Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area
Personal Notes
Dowd Mountain Hike
This page contains our personal notes on our hike from Dowd Mountain to the campground in Hideout Canyon in Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area in Wyoming and Utah.
| Sunday, July 3, 2004 | |
Sunday, July 3, 2005
Overview
5:30 a.m.
It was a little chilly this morning, at 65 degrees when we got up. Our camp is in Vernal, Utah, giving us easy access to both Dinosaur National Monument and Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area.
6:19 a.m.
We took off earlier today than yesterday. We are headed to the Dowd Mountain Trail to Hideout Canyon Marina. We're heading north on 191, with the sun coming up (in our eyes, which makes it hard on the curves), a few thin clouds, with more fluffy clouds over where we’re going.
For breakfast we had dehydrated egg and ham omelet with bell peppers. It was a good portion, especially with a slice of bread. Basically with these dehydrated breakfasts all you do is boil some water, pour it into the pouch, and let it sit for a designated number of minutes. Then just pour off the excess water, and either eat it from the pouch, or pour it onto a plate. We used plates on this trip, but if we were backpacking we’d certainly use the pouches.
7:54 a.m.
We had a good idea where the road to the Dowd Mountain trailhead left the highway, but as it turned out, the sign was down, and we shot right on past. We ended up at the overlook above Sheep Creek, where we turned back. We then found the sign facing the other direction and got onto the right dirt road. The turnoff to Dowd Mountain Overlook is between milepost 13 and 14. Going west on Highway 44, the turnoff is just before the curve that is just before the intersection with the Sheep Creek Loop exit. The map coordinates are 40 52.921N; 109 41.583W; at an elevation of 7,523 feet.
We arrived at the trailhead, and were the only ones there. It is cool, partly cloudy, with a few rumbles of thunder off in the distance toward the northeast.
Trailhead
8:10 a.m.
The GPS Coordinates for the Down Mountain Trailhead are 40 53.824N; 109 37.538W; at an elevation of 7,675 feet. There is a fair sized parking area, an informational kiosk, a few picnic tables, vault toilets, and no drinking water. The Down Mountain to Hideout Canyon Trail is clearly marked. Some tourist guides indicate that the trail starts farther back along the dirt road entering the area, but there is no place to park along there, it is exposed, and there are no facilities like there are here at the overlook. There are also some fine views of Flaming Gorge and the lake.
Grouse
8:17 a.m.
The trail heads off along a rocky ridge and eventually comes under a cluster of tall pines. In this area we spotted a hen grouse (about the size of a domestic chicken) of some sort that flew from the ground into a tall pine. As we approached there were maybe six to eight small birds that flew down slope. They were about the size of adult quail, but we suspected that they were the young ones for the grouse hen. She sat in her tree clucking and watching us. In Nebraska we would have called her a prairie chicken. Out here they would call here a pine hen. Others would say she is a blue grouse. It doesn’t matter what type of bird she is, she was still interesting.
Trail
8:25 a.m.
After we left the small stand of trees we again crossed an exposed rocky ridge. The pointed rocks can, in places, make it a bit difficult to walk because you have to watch your step or catch an edge. But at least the trail is mostly flat along this stretch, with spectacular views of the lake and surrounding red rock. You can even see some of the snow capped Uinta Mountain peaks in the distance.
8:30 a.m.
At GPS Coordinates 40 53.805N; 109 38.326W; at an elevation of 7,670, we encountered the junction of the route from the trailhead and the route from the dirt road. It is well marked.
From here the trail followed what looked to be an old jeep trail. The trail is wide enough for a vehicle and is generally easy to follow. It does not appear to be well used, by vehicles or foot traffic. Because it was once a primitive road it has a low grade and follows long switchbacks, which add distance, but make it much easier to climb on the way out. Much of the trail is exposed and passes through open grasslands. There are a few small stands of pinyon and other short trees, but there is little opportunity for shade. There is one stretch where you pass through a ghost forest of burned pinyon and juniper. The fire was so long ago that the dead trees have all turned white. Kind of spooky.
Near the bottom you will enter a deeply shaded grove of tall pines along a dry creek. The trail follows the creek bed until it climbs out to the left, over a small rise, and then down into the marina campground.
Hideout Canyon Campground
10:19 a.m.
We stopped at Hideout Canyon Campground, at Site 10. The GPS Coordinates are 40 54.848N; 109 38.849W; at an elevation of 6,089 feet. We have come 4.72 miles, almost all downhill from the trailhead. The campground has drinking water, flush toilets, covered picnic tables, a campground host (on a house boat), and sits among a pinyon/juniper forest right at the edge of the lake. The sites are clean and well defined, each with a fire pit. I would imagine that you’d have to bring your own fire wood. There are 18 sites, which run $18.00 per night each.
Climbing Out
10:28 a.m.
The sky was clouding up, and getting quite dark, as we headed back up. We hoped that we could make it back to the trailhead before it rained too hard. The possibility of lightning was also a concern.
11:36 a.m.
I spotted a light green to silverish looking constrictor snake, somewhere between 18 and 24 inches long, as it crossed the trail. It moved right along, but not too fast. It was not like it was in a panic to get away.
12:44 p.m.
We made it back to the trailhead. The GPS showed that we had averaged 2.6 mile per hour overall, covering 9.49 miles in 3 hours and 40 minutes. Our total ascent was 1,624 feet, but the actual elevation difference between the trailhead and the Hideout Canyon Marina is 1,586 feet. The climbs near the bottom, to get into and out of the campground, probably added to the total ascent. It had begun to sprinkle on us over the last mile or so, with thunder boomers getting closer and closer. We didn’t see any lightning until we were near the trailhead. It was raining lightly as we reached the Trooper.
I kicked it into a higher gear as I crossed back over that exposed ridge. With that thunder crashing all around us, I didn’t want to be the high point. Obviously, we made it back safely.
We kicked off our boots, used the restrooms, and headed out.
Drive Back to Vernal
1:12 p.m.
At this point we are back on Highway 44, heading east. We got lucky. Just as we started heading down that dirt road from the trailhead it started raining heavily. We could have gotten drenched if we’d been just a few minutes longer on the trail.
1:20 p.m.
Along Highway 44 there are a couple of small lakes. We spotted an osprey hanging above, waiting to catch a fish. We got a really good look at the bird.
