Garner Cave

A week or so ago, Spencer Coles of utahcaves.blogspot.com asked me to go check out Garner Cave.  Of course it was one of those offers that you just can't say no to.  Although it's a fairly well-known cave, it's not quite a "gimme" either.  First off, there's knowing where it's at, then there's the steep hike to get there, rattlesnakes (potentially) at the entrance to dodge, and a 15-20 foot exposed climb- all before actually getting to the cave.  

Once you're at the cave though, things get better.  I don't know what it is about caves, but life's always better when you have one you're going to see or are coming away from just having explored one.  Garner Cave was like that.  It's not exactly an expansive cave, or one in pristine condition, but crawling through the mud, dirt, and packrat droppings still put a smile on my face.  

Garner Cave is well known, so we didn't need to use any of the gear we'd brought.  It's well roped, but it's best to be prepared.  The cave began as a small tunnel, then opened up to a corridor we could walk through.  

 At the end of the corridor, the cave necked down quite a bit and became a vertical crack.  The crack was pretty thin and we had to seek the best way down in the wider spots, while avoiding the squeeze of the narrow ones. 

Fortunately, there were ropes in place to offer handholds and support at some of the trickier spots.  The cave is humid and moist, and much of the walls to downclimb were slick with moisture.

 Unfortunately, the vast majority of the cave formations have been broken off or damaged by countless visitors.  The ones in the best condition were small and in the back of inaccessible alcoves. 

We finally reached the bottom of the downclimb where it opens up into 2 large rooms.  We looked around, then found the smaller hole to climb through to push the cave further. 

It went for another 20 feet or so before the walls got narrow again.  We squeezed through the mud and water to check around the corner.  On the other side was the "mud room" marking the end of the cave.  We turned around and crawled back through the holes and passages to get back to the big rooms, gathering empty bottles, glow sticks, and used batteries that other low class visitors had left.  Come on people!  Pack out your own junk! 

We worked our way up the crack and back out of the cave.  Back into the light.  Back to reality. 

Nearest City: North Ogden, UT
Location: N° W°
Time Needed: 3 hours round trip
Difficulty: Moderate
Kid Friendly: Nope
Additional Info:  This cave has some tight spots not recommended for those over about 200 lbs. (or kids or pregnant women for that matter)

Spring Hollow Fossils

We stopped at Spring Hollow to go rockhounding.  It's a pretty accessible spot low down in Logan Canyon.  There's a campground at the mouth of the hollow, but it's not marked very well.  A book we've got said that it's a very good spot to look for fossils, so we thought we would check it out.  

We parked in the parking lot on the south side of the river.  There were a few fishermen and others about, so I walked over to the signboard to see if it listed the Spring Hollow Trail.  It didn't.  We wandered up the road anyway.  Fortunately, at the turnoff to the group campsites, a sign indicated that the to follow the road up past the group sites and the trail would begin at the end of the road. 

The folks in Group Site B were cooking breakfast as we hiked by.  We waved and kept on going.  The trailhead started at a small bridge that crossed the creek.  Soon after, the trail got steep quite quickly.  The book said that the fossils were about 1/2 mile up, but about 1/4 mile past the bridge we spotted a few in the rocks beside the trail.  We kept hiking.  Soon, we reached a spot where the vegetation cleared back from the trail a little bit, and a lot of the area was covered in rockslides.  We hiked 50 feet off the trail, then started looking.  

It was a bonanza!  There were fossils all over the place!  We found horn coral, pipe coral, shells, crinoid stem segments, etc.  As we scoured the area, we began noticing a trend.  The lighter gray limestone had a lot of fossils, while the darker greyish-brown rock didn't have any fossils.  We looked for a while, frequently calling the other over to check out our latest and greatest fossil find.  Pretty soon, we gathered the fossils, then sat down and decided to weed them out and only bring the best ones home.  We came home with some pretty good looking fossils.  I'm sure if we spent more time we could have found even better ones.

Nearest City: Logan, UT
Location: N° W°
Time Needed: 1.5 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Kid Friendly: Yes
Additional Info:

Camping up Logan Canyon

Logan Canyon has quite a few recreational opportunities.  We took advantage of the camping in one of the side canyons up there.  Typically when I go camping, I like to avoid camping in established campgrounds.  The ones up Logan Canyon were running about $17/night; a bit on the steep side in my opinion.  It doesn't make sense to me to pay that much money for a water tap, stinky pit toilets, neighbors, and walls thinner than those of a cheap hotel.  I'll go for the dispersed camping anyday!

We found an amazing little campsite, just far enough up a side canyon and far enough off the road that we enjoyed a fair amount of solitude.  It was a great little site. I think that's what a scout troop thought too- they drove by several times, slowing down each time to verify that we were still there.  

We went for a little walk and found a small pond full of salamanders.  Most of them still had their gills, but a few were grown enough that the gills had disappeared.  They were a blast to catch.  We spent a while catching salamanders, then letting them go. 

In the mud on the bank we saw footprints from a large bird that also liked to catch the salamanders.  I think it was most likely a sandhill crane that was chowing down on the salamanders.  We heard and snuck up on 3 cranes nearby.  They flew off pretty quickly, but were back again in the morning. 

Nearest City: Logan, UT
Location: N° W°
Time Needed:
Difficulty:
Kid Friendly:
Additional Info:

Ricks Spring Cave

This past weekend we had some family business up in Logan, so we decided to make an extended visit by doing some running around up Logan Canyon beforehand.  Ricks Spring was one of the little stops we made along the way. 

The spring is just off of Highway 89, about halfway between Logan and Bear Lake.  We've stopped there a handful of times before.  I think just about everybody that's been up Logan Canyon has stopped at Ricks Spring some time or another.  The spring is fun to look at, but there's also a cave at Ricks Spring! 

The cave is just to the left of the spring, and isn't very deep- maybe 25 feet or so.  It's fun to go into though, just so you can turn around and go back out. 

Actually, there are two caves at Ricks Spring.  The other cave is the spring itself.  Some of the water comes from the Logan River, and other sources have been shown to be higher up toward Tony Grove, but basically, the spring is a cave.  It takes diving gear and highly technical cave-diving experience, but it is possible to make it through the spring into a cavern beyond.  So far over 2000 feet has been explored, with more possible.  It sounds cool, but I think that's one cave I probably never will explore.  For more info on the cave diving at Ricks Spring, check out the Utah Caves Blog and other links posted on there. 

While standing and looking at the spring, I looked up at the walls of the small alcove it's in and noticed some old names on the wall.  They looked like they were of some early visitors applied in wagon grease. 

Nearest City: Logan, UT
Location: N 41° 50.405 W 111° 35.330
Time Needed: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Kid Friendly: Generally
Additional Info: 

Wild Black Raspberries

A few weeks ago I discovered a small patch of wild black raspberries.   It's a small patch, with only enough berries for a few handfuls, but it's fun to visit & partake.  We went up last night again- this was the 3rd time up there since we discovered it.  We'll go pick the berries, then let it sit for 4-7 days so more can ripen.  Then we'll go back.  I've picked several small thorns out of my hands today- the fee for raiding the tasty treasure. 

I've found other patches of raspberries here in Utah, but they've always been red raspberries.  The black raspberries taste the same, but they're a novel variation to me.  I need to get out and do some more exploring and see if there are more of the raspberries around.  The end of August & early September is definitely the time to get out & enjoy the wild fruit. 

Good luck looking for your own patch!  This one's small enough that I'm not going to ruin a good thing by posting where it's at!

Nearest City:
Location: N° W°
Time Needed:
Difficulty:
Kid Friendly:
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Fort Buenaventura

A few weeks ago we went to Fort Buenaventura. It's a nice county park, with several walking trails, and replicas of old buildings.  The old fort is the best of the structures.  It was built to resemble the fort built on the site- the beginning of the city of Ogden.  

 There are a few other buildings, a small indian village, and a pond that you can go canoeing at. 

The canoes are $5/half hour or $10/hour.  It made us think of our times in Fort Collins and all of the canoeing we did there. 

We ultimately ended up at the Weber River for a bunch of rock throwing.  It was peaceful sitting by the river and throwing rocks into the water.  One of the employees at the visitor center said that there are often tubers that go down the river from just below the railroad bridge down to the entrance road on the north end of the park. We didn't know about it, but it sounded fun.  The bike path on the west side of the river offers an alternative to paying the entrance fee if you're just interested in tubing. 

There is also camping at the park, but I thought it was pretty steep at $18/night.  The teepee rentals (also at $18/night) seemed more reasonable.  It was a fun visit.


Nearest City: Ogden, UT
Location: N° W°
Time Needed: 2 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Kid Friendly: Yes
Additional Info: Click here for the Fort Buenaventura Website  Cost $2/Adult

Poison Ivy Cave

I talked my brother-in-law to take me up to what's called "Poison Ivy Cave" in the Centerville hiking book.  It's not a long hike, but the mine is certainly appropriately named!  It's near the mouth of the canyon on the north side of Deuel Creek.

 Unfortunately, the mine is full of water, so we didn't bother trying to figure out how deep it was.  There's a few inches of clearance between the mine ceiling and the water, but we didn't see the need to look into it.  Maybe if the water was pumped out it could be interesting, but there's a bigger chance of it just being a small prospect hole. 

Outside the mine was poison ivy city.  It was EVERYWHERE.  We carefully picked our way through it, and once out, washed up in the creek just to be twice as certain that we'd avoided it. 

This one is intriguing to see, but there's not much there and it's a lot of effort.  I'd probably recommend taking a pass on this one.

Nearest City: Centerville, UT
Location: N° W°
Time Needed: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate- due to poison ivy
Kid Friendly: Nope- way too much poison ivy
Additional Info:  The book is available at Centerville's City Hall or at this website. 
For full disclosure, I am not affiliated with the publisher nor do I profit from the sale of the book.  I do however think it's a very well done collection of information that would be completely worthwhile for anyone serious about hiking opportunities between Salt Lake City and Ogden.

Baer Canyon Reprise

After the last visit up Baer Canyon, we left with a few potential mines and prospects unresolved.  I really wanted to get back up there to look for them.   We finally were able to get up there last week.  What a change!

The trail was incredibly more vegetated.  Sometimes it surprises me the difference between summer and winter. 

We made it up to the vicinity of the mine and did a more detailed survey of the area.  We found one potential prospect, and another definite prospect.  The better prospect hole was about 10 feet deep, and had some copper ore on the mine dump outside of it.  I brought home a two small rocks flecked with green. 

I noticed a caterpillar in a bush near one of the outcroppings that was really cool looking.  It was green, with blue and red cones on it, and the cones were each topped with several black spikes.  I've tried to find out what kind of caterpillar it was, but without any success.  I think it's for a species of sphinx moth, but can't say definitively. 

We enjoyed the hike- it sure is great to get out.  As a side note, I saw several patches of poison ivy, mostly near the stream crossings.  I also found a patch of wild black raspberries in the general area of the mine. Yum! 


Nearest City: Fruit Heights, UT
Location: N° W°
Time Needed: about 3 hours
Difficulty: Moderate
Kid Friendly:
Additional Info:

The Treasure Box Mine

After taking a break for 2 weeks while our car was getting worked on, it was great to get it back.   Yeah, cars are expensive and basically a money-pit, but it sure is nice to have the freedom that it brings with it! 

About 5 years ago or so, I was looking at a topographic map of the Salt Lake City area and noticed the Treasure Box Mine on it.  Life happened in the meantime, and I wasn't able to make it up to it.  Since I was back in Utah, and had the time (and it was an even day), the Treasure Box Mine was the destination of choice.  We made it to the bottom of City Creek Canyon at 9 AM.  The gate was locked.  We drove around the Memory Grove park once more, and back to the gate.  Again it was locked.  Just as we were about to throw in the towel, the gatekeeper arrived. We paid our $3 and drove up the canyon.  Wo-Hoo! 

It's 5 1/2 miles from the gate to the end of the road at Rotary Park.  It's one of the options for people who want to hike Little Black Mountain, Grandview Peak, or Lookout Peak.  The lower end of the canyon is quite popular with runners, joggers, & the like.  The further we got from the gate, the more solitude we had.    We reached the end of the road, parked and loaded up for the hike.  Before we loaded up though, we noticed a huge patch of thimbleberries that were ripe for the picking.  We spent a few minutes pulling the raspberry-like berries off of the plants and eating them.  They were a little tart, but really delicious. The little one didn't want to leave. 

The hike was a blast.  It started out on what was essentially an old road.  I was expecting to have to wade across the creek, but there are a few bridges that cross, removing the option of getting my feet wet.  Pretty soon, the old road fades away, and a singletrack trail is left.  It didn't seem like the trail gets a lot of use.  Some spots were pretty overhung with vegetation. We soon found our turnoff from the trail and did some light bushwhacking to the mine. 

We climbed the tailings pile to take a break at the top.  Shortly after arriving, a snake decided he didn't want to be there anymore.  It was my lucky day- a rubber boa!   Several years ago I was looking around the DWR Website and noticed that rubber boas are native to Utah.  I had wanted to see one since then, but in all the time I've spent outside, I never had.  This one was about 18 inches long, and determined to find a quieter spot.  I followed it for a few minutes, then let it go on its way in peace.  It was definitely a great day- and I hadn't even looked around at the mine yet. 

There was an old Ford tractor, a pump, and an old boiler at the mine.  It was really cool poking around and seeing the old artifacts.  I'd like to know the story of the old mine- why did they just leave the stuff here?  How deep did the mine go?  What year did they stop working it?  The little bit I do know, was that they mined lead and silver. 

Unfortunately, the mine is collapsed.  There was water flowing out of where the tunnel should be, but there was no entrance to allow exploration. 

I also liked the old cart rail on top of the mine dump.  Most of the mines out there no longer have the cart rails, but this one still had one rail.

You can see the water trail down the side of the mine dump.  It's now overgrown with mosses and plants.  Since it's an old lead mine, I wonder what the water quality is that flows from the mine.  It flows directly into City Creek, and from there into the Salt Lake City water supply.  It looked clean and clear, but who knows!

On the hike back down, we enjoyed the meadows and the butterflies.  We found a small patch of wild strawberries, but they weren't ripe yet, so we left them unpicked. 

The views are great- especially looking upward to the outcroppings on the mountainsides. 

Back at the trailhead, we again focused on raiding the thimbleberries. We all were able to collect and consume several handfuls of red ripe berries.  We picked all of the berries we could that were close to the road.  There were also larger patches that went higher on the mountainside, but we left those ones alone. 

We walked down to look at Weeping Rock and the bridge over City Creek.  The bridge was built in 1922 and is one of my favorite bridges.  It's so picture-esque.    I looked for fish in the creek as well, and saw a trout hiding in one of the calmer pools.  Since it was naptime, we loaded up and headed out.  What a great hike and morning!  I think upper City Creek is one of the great unknown spots of Salt Lake.  It's a great alternate destination from some of the other more well-known and crowded canyons.



Nearest City: Salt Lake City, UT
Location: N° W°
Time Needed: It took us 3 hours out and back
 Difficulty: Easy while on established trails.  Moderate while routefinding beyond that.
Kid Friendly:
Additional Info: This hike rocks.  City Creek Canyon is open to cars on even days.  Odd days are closed to cars, but open to bicycles.  Upper City Creek Canyon is closed to dogs.  There is a $3 charge to drive your car up the canyon.