Labor Day Weekend
Sunday & Monday, September 5-6, 2010
This past Labor Day Weekend Amanda had to unfortunately work on Sunday and Monday, so I was on my own. I figured that I would head back to The Henry Mountains to complete some of the trails that were blocked by snow on our last trip, plus do a little hiking to the top of Mount Ellen. You can find the previous trip report here.
After some breakfast on Sunday morning I made my way to Hanksville, where I topped off of my gas tank and headed south towards The Henry Mountains.
I did a little exploring on some side roads before actually reaching the mountains.
Following the Sawmill Basin Road around Bull Mountain
…and then up to Wickiup Pass at 9,200 feet.
Nice views of the desert stretching out beyond the mountains
On my way to Copper Ridge
View over the desert from the end of Copper Ridge. You can just see the outline of the La Sal Mountains in the distance.
Circling around the South Summit of Mount Ellen. Waterpocket Fold in the distance
Stopped at Bull Creek Pass. Mount Ellen in the background. It was very windy this day, so I decided to wait until the next morning to hike to the high peak in this photo.
On my way down from Bull Creek Pass
Past Bull Mountain again
…and into Crescent Creek Canyon
This old miner’s cabin was along Crescent Creek
This cabin built from stone was a little further down the road
I looped back around Bull Mountain and setup camp for the night in Sawmill Basin
The following morning I packed up camp and headed five miles up to Bull Creek Pass again, so that I could start my hike up Mount Ellen. It was pretty cold when I started the hike, but before I reached the top the weather finally warmed up a bit and got much more pleasant.
On my way up
Finally out of the shade…..my shadow overlooking Capitol Reef
Looking back towards Bull Creek Pass
Continuing up
Nearing the high point
Great views from the top
There were a few small shelters built into the rocks at the top
Self portrait at the top
Time to head back down
Back at the trailhead
Before driving home to finish off the weekend, I made a stop at Little Egypt and took a few photos.
Thus ends another nice weekend of exploring. It was nice to be able to finish what I started back in June 🙂