St. George Jeepers Trail Report – February 9, 2016
Hog Canyon to the Beehives, Kanab, Utah
Joan and Phil Hayes organized a special trail ride to accompany Rick Draney, who was in the area visiting family and from his home in Loa, Utah. The original plan was to do the Poverty Flats and Poverty Wash to the East Branch of the Virgin River. To access this road, we traveled east through Zion National Park and proceeded 2.5 miles east of the East Gate to where we turned south onto the Poverty Flats Road. However, after arriving at the top of the mesa and airing down and preceding on we soon discovered that the trail was soft and it was going to be muddy. The temperature on the mesa was mid-60’s. Rather than rut the road we decided to reverse and leave that area. It was determined that the Hog Canyon area north of Kanab, Utah, which is very sandy would likely be a better choice for the day. No shortage of trail options in this region!
Ron Bryce’s spotless Toyota FJ had little trouble and did not yet need to be towed at this point.
The Hog Canyon is in a beautiful and historic part of the state.
Lunch was on an overlook above the historic town of Kanab, Utah.
“Kanab is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Utah. It is located on Kanab Creek just north of the Arizona state line. This area was first settled in 1864 and the town was founded in 1870 when ten Mormon families moved into the area. The population was 4,312 at the 2010 census. Locals refer to Kanab as “Little Hollywood” due to its history as a filming location for mostly western movies and television series such as Stagecoach, The Lone Ranger, Death Valley Days. Gunsmoke, Daniel Boone, El Dorado, Planet of the Apes, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Sergeants 3 and WindRunner: A Spirited Journey.
Kanab is situated in the “Grand Circle” area, centrally located among Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Bryce Canyon National Park, the Grand Canyon (North Rim), Zion National Park, and Lake Powell. Other nearby attractions include Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, the privately owned Moqui Cave, and the largest animal sanctuary in the United States, Best Friends Animal Society.”
To read about the fascinating and famous Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, highlight, copy and paste the following link into your browser: http://bestfriends.org/about-best-friends/our-story/history-best-friends.
Below, Rick Draney, in Jeep, enjoys lunch with family and friends.
Tom’s Canyon, northeast of Kanab
A steep, sandy incline on the trail.
Back onto some slickrock.
Mike Hess and his 1977 Toyota Landcruiser climb the slickrock.
Arriving at the Beehives
Thus ends another wonderful day in the outdoors with fabulous scenery, weather and company.
Submitted by Bud Sanders
