We had an awesome camping experience this weekend and I thought I would share our trip in case you wanted to experience some of Utah's great outdoors.
Our trip took us an hour north of Ogden to Logan Canyon. To get there, take I-15 north to Brigham City. Exit and follow the highway to Logan. At 400 North in Logan, make a right turn. You will soon enter Logan Canyon.
There are scores of places to camp in Logan Canyon itself. Unfortunately, this weekend every camp site we visited was full and there was no available space. I was quite surprised. During my years at Utah State University, I would spend a lot of time in the canyon and I have never seen it quite this busy. I directed our group to a camp area off the beaten path. Right Hand Fork leads to Crowley's Canyon which has some good out-of-the-way camping spots.
We set up our tents and made a fire for dinner. A deer wandered into camp and grazed about 20 yards from us while we ate. It was dark and yet it didn't seem to mind us or the fire. It hung around for an hour or so.
We wanted to go hiking so we broke camp and decided to hike The Crimson trail. This is often called the China Wall trail as well. The trail follows along a cliff face on the south side of Logan Canyon. To get to the trailhead you need to go to the Spring Hollow camp ground which is just east of the third dam in Logan Canyon. The best place to park is across the bridge in the main parking area at the entrance to the camp. From there walk south up the road to Camp Area B.
The road will dead end at the trailhead.
The trail is full of interesting geologic features. One of the most striking features is the abundance of fossil material in the rocks. A few minutes of turning over rocks can yield some surprises. I found a trilobite impression in one rock. I also found a clam shell embedded in stone. The entire area used to be the bottom of an ancient sea.
I tossed this rock back so perhaps you can search for it the next time you are on the trail. Further up the trail we ran into this green blow snake.
He didn't seem to be to bothered by his discovery.
The first part of the trail is a series of arduous switchbacks that takes you up 1800 feet above the canyon floor. As we made our way up, I took this photo looking west towards Logan.
Another interesting geologic feature across the canyon from us is the Wind Cave. I have hiked the trail to Wind Cave numerous times. It's a very popular day hike.
As the trail levels off, you are rewarded with striking views of the cliff faces that the path traverses.
The scenery is worth the sweat required. Here I am on a rock outcrop.
Finally, we began our quick return down the mountain. As you can see in the photo below, the trail at this point is a series of quick switchbacks full of loose rock and gravel so make sure you wear good shoes. Some of our scouts wore flat bottomed street shoes for this hike. Not recommended.
Also, do keep in mind that Utah is rattlesnake country. Two of our scouts nearly missed being bitten by a rattler that was sunning itself on the trail. I was walking right behind them when I saw both of them jump and run. The rattler shook his tail, let us know he was there, and slithered off the trail into the brush. This is also a reminder not to veer off of established trails. Here is a photo of the rattler as he was leaving. Notice how he blends in with the rocks quite nicely. Stepping on him while romping off-trail would be a huge mistake.
Ultimately, our journey takes us down to the river for a nice jaunt back to the parking lot where we started.
The entire trail is a loop and is just under 5 miles. It took our group about three hours to hike it while enjoying a lengthy lunch break. Happy hiking!
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