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On the trail leading to Hells Hole Ridge Meadow.
Lynn Blamires, Special to the Standard-Examiner
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Twilight walk to Lake Hill Campground.
Lynn Blamires, Special to the Standard-Examiner
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Walking through a thick aspen forest is an incredible experience.
Lynn Blamires, Special to the Standard-Examiner
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Lynn Blamires
Photo provided
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On the trail leading to Hells Hole Ridge Meadow.
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Twilight walk to Lake Hill Campground.
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Walking through a thick aspen forest is an incredible experience.
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Lynn Blamires
No two hikes are the same. You can hike the same trail on two different occasions and the experience will not be the same. Such was the case with the Arapeen Sunset Ride in Ephraim, sponsored by Sanpete County. My brother-in-law, Mike, and I decided to do this hike again.
We knew what to expect because we had participated in last year's Sunset Ride. We lined up at 5pm in two lines: a red line and a blue line. We wore name tags to indicate which line was ours. This tag allowed us to enter Roy's for pizza. Roy's Pizza is a great place for lunch or dinner.
The red line started first, then our group followed a little later. We went up Ephraim Canyon and turned onto New Canyon Road. This trail follows Ephraim Creek, a babbling stream of clear water.
The day had been warm but the weather cooled down as we got higher up the mountain. Due to the long days in June, it was a great time to hike this trail. The sun was setting but we were on the west side so the day was longer. I had already been fooled by the warm weather in the valley so we brought jackets, good idea.
We drove through the woods on a beautiful mountain trail. We passed New Canyon Reservoir on our way to Hells Hole Ridge. We could see two wildfires burning to the south, but saw signs asking us not to report them as they were controlled burns supervised by the Forest Service.
The ridge is just above 9000 feet and the woods gave way to a big beautiful mountain meadow. This is where the real adventure began. We were supposed to stop here for a break like last year. After the break we were supposed to turn around and take another route. We didn't stop. Our leader continued.
Continuing north to the top of the ridge, we were treated to stunning views of the valley to the west and the higher points of the mountain to the east. However, we had entered a huge field of chokecherry trees on a very narrow trail.
Eventually the leader realized we had missed the turn into the Hells Hole Ridge meadow. Now many drivers had to figure out how to turn around where there was no place to turn around. Mike got out and guided me as I backtracked to a point on the trail with a big enough break to reverse our direction. Each rider had to do the same and soon we were back across the meadow. No one was fazed. It was just part of the adventure.
We continued south past the reservoir until we reached the junction that took us to Hells Hole Ridge. This route took us on a difficult trail that wound through the woods. The challenge was the potholes from truck drivers who had used the trail when it was very muddy. Our machines were designed for this, so we enjoyed the challenge.
We passed Fred's Flat on our right and White Ledge on our left. After crossing White Ledge Creek, we rounded Flat Iron Point. It was getting dark, so we stopped and let everyone join us – it was time to turn on the lights.
I was prepared with a light bar, pod lights to light the sides of the trail, and colored rock lights. Mike pushed me to buy whip lights, but I couldn’t get approval from the finance committee. Mike thought he might have some influence over his sister—I mean, my finance committee.
After everyone lit up cigarettes, we joined the Ephraim Canyon Road and headed down into the canyon. We made a final stop at Lake Hill Campground where Kevin Christiansen of Sanpete County had a campfire going.
We gathered and listened to clever cowboy poetry while dining on cakes and sodas. We chewed some fat before rushing back to the RZR. We wanted to try to beat the crowds on the way back to town.
We arrived at Willow Creek Lodge in Ephraim at 10:30pm where we planned to spend the night. When you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down and plan an adventure on the Arapeen trails.
Contact Lynn R. Blamires at quadmanone@gmail.com.
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