5 October 2017, Thursday
Goose Island Camp, Dead Horse Point State Park
This morning we return to Red Rock Bakery and Cafe, albeit a bit later than yesterday’s visit. We breakfast on pastries and coffee and order sandwiches for today’s hike. We’ve decided real sandwiches are a pleasant break from jerky, pretzels, Kind bars and brownies. After breakfast we return to camp for a more relaxed morning. O gets to catch up a bit on his geology reading. After enjoying the morning sun, we climb into Vincent and drive towards Dead Horse Point State Park, 32 miles northwest of Moab.
This is canyon country. The state park is contiguous with Canyonlands National Park. To reach the park we drive up Utah route 313, the same route on which we exited the Green River from Mineral Bottom Road. The Green River canyon is to our right, on the west, while the Colorado River canyon is to our east. The confluence of the two is not very far south.
At the park, O and I easily find the East Rim Trail which begins at the visitor center. Our hike progresses over the Kayenta sandstone with views of the canyon below and Potash mining evaporation pools far below. The pools cover more than 400 acres. Potash is potassium chloride (KCl). The company running the operation used to mine in a conventional manner, but it was very difficult due to the heat in the mine and the wavy nature of the deposit. They decided to try using water to dissolve the minerals they were seeking. The process was greatly speeded up when they accidentally hit an aquifer. The subsequent leaks were sealed, and they began injecting the water into the layer containing the KCl. The salt solution is pumped out the other side into the giant evaporation pools. Blue dye is added to speed evaporation. The resultant potash is used to make fertilizers.
We continue following the East Rim Trail which traverses cairned sandstone and sandy trails. After yesterday’s slick rock, this is an easy and relaxing walk. The trail is quiet. We pass few fellow hikers. As we approach Dead Horse Point the crowds grow. Highway 313 ends here and it is a popular lookout stop for tour busses.
When we have sufficiently admired the view, we find the West Rim Trail. Just before we begin our hike back, O spies a golden crowned kinglet in a bush right in front of us. I manage to snap a photo before it flitters away. Along the west rim there are more scenic view points of the entrenched meanders of the Colorado River. At the Shafer Canyon overlook we meet an Oregon couple and their dog, Bailey. We compare travel notes. They suggest three new places to add to our ever growing list of places to see. One is a nearby arch off of Route 313, Jewell Tibbets Arch, another is Flaming Gorge in southwest Wyoming, and the third is Dinosaur Provincial Park in central Alberta. So many places, so little time!
We are soon back at the visitor center and on our way to camp. Once again we follow our evening routine: dinner, dishes, journaling and bed. Once again, a tour boat with rumbling diesel engine passes by with red and green laser pointers highlighting interesting features on the cliffs across the river from our campsite.