We’re back in the forest! Our new boondocking spot for the next couple weeks is high up in Ashley National Forest in the Uinta Mountains just south of Flaming Gorge. Fun fact: The Uinta Mountains are one of the few major ranges in the contiguous states with an east west orientation. We are surrounded by green grass, Douglas Firs, pines, juniper, and aspens. Oh the smell is glorious. At an elevation 8300’, looking at the forecast we may be in for a couple nights in the mid to high 30’s.
It’s early season here and the Visitors Center at Red Canyon wasn’t open and the campgrounds we passed were open but mostly empty. Perfect timing because it’s nice and quiet around the gorge. We drove out to Red Canyon Overlook to start our hike. The overlook has a little paved loop that leads out to different viewpoints of the gorge and Green River waaaaay down below. In fact, Red Canyon has a depth of 1700’ and a width of 4000’.
General William Ashley, politician, fur trader, and explorer descended to Green River through Red Canyon May 3, 1825 seeking a route to the Gulf of Mexico. However, it was Major John Wesley Powell that gave us the names Flaming Gorge and Red Canyon in 1869 while exploring the rough water and unknown territory of the Green and Colorado Rivers.
After looking at the different viewpoints, we hiked out the Rim Trail to Greens Lake and then around West Greens Lake to get back to the start. The Rim trail is beautiful! It’s fairly rocky in most places and passes through a mixture of fir and pine trees, aspen, and grassy meadows. Following along the rim, we were afforded numerous views of the gorge below.
Greens Lake is a part of the Red Canyon Lodge complex which includes a campground, a lodge with restaurant and several cabins. The place was deserted when we stopped along the shores and took a break but I can imagine all manner of paddleboards, kayaks, pedal boats and swimmers in the height of the season. The next lake we hiked around was undeveloped and much smaller but there is a nature trail encircling the lake. We hiked on to complete our loop. What a nice introduction to Flaming Gorge.
Leave a Reply