Another Salt Creek Canyon Report

Curt

Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2014
Messages
412
Its been a year since I made this trip and I'm only finally getting around to posting something. Part of the reluctance is due to the other great reports on this web site. I don't really have anything to add and a lot of my pictures are repeats of ones found on those other reports. But, it was a great trip and I thought, 'So what if its basically a repeat of other reports?'. Its nice to see the pictures again.

One thing I didn't count on in planning this trip was the possibility of snow. It was a complete surprise to find out that the Beef Basin was snowed in. At the Needles Park Headquarters they expressed a high degree of doubt about our prospects of being able to get to the trail head. We decided to try it anyway. We had a 4WD pickup and we had always planned to take the pickup to the trail head and had never quite figured out how we were going to retrieve it. That problem was suddenly looming a lot larger. There wasn't much snow on the road till we got near Bridger Jack Mesa. We did encounter a fair amount of mud. At first it was just muddy, then it was slippery mud, then it was snow on slippery mud. I wasn't driving and I have to admit I was unnerved by how much difficulty we were having staying in the track and making way once we passed the last place anyone before us had given up and turned around. We didn't quite make it to the trail head before we gave up too at sunset. We ended up camping by the road in the snow. Its been a few years since I've done that and I was reminded of how I still don't like it.

As I look at this , I think it doesn't look so bad, but what finally got us was going down hill. You couldn't stop - you'd just slide - and you couldn't hardly control the direction vehicle was taking. The road goes close to the edge in a couple places and although nobody said anything I'm sure we were all thinking about the possibility of sliding off.

CLSC-5.jpg


Anyway, here's pictures from the trip.

CLSC-7.jpg

CLSC-8.jpg


CLSC-9.jpg


CLSC-11.jpg


CLSC-13.jpg


View attachment 40264

The snow was mostly gone once we got down into the creek itself.
CLSC-20.jpg


We started seeing ruins almost right away.
CLSC-22.jpg


CLSC-24.jpg


The riparian overgrowth near Kirk's cabin seemed a lot more impenetrable than this picture shows.
CLSC-25.jpg

CLSC-26.jpg


The arch near Kirk's cabin is hard to see because of the rock wall behind it.
CLSC-30.jpg


CLSC-31.jpg


The wagon seemed to be in better condition in some of the other older reports.
CLSC-36.jpg


Looking down canyon near Kirk's cabin
CLSC-37.jpg


Looking back the way we came in about the same spot.
CLSC-38.jpg


Big ruins
CLSC-40.jpg


More ruins
CLSC-42.jpg


Some ruins on the middle shelf. I can't imagine how the ancients accessed them.
CLSC-44.jpg

CLSC-45.jpg

CLSC-47.jpg


CLSC-48.jpg

Squash Patch Ruins. The remains of last year's squash are on the lower right corner.
CLSC-49.jpg


CLSC-52.jpg

CLSC-59.jpg


Alcove where All American Man is found. He's in the alcove on the left in front of the wall.
CLSC-62.jpg

CLSC-63.jpg


CLSC-65.jpg




CLSC-67.jpg


View attachment 40290

View to the north. The picture above was taken at the notch between the two monoliths.
CLSC-73.jpg


View to the south.
CLSC-72.jpg


Ruins at the 4 faces. The 4 faces are on the right edge under the ledge.
CLSC-74.jpg


CLSC-76.jpg

CLSC-86.jpg


CLSC-87.jpg


CLSC-107.jpg

CLSC-108.jpg

CLSC-113.jpg


We liked this camp spot a lot. It was an established spot but didn't look like it had been used in a long time.
CLSC-115.jpg


CLSC-122.jpg

CLSC-125.jpg


Flash flood debris.
CLSC-131.jpg


CLSC-134.jpg


CLSC-137.jpg

CLSC-149.jpg
 

Attachments

  • CLSC-53.jpg
    CLSC-53.jpg
    64.5 KB · Views: 27
  • CLSC-101.jpg
    CLSC-101.jpg
    64.5 KB · Views: 27
  • CLSC-102.jpg
    CLSC-102.jpg
    166.5 KB · Views: 27
  • CLSC-111.jpg
    CLSC-111.jpg
    55.3 KB · Views: 26
  • CLSC-112.jpg
    CLSC-112.jpg
    59.7 KB · Views: 27
  • CLSC-121.jpg
    CLSC-121.jpg
    79.9 KB · Views: 28
Last edited:

Ben

Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2014
Messages
1,873
thanks for sharing. i always prefer seeing more.
 

Jackson

I ❤️ GYE
.
Joined
May 31, 2015
Messages
3,064
Probably every trip report I've posted has been a repeat of someone else's, but I think it's interesting to see how other people perceive a particular place. So thanks for your perspective on Salt Creek!
 

cmgz

Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
100
I was there last March. I had to walk the last part of the road because of the snow and change my destination to Angel Arch instead of the entire trail. Cold at night, beautiful in the day. Never saw anyone till I was coming out. Great report!
 

Curt

Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2014
Messages
412
I was there last March. I had to walk the last part of the road because of the snow and change my destination to Angel Arch instead of the entire trail. Cold at night, beautiful in the day. Never saw anyone till I was coming out. Great report!
Our trip was actually in March too. We had the same experience too - cold at night but beautiful during the day. But we saw several people. Most of them were in the upper canyon. I was surprised because of the difficulty we had in getting there just to start the hike.

We ran into a woman hiking alone on her way out. That would have been on March 9. Hard to remember the conversation a year later, but I think she said that we were the first ones that she had encountered on the trip. Was that you?
 

Glasterpiece

Member
.
Joined
Mar 19, 2014
Messages
560
Neat to see that area that time of year. Did you see any bears?
 

Curt

Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2014
Messages
412
I checked the dates and yes, we did meet. Small world!
I wanted to thank you on behalf of us all for the directions you gave us for getting through the riparian overgrowth by Kirk's cabin. It sure made that part easier.
 

Curt

Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2014
Messages
412
Neat to see that area that time of year. Did you see any bears?
No bears, no tracks, no scat. But we were still required to have bear canisters. There's still ammo boxes at the camp site by the 4 faces - I think that's SC-3. SC-1 & SC-2 don't have them. We didn't check SC-4.
 

slc_dan

Desert Rat-Weekend Warrior
Joined
Jun 7, 2012
Messages
1,687
No bears, no tracks, no scat. But we were still required to have bear canisters. There's still ammo boxes at the camp site by the 4 faces - I think that's SC-3. SC-1 & SC-2 don't have them. We didn't check SC-4.


Thanks for posting.

We saw a lot of scat filled with Prickly Pear seeds.
 

Eugene

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2012
Messages
140
Did this hike a few years back with my grandson. Was his first hike so had to help him some so didn't get to enjoy it like I should have. Would like to go back and do it with a little more exploration again.
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
Jackson Another Salt Laker Noobs: Introduce yourself! 6
kwc Another Adirondack Hike Hiking & Camping 3
B Oh look yet another Utah conditions thread: mid May 2023 Trip Planning 9
Rockskipper Did someone put another monolith on Mt. Wilbur in Glacier? General Discussion 14
kwc Another sunny day, another jaunt in the Southern Adirondacks Hiking & Camping 1
kwc Another short jaunt in the southern Adirondacks Hiking & Camping 0
kwc Another Southern Adirondacks hike - Clockmill Pond and Rock Lake Hiking & Camping 0
Mikjik86 Another Wind River Trip Planning! Elkhart/Titcomb/Knapsack/Shannons Pass loop back to Elkhart, or continue to Green River Lakes Trailhead? Trip Planning 10
kwc Yet Another Adirondack Paddle On The Water 1
Reef&Ruins Interesting Thread on Another Hiking Forum General Discussion 13
Nethos Another water post(Bowdie/Midway) Trip Planning 10
kwc Another day, another Adirondack paddle On The Water 1
kwc Yet another Adirondack paddle On The Water 1
kwc Another Adirondack Paddle On The Water 0
kwc Another Adirondack fire tower Hiking & Camping 2
G another lurker converting to a non-lurker Noobs: Introduce yourself! 0
zionsky Another Fatality at AL General Discussion 40
Ben Longest you've gone without seeing another person General Discussion 17
kwc Another Hike in the Adirondacks 5/13/20 Hiking & Camping 3
kwc Yet Another Adirondack Hike 5/5/20 Hiking & Camping 1
kwc Another Adirondack Hike 4/23/20 Hiking & Camping 2
kwc Another Adirondack Paddle ... On The Water 0
kwc A Sunny Day Calls for Another Adirondack Paddle On The Water 2
kwc Another Adirondack Hike Hiking & Camping 1
F Another Lurker comes out of the Woods Noobs: Introduce yourself! 11
boulder Another new guy Noobs: Introduce yourself! 2
WasatchWill Horsetail Falls: Another Father-Daughter Overnighter Backpacking 3
kwc Another Adirondack Paddle On The Water 4
Ugly Another Friday Night... White Winter Sports 7
balzaccom Another Trail Crew trip Backpacking 4
C Another Noober Noobs: Introduce yourself! 6
T Another of those what shoes for cdt loop Gear 8
wabenho Another Morning MTB Ride – Wasatch Back Everything Else 1
Kelley Another Sleeping Pad question. Gear 5
Miya Yay! Another Tent and Trail Runners! Gear 8
kwc another Adirondack Canoe day trip On The Water 5
Tymath Another noob from Utah Noobs: Introduce yourself! 4
IcyJ Yet another noob here Noobs: Introduce yourself! 6
Perry Wow! Another Impressive Feat: Man Climbs Colorado's 100 Highest Peaks. Nonstop General Discussion 2
Rockskipper The Bells - yet another place getting overwhelmed General Discussion 19
SKLund Packs: On Another Subject Gear 9
WasatchWill Memorial Day: Another great trip to Torrey Hiking & Camping 11
JackBurns Not another Beef Basin trip Off Road 4
Blake Merrell Kayaking Lone Rock Canyon: Another beUTAHful adventure! On The Water 8
H Another noon! Noobs: Introduce yourself! 2
Nick Banz Another Noob Noobs: Introduce yourself! 0
Nick Another wolf was in Utah General Discussion 2
dfcooper Another Noob. Noobs: Introduce yourself! 4
Deepak YAH. Yet Another Hiker Noobs: Introduce yourself! 1
WasatchWill Another Timp Trip, Another Report... Backpacking 10

Similar threads

Don't like ads? Become a BCP Supporting Member and kiss them all goodbye. Click here for more info.

Top