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Show 1 SV y. v v--, , .; ... - p:ilr' , V ' t , ' ,..' .. -.. ', . r - a .; . ;. . :V,;V' :v;- - , t, vV:;1'. . - . ; -X' 7 -..V.- . , . VAaJ:' b rv. - r- - : v.:' .v.; . , , vv,,f k--v ' . , .. ... fT- . - 'v:. . i'.i';--.! - . -ir- -XuV-AiK f'" i --- - b . - -,M .- .. T triil up the weit jlop of Mt. Tuhuhnikivati and Moore'f Rjge is reomrrHfndd for jep and other vehicles de- j-jfwd for rcvgh country. The trail is a lane through aspen Autumn Colors Brighten LaSals; Beckon Late Season Visitors I by Dick Wilson . rir.u'.es up the valley ' j M.ab a jeep tra:l j:chs i'-iolf L-.:o 'be La-j La-j ii M.xr.:a.ns g:v:ng quick 1 I .-.is to sptx'toj'.-ir scer.o :y . TSj ;ni! referred to is or.-; .-it ir.ds ab-; e ti-.e heaJ-- heaJ-- .;:r:5 cf Pack Creek ftr.al-1" ftr.al-1" reachir.; the h:"h LaS.i! at Wi.'l f--et. ?ti Pack Creek picnic is cr.e of the popular f.i:r.:'.y recre.itx'i M'.es rear ML;ib It's Uv.ited at 6.0c ) ft. a:J contains a great var i.'ty cf vegetation in thick stands a'.o:-. the stream Fremont Fre-mont Cottonwood tries, juniper, juni-per, pir.ycn, sa-; oak ar.d ;'.Mo-.v are sort'.e of tiie plar.ti near Pack Creek's cot:re.. Habbll r.ru.-W is brilliant el'."W at this sot-s---n and seen freiUcnt!y a-!cr:4 a-!cr:4 ti;- road. Tn.; tr.i.l forks left ju-t past Tack Creek Picnic Groun.ds and begins a rapid climb through p.nyon-junip-er slopes. Tlie trail skirts the edges of Hell Canyon, a deep gorge to the south and the main tributary of Pack Creek wio.-e waters are intercepted int-ercepted further up on thn " trail. A Tough Test Thr trail to LaSal pass is a good" place to test out the effect of high altitude on off-road vehicles. Jeeps have r.o problem grinding upborne of the steep- r sections of the trail. My dune buggy sput-teied sput-teied ir a few places but made the grade without complaining. The annual autumnal change has begun on the higher slop-s of the LaSals and this show is easily seen while progressing toward La Sal Pass. You can look a-cross a-cross Hell Canyon to the rounded summit of Moore'f Range, which lies below and north of South Mountain. There the aspen groves are among the prettiest in t!: LaSals. And when their fall adornment is placed upon them it's bright and colorful color-ful enough to be seen all the 0 " ! 1 -. ' ' ' : x . f , "i f ; J .; , ;-:,b f J : - - -;; ; . - . -- ; - -b-j i .-- -1 : , ' - ' ' :' " -' " ' ii , if,' b.b ' 'x c!,' : ::-:- !i ...53 ' J - . ,:-;? "abbit Brush is in full bloom ..long the by-Y by-Y of southeast Utah. This brilliant yel-flower yel-flower is especially magnificent n and spruce forests. Trees are in various stages of autumn change and should be brilliant for the next two weeks. (T-l Staff Photo) upper Pack Creek, where this photo was taken. Mrs. Dick Wilson admires the yellow yel-low tassles. - - way from Moab. flie trail divides in several places. At one place it splits into three forks, both the left and right forks ending a short ways further. The middle fork goes through an active mining operation and "it Is necessary to cross the tracks that come from H12 mouth of the mine. The trail then descends to the stream which is the same watercourse water-course that forms Hell Canyon Can-yon further down. Steep and Rocky After crossing the stream the trail is steep and rocky. Our dune bug threw small rocks to the rear as we spun up the trail. We had to stop and remove a log in one place, then a series of revving rev-ving and clutching to get on the move again took us to the next switchback. There are several right forks that visitors of this trail should take. These right forks give access to portions of Moore's Range and are great places to camp rough style. One of the right forks near the top leads to a bald grassy knob from which is seen an outstanding panorama panor-ama of the country below. From the knob is seen the trail winding through the woods far below. Out in the distance is the green Moab Valley and the naked sandstone sand-stone ridges on both sides. After crossing the stream my family immediately began be-gan to notice the difference in temperature. Whereas the weather in the lower valleys had been warm during our start of the day's trip, the cold upper atmosphere was encountered halfway up the La Sals. More Rainfall The vegetation too shows this temperature change and the different species indicate indi-cate a greater precipation at the higher levels as well The trail continues to climb through great forests of En-glemann En-glemann Spruce, Colorado Blue Spruce, balsam and fir trees. The blue spruce is Utah's State Tree and is found in abundance in the La Sals. Over the 10,400 foot level of LaSal Pass the beautiful, small lakes are reached. There's Medicine Lake, and Beaver and several others ivhich provide good fishing for visitors to the area. Reflected Re-flected in the lakes are the high summits of South Mountain, Moun-tain, Tukuhnikivatz and Mt. Peale, second- highest in Utah. Hiking through the timber and along the edges of the high altitude meadow-lands meadow-lands is an adventure that should not be omitted from a visit to the La Sals. A sheepherder was camped camp-ed at LaSal Pass when we were there last Sunday. He had his sheep in formation slowly moving downslope toward warmer weather in preparation for the onslaught on-slaught of cold about to be forced upon the high world. One sheep had met a sad fate and its body was laying torn and shredded in an aspen as-pen grove not far from th-2 road. Turkey vultures ros-5 from the dead sheep and perched on nearby limbs their naked red heads twitching gruesomely to look at us as we rode by. La Sal Pass can be reached reach-ed by automobiles by traveling travel-ing in from the town of LaSal La-Sal south of Moab. This is the most convenient way to get to the high lakes anci, the aspen groves of the high country but the jeep trail out of Pack Creek is the most adventurous. |