Did you look both ways for an airplane ?

After 2 nights in Goblin Valley, we planned to head just a few miles away into the San Rafael Swell and camp at Temple Mt., but then changed our minds and decided to set up camp closer to the Muddy Chute. Both entrances to the chute were about 40 miles away, we decided to check out the downstream entrance first to see if it was suitable for camping. The scenery was spectacular, the approach road weaved between the mesas and descended down towards the Muddy River.

Note, I said the road descended “towards” the river, it didn’t quite make it to the canyon floor, and ended just beyond an active runway on a wind blown bench with an assortment of old mining gear, leaving us about 300 feet above the river. There was an old 4x4 trail to the bottom, the sign said “closed”, but who was going to stop us out here anyways ? The 15% grade with a sheer cliff on one side accomplished that quite easily. We decided to head back to the upstream entrance, to try and find a better place. Upon leaving, Curt did stop the FJ and made a conscience effort to look both ways before crossing the runway.

Out of the canyon we went, only to re-enter the same canyon 16 miles upstream, and we found yet another abandoned uranium mine, this one still had several conveyor systems attached to the cliffs, and we found ourselves on a very picturesque canyon floor, complete with our own private arch.

Did anyone notice the gathering clouds in the distance of the first photo ? We had been keeping an eye on them, but with canyon walls to our west blocking our view and stopping our sunlight, we were not exactly sure what to expect. The aforementioned busy camper made no haste in setting up camp, getting all the bins out and covered with a tarp to create what we started calling “the bin burrito”. He even managed to cover the wood with another tarp. With the camp secure and the tent set up, we hunkered down in the FJ for 2 hours while the skies unleashed hail, rain, and wind upon us.

Curt threatened to take the FJ for a spin during the rain, until I reminded him the nearest town was 70 miles away. Finally the skies cleared and we set about the business of cooking dinner and enjoying a warm fire. All the while, something didn’t feel right, it was as if our legs suddenly got weaker, then we realized that each of us was packing around 15 pounds of red rock clay on our shoes.