at the Old Pine Inn. It will be memorable.
Lynn R. Blamires can be reached at quadmanone@gmail.com.
