Sunday, April 8, 2018

Desert Voices Trail (Uintah County, Utah)


While not my final trail on this trip, the Desert Voices Trail will be my final trail inside Dinosaur National Monument on this trip. There are other destinations to the north and outside the park to visit. The trail starts at the boat launch of the Split Mountain Campground. Here the Green River slams into the blunt face of the mountain. It's quite a site. 


The trail departs just a few yards from the river and enters another red wash. Scattered along the trail, signs made by and for younger visitors describe the flora, fauna, and geology in terms easily understood by children. It's a cool idea that I've not seen before, and it adds some character to the trail.


The trail follows the wash for a ways before taking some switchbacks up and over the red hill. In a distant depression in the cliff face, I note a huge pile of guano. It must have taken a few years a number of bats living in that cove to leave such a deposit.

At the top of the hill, a sign talks about petroglyphs, but I scan the wall pretty carefully and only find modern graffiti. If there were the works of an ancient artist here, they have been all but destroyed. Such a shame.

Finally, the trail cuts back around the other side and returns to the trail head. Again, this was a pretty easy trail, but it added about 2.2 miles to my daily tally.

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