Surviving July

Dispersed campers below Haystack Mountain

OK, July isn’t over just yet.  We still have three more days, including the 31^st which is not only a full moon but a blue moon.  But wow, has July ever been busy.  From the 4^th of July weekend on, our campground has been packed.  We’ve been completely full every Friday night and most Saturday nights, and we actually had to put the “Campground Full” sign up on Sunday, July 19. 

And it’s not just us.  Every campground along the south slope of the Mirror Lake Highway was full last weekend.  I spoke with two distraught dads after 8:00 PM on Friday, July 24.  The trailer was packed, the family was excited to go camping, and they just couldn't find a spot.  I advised them to go up and over the pass and try the campgrounds on the North Slope heading toward Evanston – or to just pull off on a dirt road and camp.

Yes, you can do that.  Our Forest Service reps tell us that people are allowed to camp pretty much anywhere along the Mirror Lake highway – which is one of the reasons they instituted the Recreation Fee program.  They call it dispersed camping, and a lot of people do it.  If you’re self-contained, or at least self-reliant, dispersed camping can be a fun experience.  The upside – it’s a lot cheaper than camping in an improved campground.  Your $6 Recreation pass covers you for three days.  The downside – there are no restrooms, picnic tables, or improved fire pits.  Also, no cool camp hosts there to answer your questions and sell you dry firewood.

Campers are actually just a small part of what’s been keeping us busy this July.  Washington Lake is located less than a quarter mile from the Crystal Lake Trailhead, which leads to several lakes and is extremely popular with hikers, backpackers, and scout troops.  According to the Forest Service, there is room for 57 cars in the trailhead parking lot.  It’s usually full by 10:00 AM on Friday. 

We were warned by the Forest Service that last year so many cars parked along the roads of our campground that trailers couldn’t get in or out.  So we’ve been very proactive about directing hikers to the overflow parking.  We answer a lot of questions about the hiking trails, give out a lot of trail maps and sell an occasional recreation pass.  Good customer service to be sure, but it’s more for the campers in our campground than for the hikers.  And it takes a lot of time.

We finally got a breather on Sunday, July 26.  Most of the campers left, and just a few arrived to take their place.  We actually had a chance to do some cleanup, and then to sit on our front porch and enjoy the afternoon.  We think the worst is behind us – at least until Labor Day weekend.  Wish us luck!

(Another) Bicycle Race Runs Through It

The Tour of Utah is one of only five UCI-sanctioned, multi-stage, North American pro cycling events in 2014. Sponsored by the Larry H. Miller Dealerships, the race showcases some of the world’s most prestigious teams and cyclists for seven days in August.  This event attracts worldwide attention as the top international cycling event that follows the Tour de France. Nearly a decade since its opening circuit, the Tour of Utah, today, stands shoulder to shoulder with the most prestigious professional bicycle stage race events as our answer to the greatest cycling challenges the world has to offer. (www.tourofutah.com)

Actually, the Tour of Utah didn’t run through our campground, but it did run right past it.  Stage 5 of the 2014 Tour of Utah, on August 8, 2014, started at Evanston, Wyoming, and ran down the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway to finish at Kamas, Utah.  This put the racers on a 101.4 mile course with 5,706 feet of elevation gain.  The good news for the racers – once they get over Bald Mountain Pass, it’s literally downhill from there.

The racers left Evanston at 11:20 AM.  A course Marshall arrived at the entrance to Shady Dell at about 1:15 PM, so we knew it was getting close.  Justin, the Marshall, is from Las Vegas.  A cyclist himself, he thought it would be fun to volunteer for the race.  He got the thankless job of telling the drivers along the race course that they would have to pull over and wait for the racers to pass.  He said most people were nice, but a few, well let’s just say he was glad when they finally rolled up their windows and pulled off the road.  Hmmm – we’ve had a few like that in our camp hosting adventures.  We could relate.

So where, we asked him, was “off the road” on this stretch of the course?  “We’ll need to have them pull into your campground and wait,” was his reply.  We weren’t expecting that, but since we didn’t have another option to offer, we went with it. 

About half an hour after Justin arrived, we started seeing signs that the racers were close.  Support cars came down the mountain.  We heard the airplane flying overhead.  Then finally, several police motorcycles came down the road, and right behind them, the leaders of the pack.  The six racers in the lead were a good five minutes ahead of the rest of the pack.  Another set of support vehicles, another set of police motorcycles, and the bulk of the racers came flying down.  Two ambulances brought up the rear.  We saw a couple of the lagging cyclists, and regular traffic starting coming down the road. 

Then it was off to the top of the campground to tell the trapped cars that their forced stay in our campground was over.  All in all, no harm was done, except that a couple of horse trailers let their horses out while they were parked.  And since horses do what horses do, we had to shovel it off the roads.  All in a day’s work.

This was actually the first time in the history of the Tour of Utah extended beyond state borders.  Bald Mountain Pass is the highest point the Tour of Utah has ever reached – which makes sense since it’s the highest paved road in the state.

Eric Young of the United States won stage 5 of the Tour of Utah. 

Shady Dell's Fairy Forest

One of the tasks we expect as camp hosts is painting picnic tables.  The color we expect is, of course, Forest Service Brown.  So what’s with all the multi-colored picnic tables here in Shady Dell?  The answer lies across the creek and deep into the woods behind the campground where you will find the Fairy Forest. 

The Fairy Forest actually started in the late 60’s as a Vietnam veteran’s memorial to his fallen comrade.  As the years passed, many families or groups visited and added to the forest, eventually morphing it into a miniature world of painted rocks dotted with plaques, trinkets, and even fairy dolls. 

I am amazed by the creativity of the people who have contributed over the years.  This year’s new theme appears to be Frozen.  There are a couple of congregations of Despicable Me’s minions.  And I found my personal favorite, Star Wars.

The trail sits between sites 6 and 8, and is pretty well marked once you get across the creek bed.  This proved a little tricky during late May and early June, when spring runoff turned the creek into a raging river.  It’s much safer midsummer through fall.  You go straight back from the path until you come to the fallen tree marked with an arrow pointing to the fairy forest.

There is no charge to visit the Fairy Forest; but there is a charge for parking.  You have two options:

1.  Purchase a Mirror Lake Highway Recreation Pass for $6, park outside the campground – there’s a pullout at milepost 17 – and walk in.  The path from the pullout leads directly to the path to the Fairy Forest.  This is your best option if the Fairy Forest is just one stop along your Mirror Lake Highway adventure and you plan to stop at a picnic area, fish at one of the lakes, or hike at one of the trailheads.

2.  Park inside the campground and pay the $8 day use fee.  Parking inside the campground gives you a picnic table and fire pit, so if you’re planning on spending the day and having a picnic, this might be your best option.  Of course, I work at Shady Dell, so I might be a bit biased.  Remember – the Mirror Lake Highway Recreation Pass is not required in the campground, so you don’t need to pay double fees.

On my way across the creek bed on July 4, I met Michelle P., who runs the web site enjoyutah.org.  She knew Natalie O., on whose web site utahsadventurefamily.com  I first found posted information on the Fairy Forest.  The miniature world behind our campground proved once again what a small world we live in.

 

 

Mirror Lake Highway Recreation Pass 101

The Mirror Lake Scenic Byway, upon which our campground is located, is designated as a High Impact Recreation Area and has been established as a Recreation Fee Area.  This fee can be confusing when you’re coming to our campground – or any other improved campground on the Mirror Lake Highway.

Driving east from Kamas, Utah (or West from Evanston, Wyoming) you’ll see a number of stations where you can pay this fee.  The fee is $6.00 for a 3-day pass, $12.00 for a 7-day pass, and $45.00 for an annual pass.  All Federal Passports (Senior Pass, Access Pass and Annual Pass) are accepted in lieu of the recreation fee.

The fees are used to operate and maintain the following facilities along the Mirror Lake Highway:

Standard Amenity Sites

Beaver Creek Picnic Site                                                Mirror Lake Picnic Site
Shingle Creek Picnic Site                                               Pass Lake Fishing Site
Upper Provo River Bridge Picnic Site                          Pass Lake/Lofty Lake Trailhead
Crystal Lake Trailhead                                                   Butterfly Lake Fishing Site
Trial Lake Fishing Site                                                    Highline Trailhead
Bald Mountain Picnic Site & Trailhead                       Ruth Lake Trailhead/Rock Climbing Area
Fehr Lake Trailhead                                                       Christmas Meadows Trailhead
Moosehorn Fishing Site                                                East Fork of the Bear Trailhead
Mirror Lake Fishing Site                                                North Slope Trailhead

Expanded Amenity Sites

Yellow Pine Camp                                            Murdoch Basin/Broadhead Meadows Camp
Pine Valley Camp                                             Lost Creek Water Station
Horsemen Camp                                              Whitney Reservoir Camp
Soapstone Comfort Station Camp                Lily Lake Comfort Station
Duchesne Tunnel Camp                                 North Slope Camp
Spring Canyon Camp

Special Recreation Permit Sites

Beaver Creek Groomed X-Country Ski Trail
Soapstone Basin Groomed Snowmobile Trail
North Slope Groomed Snowmobile Trail

Notice any omissions?  Shady Dell Campground and Cobblerest Campground didn’t make the list – nor did any of the improved campgrounds operated by American Land and Leisure.  But because our campground is on the Mirror Lake Highway, we get a number of people thinking that they have already paid the fee for day use – and even to camp.  And since they’ve already paid “at the bottom of the hill,” we get to be the bad guys and tell them our fees are separate.

So here’s the scoop.  There are several ‘camps’ that are covered by the Mirror Lake Highway Recreation Pass that are great for self-contained campers.  These camps have no picnic tables,  improved fire pits, or restrooms.  There are several picnic areas that are covered by the Mirror Lake Highway Recreation Pass.  They all have picnic tables, fire pits, and restrooms. 

If you’re coming to a campground such as ours, pay the recreation fee only if you plan to use any of the fishing sites or trailheads along the Mirror Lake Highway.  If you’re just coming to camp, you don’t need to pay the Mirror Lake Highway Recreation Fee.

This could be made a whole lot less confusing.  In my perfect world, the Mirror Lake Highway Recreation Pass and the Campground Day Use Fee would be the same price and would be interchangeable.   In my perfect world, you could pay either place and your payment would really be valid for day use anywhere along the highway.  But there are a lot of really smart people in the Forest Service, so the reason this is not so is clearly outside my pay grade.

Welcome to the Mirror Lake Highway

Our campgrounds – Shady Dell and Cobblerest – are two of the sixteen improved campgrounds on the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway (SR 150).  The Mirror Lake Highway runs from Kamas, Utah, to Evanston, Wyoming, up and over the Uinta Mountains.

One of the most beautiful highways in Utah, it boasts scenic viewpoints and picnic areas, access to over 400 lakes, many hiking, biking and ATV trails, and opportunities for improved camping as well as dispersed camping. Much of the highway parallels the Provo River.  The road is the highest paved road in Utah when it crosses Bald Mountain Pass at an altitude of 10,715 feet before descending past its namesake, Mirror Lake. 

Visitors are required to purchase a recreation pass to use facilities in this area.  A $6 pass is available and good for 3 days; a $12 pass is good for 7 days; there is also a $45 annual pass available.  The pass allows access to the picnic areas, fishing areas, and trailheads.  The pass is also required for camping outside of the improved campgrounds, which have their own fees.

So how do these fees work together?  The short answer is they don’t.  If you want to camp in an improved campground and don’t plan to use any of the other Mirror Lake Highway facilities, all you need to pay is the campground fee.  If you want to camp in an improved campground and then drive to a trailhead or a lake, you’ll also need to purchase the Mirror Lake Highway recreation pass.

For our fellow retirees – your Senior Pass allows you full access to the Mirror Lake Highway AND gives you half off your camping fees.  The Senior Pass is available to anyone 62 or older; the fee is $10 for a lifetime pass.  Find out more about obtaining a senior pass at http://store.usgs.gov/pass/senior.html

See you in the mountains!