Just before 9:00 we had the quads packed and were ready to
head off...it had warmed up to 36F/3C...I haven’t used my handle grip warmers
for a long time but it sure felt good to have them on this morning!The start of the trail and just the beginning of incredible views and stunning fall colours...not to mention a great trail... {click on picture to enlarge}
Our first stop...and time to remove a layer of clothing...
This is our second stop...at a trail junction...
After a look at the map we found that the trail to the right of Steve dead-ends at the top of a mountain...so we thought we would take a gander up there. We came across this rock slide...oh no, you're not going to make me go across that!
Oh...you are...awww...no sweat :)...
Up and up...
...to find a picnic table purched at the very top...beautiful 360 degree views...
Back down we go...
Once back at the junction, we took the trail to the right looking for Silver King Mine. We rode for quite awhile and after not finding it, we turned around...here is a spot that we stopped at to admire the view...
At this point, we decided to turn around...
Stunning views...
And guess what?...we found Silver King Mine on the road going the other direction...
We went for a little interpretive walk they had, took pictures and had lunch...we were probably stopped here for about a half hour...
Back on the trail, we came across a road that wasn't on our map. There happened to be a couple stopped having lunch in this beautiful little clearing so we thought we would ask them. Well it happened that they, too, were staying at Castle Rock Campground. They are from nothern Utah and come here every year around his birthday (sorry, can't remember their names) to see the leaves change colour. We had quite a chat with them and the fellow told us more about the trail and where they were going...so instead of going to Marysvale like we had planned, we decided to go further along the main Paiute Trail (01)...
...and we are so glad we did...the views were absolutely amazing!
I'm very impressed witth the zoom on my little "point and shoot" camera (Cannon PowerShot)!
We drove up above the tree line...
We drove down to the bottom of this plateau...
Turned around...and headed back...
One thing I was very impressed with are the rest stops they have...there were not a lot of them on the route we took...I believe we came across 2, but both had pit toilets that were well maintained and very clean.
We took the same trail back...the "most difficult"...and "most fun!" A section on the main Paiute (01) trail...otherwise most of the trail was more like a wide single lane logging road. The other "fun section" was from the trailhead to the campground.Beautiful!
There was a side-trail to a very cool place in the rock formations...
We walked into the crevasses...
Such interesting rock formations...
It was 4:30 when we arrived back at the campground...what an absolutely incredible day we had had! Steve took 130 pictures in all...I have shown you just a small portion, so if you would like to see the complete album, please click on this link....
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