Cathedral Valley - 9.19.2010
Drive east on Hwy 24 from the Visitor Center for 11.7 miles to milepost 91... the full loop using Hartnet Road and Caineville Wash Road is ~55 miles and will take 7 to 8 hours to complete.
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At Milepost 91 look for these signs... follow the dirt road to the Fremont River... staying on the most traveled path when you come to intersections.
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Fording the Fremont River... a high-clearance vehicle is recommended... and be sure to stop at the Visitor Center to check out the road and river conditions before doing this trip.
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On Hartnet Road.
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Looks like Dirty Harry might have been in this area.
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At 8.8 miles the Hartnet Road enters the Bentonite Hills.
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Bentonite is a general term for clay that is a product of the breakdown of volcanic ash.
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Virtually nothing grows on bentonite... any seedlings that might take root are usually washed away when it rains.
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In the Bentonite Hills.
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In the Bentonite Hills.
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In the Bentonite Hills.
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In the Bentonite Hills.
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In the Bentonite Hills.
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In the Bentonite Hills.
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In the Bentonite Hills... with the Henry Mountains in the distance.
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Shades of brown.
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Shortly after leaving the Bentonite Hills we arrived at the Lower South Desert Overlook... which requires a half-mile roundtrip of hiking with very little elevation gain.
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Jailhouse Rock in the Lower South Desert.
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Looking across this pyramid to part of the Waterpocket Fold.
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A closeup of The Temple in the Lower South Desert.
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A pano shot of the Lower South Desert.
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Who are these guys??
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Reminds me of paintbrush.
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When you reach the Upper South Desert Overlook you have reached the half-way point of the loop.
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It is only a .4 mile roundtrip hike to the overlook, gaining 80 feet of elevation... and well worth the effort.
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A pano shot of the Upper South Desert.
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The Cathedral Valley Overlook is a short drive from the Upper South Desert Overlook.
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A pano shot of Upper Cathedral Valley.
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A closeup from the overlook of one of the cathedrals in the valley.
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Upper Cathedral Valley from the overlook.
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We are now on the Caineville Wash Road in Upper Cathedral Valley.
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In Upper Cathedral Valley.
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In Upper Cathedral Valley.
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Layer Cake Wall... and I did not make up the name.
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We will take the one mile drive over to these two temples.
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Temple of the Sun.
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Temple of the Moon.
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The Bentonite Hills in Lower Cathedral Valley.
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The Bentonite Hills in Lower Cathedral Valley.
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The Bentonite Hills in Lower Cathedral Valley... the majority of this trip was driving... we only hiked one mile roundtrip, gaining 120 feet of elevation.
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