The Pocket

The Pocket is one of several high alpine glaciated canyons in the Tushars and driving to the Trailhead proves to be almost as amazing as the hike itself.  Forest Road 123 also known as Big John Flat tops out at 11,500 ft. above sea level making it Utah's highest gravel road. The Pocket trail is about six miles round trip and ranks as one of our top five hikes of all time!

We started at the Bullion Pasture Trailhead 

As you can see, it's a beautiful hike from the get-go

Good signage helped to keep us on the right trail

Pine Creek flows from high in the Tushars . . .
there's something special about water in the desert! 

Into the forest, we switch-backed our way up this ridge

Up on the ridge, now we can see where we are headed . . . to the next ridge over, of course!  

The trail continues through this pretty drainage

We are almost to The Pocket (10,670)

What a great place for lunch . . . we are in The Pocket

Chipper was waiting patiently for some snacks

One of the springs flowing out of a glacial moraine

The springs flow into Pine Creek and form Bullion Falls miles away

After lunch we had fun exploring more of this glacial valley

Remnants of an old tree

These Mountain Goats were watching us from the cliff high above

John & Mary and Allison & Kent with Chipper

Wild currants among the wildflowers

Do you see the little pointed peak on the far right?
 The Trailhead is just beyond the peak, about 3 miles to go! 

Back into the forest

It's always fun to see Mountain Goats in the Tushars

A closer view of the Mountain Goats 

Mountain Goats were introduced to the Tushar Mountains in 1986.
If you have a 4x4 (or high clearance vehicle) or OHV you can drive up Big John Flat Road and see them for yourself.
Don't forget to bring your binoculars!

Google Earth view of our hike

Naomi Peak

Naomi Peak is the high point (9,984) in Cache County, as well as the highest peak in the Bear River Mountains of Utah and Idaho.  After exploring Logan Canyon, it was time for a hike.

Ricks Spring grotto in Logan Canyon

It's okay to play in the water, but don't drink it or you will get sick

This 1907 log cabin was home to the first forest ranger in Logan Canyon

This corner shows the chinking and dovetail notches of the hewn-log cabin

Starting out on the Naomi Peak Trail at Tony Grove Lake

Naomi Peak is barely visible in the distance (top center)

Much of the terrain was moderately rocky, different than most of the trails we hike

We are almost there . . . soon we will share the summit with a few other hikers

Looking down at Cherry Peak 

Time for some snacks 

Here we are at the top of Naomi ( 9,984 ft.) with smoky skies in the distance

Looking down towards Smithfield

Great scenery like this keep us longing for the mountains

The Wilderness Boundary 

We spotted these butterflies on the hike down

I could not find a name for these, so I'll call them Phyllis Dillers

Seeing Tony Grove Lake means we are almost back to the Trailhead . . . 7 miles RT

What a beautiful place to end our hike

Aerial view of Naomi Peak trail

Northern Utah Getaway

Even though we have lived in Southern Utah for a number of years, we have never spent much time up north.  When Kent found out that Josh Turner (and Whitney Lusk) would be appearing at Cherry Peak Resort just outside Logan, he decided it was time for a little road trip.    

We stopped in Fillmore to find this old grain elevator;
 it's the subject of a watercolor painting we purchased from artist Sean Rowley

We planned some extra time to drive the Nebo Loop, between Nephi and Payson

Looking back towards Nephi, it would be beautiful in the Fall

Kent is trying to decide if  Mt. Nebo (11,929) is worth the hike.
Mt. Nebo is the highest peak in the Wasatch Range.

Mantua Reservoir made a nice place to stop and stretch our legs

Cache Valley is known as the Foodie Trek,
 we only had time to fit in dessert . . . Kent's favorite!

We are on our way to Cherry Peak Ski Resort to see Josh Turner in concert

Beautiful sunset at Cherry Peak

Josh Turner put on a great concert!
If you're not familiar with his songs, two of our favorites are Hometown Girl and Lay Low.
Click on the song titles to hear what Josh sounds like!

Bear Lake

On a whim, we drove to St. Charles, Idaho to check out Minnetonka Cave, a great deal for $8 

It's 40 degrees in the cave and it's a living cave

If you go, be prepared there are 444 stairs in each direction

They say you can't visit Bear Lake and not have a Raspberry Shake and it's true!   

Early morning on our way out of Bear Lake and on to our next adventure