3-Day Ride to the Great Salt Lake, 2012
 

The last week of August 2012, I decided to ride a 3-day loop to the Great Salt Lake, and back to Idaho. Traveling south down the Arbon Valley, I stopped to stretch my legs in the pretty little town of Holbrook, Idaho.

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Continuing farther south, I reached the Utah State line just beyond Stone, Idaho.

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After refueling in Snowville, Utah, I left the pavement and headed off road to the north shore of the Great Salt Lake.

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As I continued southward, I could see the mountains in the distance beyond the Great Salt Lake.

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Reaching the junction with the road to Kelton, Utah, I headed west toward Golden Spike National Historic Site, and the Promontory Mountains.

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I reached the salt flats at Locomotive Springs, and stopped to take a few photographs.

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Continuing westward, the Promontory Mountains came into view.

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The Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads met at Promontory Summit in 1869. The driving of the golden spike officially completed the Transcontinental Railroad.

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After freshening up at the visitor’s center, I continued riding westward, closely following the route of the Central Pacific railbed.

Crossing a pass through the Promontory Mountains, I began to descend into the valley of the Great Salt Lake. The salt flats east of the Promontory Mountains came into view.

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Reaching the bottom of the pass, I turned southward and rode along the east flank of the Promontory Mountains. After riding a while, I paused to look back northward, toward the ATK Thiokol Plant on the distant horizon. ATK Thiokol produced the solid rocket boosters for the U.S. Space Shuttle.

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Here’s a photograph of the ATK Thiokol facilities I captured during a previous ride.

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Looking westward, I saw the salt flats expanding toward the Wasatch Mountains north of Ogden.

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Looking southward, I viewed the Promontory Mountains extending toward the north shore of the Great Salt Lake.

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Continuing farther southward, the salt flats expanded, and the Wasatch Range drew nearer.

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The early evening shadows began to lengthen as I approached Promontory Point, where the Promontory Mountains terminate at the north shore of the Great Salt Lake.

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The sun began to set as I rode eastward alongside the solar evaporation ponds which were reflecting the Promontory Mountains.

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As I rode eastward toward landfall, I noticed the Wasatch Range was also reflected in the water.

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Reaching the east shore, I continued riding to Ogden, where I spent the night. The next day I would ride along Skyline Drive in the Wasatch Range.

Spud :)

The next morning had breakfast in Ogden before I headed out to ride Skyline Drive. The previous year I had not been able to ascend Farmington Canyon because a landslide had closed the road. I figured the road would be open this year, but I was wrong. Therefore, I continued southward and ascended Skyline Drive at Bountiful. Enjoying the view all the way, I climbed to the highest point on Skyline Drive, and stopped to admire the view of Farmington, the Great Salt Lake, and Antelope Island.

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Looking a little farther to the north, I viewed the Promontory Mountains where I had ridden the previous day.

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Looking directly north, I remounted the bike and headed off for Francis Peak, which is located above Kaysville.

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I rode past the peak to the north end of Francis Peak Road and stopped to admire the view stretching from Ogden, through Kaysville, all the way down to the Oquirrh Mountains which terminate at the south shore of the Great Salt Lake.

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I backtracked a bit, then headed farther north to Smith Creek Lakes. Here I enjoyed the views to the east of Morgan and the Morgan Valley.

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Riding back south to Francis Peak, I admired another perspective of the Morgan Valley to the east.

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Backtracking down from Francis Peak, I once again turned my attention to the west, where I could observe the panorama extending to the Oquirrh Mountains, and almost to Salt Lake City.

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Ordinarily, I would have descended Farmington Canyon, but the road was still closed from last year’s landslide. Therefore, I headed back to Bountiful Peak. I parked my XR650L at the base of the peak, and climbed to the top to enjoy the view of the Great Salt Lake to the west.

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Looking to the north, I viewed Francis Peak, from which I had just departed.

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Looking to the east, I viewed Morgan, Richville, and Porterville.

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Looking to the south, I viewed the Wasatch Range and the road back to Bountiful.

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After eating my lunch and taking a few photographs, I descended Bountiful Peak and returned to my bike.

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Riding back south to Bountiful, I paused frequently to admire the scenery. Entering the switchbacks just above Bountiful, I stopped to view the town and the Mormon temple.

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After descending back to the valley, I considered taking an excursion to Salt Lake City. However, the wind began to blow as rain approached from the south. Therefore, I decided to eat supper, and return to Ogden to spend the evening.

Spud :)

Rising the next morning, I enjoyed breakfast in Ogden, then headed back north to Idaho. I rode to North Ogden, then turned east, traveling through Ogden Canyon to Liberty, Utah. I then turned north to ride off road to Paradise, Utah, and the southern end of Utah’s Cache Valley.

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Climbing the Cache Valley Creek Canyon, I paused at a mountain pass before descending into the Little Bear River Canyon.

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Entering the Cache Valley, I returned to pavement. I rode through Paradise until I reached Hyrum, then I turned east, and rode up Blacksmith Fork Canyon. Leaving the pavement, I turned onto Left Hand Fork Road, and traveled north until I reached the Right Fork of the Logan River.

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I then returned to pavement in Logan Canyon, and rode north a few miles until I left the street behind at Franklin Basin Road. I would now ride 55 miles on/near the Highline Trail until I descended from the Bear River Range into Grace, Idaho. I rode about 7 miles before I reached the Idaho State border.

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Continuing north, I rode down Hillyard Canyon, then ascended to Green Basin

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Next I climbed to Horseshoe Basin.

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Then I rode a pretty trail to Copenhagen Basin.

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Descending from Copenhagen Basin, I crossed Route 36 at Emigration Campground. I continued riding ATV trails, fire roads, and gravel roads until I reached Cheatbeck Basin.

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Now there was only one route that continued northward, running along the spine of the Bear River Range, leading to Grace, Idaho. I climbed the trail to Soda Peak.

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Reaching Soda Peak, the shadows were lengthening as I continued riding north toward Soda Springs, and Grace.

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I exited the ATV trail, and descended a fire road leading into Grace, Idaho as the sun was setting. Returning to pavement in Grace, I rode the rest of the way home in the gathering darkness. It was a long day’s ride from Ogden, but the scenery and trails were beautiful. I always enjoy riding along the Highline Trail.

Spud :)

Stunning pics and remarkable detail as usual, Spud. Thanks for the ride report.

Wikipedia says that evaporation ponds can be naturally occurring, but I presume the pond in your pic is artificial. Is that correct?

Thanks for the beautiful pictures of warmer times. :wink:

I'm gonna take the liberty of sharing them with Roger....

You KNOW what he's gonna want to ask...... :P

Thank you, Weld. :) I believe you said riding to the Bonneville Salt Flats was on your "bucket list." All one has to do is turn right, and ride to Kelton, instead of turn left and ride to Golden Spike. ;) If you are interested in such a trip, please send me a PM. :)

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The solar evaporation ponds I passed were made by man. According to Wikipedia:

"Solar evaporation ponds at the edges of the lake produce salts and brine (water with high salt quantity). Minerals extracted from the lake include: sodium chloride (common salt), used in water softeners, salt lick blocks for livestock, and to melt ice on local roadways; potassium sulfate (potash), used as a commercial fertilizer; and magnesium-chloride brine, used in the production of magnesium metal, chlorine gas, and as a dust suppressant. Food-grade salt is not produced from the lake, as it would require further costly processing to ensure its purity. Mineral-extraction companies operating on the lake pay royalties on their products to the State of Utah, which owns the lake."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Salt_Lake

They collect a lot of salt from those evaporation ponds. 8O Here are a few photographs of the evaporation ponds I took on a previous ride with my Zong.

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They collect the salt with bulldozers and huge dump trucks. Here's a spot where they piled some of the salt they collected.

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Spud :)

Thank you, Doc. :) Please feel free to share the photos with Roger. You guys are welcome to make this trip with me next year, if you are flexible enough to be able to come when I'm certain the weather will be favorable for 3 days. ;) I don't like riding in the rain! :(

Spud :)

I bet those dozers and dump trucks don't last too long with corrosion problems. 8O

When I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area they extracted salt from the bay in a similar way. The equipment had a rough go of it.

Ditto what I observed on the shores of the Dead Sea in the Holy Land.

Great report, Spud. I loved it. :D

We'll talk and or PM. Roger and I hope to have a longer visit with you this coming summer. :D

Summer will come, won't it? :cry:

This is Fantastic Ride Report. :) Pictures are magazine quality. Very nice area to ride for sure, and to do it for 3 days even better. Hope it wasn't too hot, not sure how hot it gets there. Probably your xr650l was really suited very well for this type of terrain and the distance you were covering. You also encountered some big rocks on one of the trails. Did you load all the routes you wanted to visit on your gps? Thank you for sharing pictures with us. :)

Thank you, Pliskin. :D The temperatures were wonderful for this ride. I was familiar with almost the entire route, so I didn't need to do much planning. I just packed a light backpack, and hit the road. ;)

Spud :)

I looked through my files, and I found a few more photographs from the Highline Trail which I took on several other rides that month. I hope you enjoy viewing them. :)

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Spud :)

I'd be all over that, Spud. I'd really like to watch some dry lakes racing in person some day, and to ride there would be a terrific experience. Not sure if I want to cover that distance on my little TW. Perhaps I need something bigger...

I need to do some research. When do they ride over there? I'm sure they keep a regular schedule each year.

I'm sure your TW200 could make the trip. :) We would ride across the desert, then take secondary roads, or frontage roads alongside the freeway. ;) Perhaps we could do a little camping, also. :)

Spud :)

That all sounds good, but I'd need to do a thorough top end rebuild first. That said, I'd rather do the journey on a 400 or larger.

Speed Week at Bonneville (near Wendover) is August 10-16 and the World Finals are October 1-4 in 2013. I'd love to see Speed Week.