ATTEMPT #2:
The weather is a bit questionable but will attempt to do it on Friday & Saturday, August 1st & 2nd.
WILL DO Trip #5: PIONEER TIMBER SLIDE… SPOT TRACKING
NOTE: See at the end of this post, Who Google Search categorizes me with?
I first attempted what was supposed to be an overnight backpack leaving on July 23rd and intending to be exploring for remnants of the little known “Pioneer timber slide” above Provo, Utah on PIONEER DAY.
There were a few on the trail….very few….this mom and her overheated daughter sliding down the trail…without a smile on their sweaty faces….
As I turned to admire what the pioneers had done to Utah Valley, I began feeling a bit light headed…..spotting mirages down in Provo….and as I proceeded up the trail began to feel like I didn’t weigh anything….my body struggling up the trail and my spirit continually separating a bit floating behind!
“Hey you dummy, get smart!”
Two days later, July 25th I awoke at 6:00 AM and by 8:00 was on the trail in the SHADE.
My Smart phone told me it was 61 degrees in Provo….43 degrees cooler!
A few were on the top of the Y enjoying the awesome view.
….one big brother helping little sister…
…and all having a great time seeing what the pioneers had started…and what the Brigham Young Academy in I 1875 was developing into!
My research has turned up very little, just mentions of the “timber slide,” but no details. One of my reports of the failed attempt has already got me on the Google list concerning timber slides.
Now looking up the 3rd after which we eventually come to the first meadow.
And of course there just had to be a GOLDEN EAGLE!
We are almost to the first meadow and seeing the north side of Maple Mountain where I’ve got more than one buck…..in the “good old days!”
Next morning I continued up the trail and then traversed back around the mountain seen in the previous photos. There was a thick crust on the snow and I was making all kinds of racket….but rather than scare off a buck, it got him curious and all of a sudden I noticed 20 yards ahead of me a buck sort of squatting down with his front legs flared out to look under branches to see what was making so much noise. I dropped to my knee and with one shot dropped him right on the spot….another long drag proceeded and again we ate that winter….healthy “grass fed” venison!
There was an old logging road that traversed around the mountain that I used years ago, but it was so hidden by vegetation that there was no point in trying to photograph it, but here is the map of the area, showing my SPOT Track where after resting I headed back down as I was almost out of water.
There I hit the SPOT Tracker OK button….and soon it lit up sending the signal to the satellite to trigger 10 emails sent to my friends, saying:
Message:Trip #4 Fighting to keep in shape - exploring Pioneer Timber Slide from Maple Flats down to Provo foothills
A midst the vegetation is STINGING NETTLE, so watch out!
Back down to the meadows...and looking back we see the ridge that comes off the back of Y-Mountain. It was up there where my oldest son, David, got his first buck, in thick fog,with my Browning lever action .243 I loaned him. He dragged him down to the highest house on the Provo foothills and called me to give him a ride.
Looking up towards Maple Flats, I began looking for the trail. I had to find water soon, or head back. I just couldn’t remember where the trail took off and failed finding it. In my youth I would have just went bushwhacking and got there, but…..the mountain had grown bigger in 30-35 years.
The spring was up there somewhere, I since learned from my brother, Marlo, who had been up here in recent years, that on his last trip the spring was dry. I had brought a gallon of water, but was almost out, so headed back to civilization.
Since, I did a Google Earth and Topographical map study with images that follow showing what I'm still determined to find and explore....IN A COUPLE OF DAYS.
On my last hunt up there I got to Maple Flats that had spotty snow, and set up a bivouac camp. There was abundant straw from the tall grass and I made a thick mat of it and laid down my sleeping bag under the stars.
At around 11:00 PM I was shocked to a sitting position by reverberating echos off Maple Mountain of a howling pack of coyotes that seemed to surround me! There was a good moon, so I just laid my .243 Browning across my waist and laid back down.. The trail was just 10 yards below me. Soon I heard them coming by, sat up and squeezed off a shot at a big shadow that trailed last. There was a yelp….and then I heard him struggling, circling around me…and he stopped.
Soon the howling returned echoing off the mountains, but a much subdued, quieter, and sort of lorn-full chorus. Apparently there would be an opportunity for another male to take over the pack.
In the morning I found him 30 yards from my camp, and in the process of skinning him out, David showed up to see how I had done. The mounted coyote was with me down in Guatemala for nearly 20 years. Now, no room for him in my tiny Cabin A trailer, so he's on my son Nephi's wall.
Had great memories on my hike!
What is ahead of me this week?
In a couple of days I'll leave even earlier and head back up there with more water, and tough energy supplements and see if I can't get the task accomplished. Following are Google Earth views showing what I'm looking for.
Below in shadows it's hard or impossible to see...just a little top right.
It begins to appear faintly as we proceed down the mountain.
It becomes very distinct again.
Further down it disappears again on Google Earth.
This view taken in the Fall of 2012 it is seen quite distinctly near the foot of the mountain approximately in the vicinity seen below on Google Earth..
It ends in this vicinity along Provo’s foothills.
Below is an enlargement of the beginning up near Maple Flats of the slide pathway area.
It shows some roadways, or ditch-like structures that need to be explored.
Likewise there is another pathway coming out of large trees to the northwest of the end of the Maple Flats trail as seen below in dead center.These would be descending into the steep ravine.
They are seen in the middle top of this image
and enlarged below.
They go down the ravine, disappear in shadows and rough areas, and then reappear in the lower section as seen below.
I’m likely biting off much more than I can chew….and hope some young archaeologist will take up the interest. It would be a fascinating study for someone–in the meantime I’ll be considered the expert on Google Search…see what I mean below.
I headed back towards the valley with less than 20 oz. of water left. Between the Y and the Trailhead, some hikers first congratulated me for being a good backpacker, but apparently I looked pretty bad so they offered me some needed water and kindly gave me 3 slurps from their water bottle. On arriving at the car I didn't have intentions of trying it again.....but after a couple of days I'm determined to give it one more try.
I'll post the SPOT Tracker link and when that attempt will be, on Thursday, July 31st .
*********************************
GOOGLE SEARCH "I'm #1,"
&
But what am I associated with?
So, my activities place me squarely in the
CHILDREN’S WORLD OF PLAY!
