Mrs. Admin and I had hopes of camping up in Mary Ellen Gulch behind Snowbird this weekend. When the weather refused to cooperate we took advantage of a window of dry weather this afternoon to head up there on a recon mission instead.
Bobby Danger calls Mary Ellen Gulch "Futurebird" because of Snowbird's plans to put a lift in there. It's one drainage immediately to the west of Mineral Basin, and is accessed in summer via American Fork Canyon. AF Canyon is paved as far east as Tibble Fork Reservoir, and is a dirt Forest Service road (number 085) beyond there. Several miles up 085 the Mary Ellen Gulch Trail (FR-111) branches off and heads north.
FR-111 was at one time a road to access the mines in Mary Ellen Gulch, including the Yankee, Silver Bell and Globe Mines. Today it's a jeep/ATV trail that quite frankly is about as tough rock hopping as I really care to do in my truck. The Taco performed admirably, but there were a couple of tricky spots -- including a washout across the road, loose rock next to severe dropoffs, and bouldering up rock ledges that my skill level was barely up to snuff for.
Loose rubble on the Mary Ellen Gulch trail
This is a road?
Steeper than it looks.
We were rewarded, however, for reaching the end of the navigable road at 9,000 feet with the splendor of an alpine cirque in which to have lunch. Several folks who arrived at our lunch spot on ATVs -- the only people we'd see on the trail all afternoon -- commented on how tough it was even on their vehicles.
At our lunch stop, at timberline at 9,000 feet.
Upper Mary Ellen Gulch. The ridgeline at photo right center middleground is the backside of the Sunday Cliffs in Mineral Basin at Snowbird.
The Yankee Mines. The ridgeline in the background is the south side of 11,483-foot West Twin of American Fork Twin Peaks.
The Globe Mines
The Globe Mines
I would've loved to have acquiesced to Mrs. Admin's pleading to climb up to the mines, especially as I heard that there's an old grave marker for one of the miners next to one of the buildings still standing, but I wanted to be out of there before the weather turned.
Looking back down Mary Ellen Gulch as the weather says that it's time to leave.
Arriving back in American Fork Canyon
Lower Mineral Basin
Upper American Fork Canyon
Mary Ellen Gulch (left) and Mineral Basin
Mineral Basin from the Baker Fork Trail. The lifts on the ridgeline are Snowbird's (L to R) Little Cloud, Mineral Basin Express and the Aerial Tram.
American Fork Twin Peaks and Mary Ellen Gulch from the Baker Pass Trail
Sure enough, right after we ascended Baker Fork and topped out at 8,939-foot Pole Line Pass the skies unleashed. It was slow going on the slippery dirt roads all the way to Midway via Snake Creek behind Alta, and for the first time since I bought the truck in March I actually had the wipers on high.
Bobby Danger calls Mary Ellen Gulch "Futurebird" because of Snowbird's plans to put a lift in there. It's one drainage immediately to the west of Mineral Basin, and is accessed in summer via American Fork Canyon. AF Canyon is paved as far east as Tibble Fork Reservoir, and is a dirt Forest Service road (number 085) beyond there. Several miles up 085 the Mary Ellen Gulch Trail (FR-111) branches off and heads north.
FR-111 was at one time a road to access the mines in Mary Ellen Gulch, including the Yankee, Silver Bell and Globe Mines. Today it's a jeep/ATV trail that quite frankly is about as tough rock hopping as I really care to do in my truck. The Taco performed admirably, but there were a couple of tricky spots -- including a washout across the road, loose rock next to severe dropoffs, and bouldering up rock ledges that my skill level was barely up to snuff for.
Loose rubble on the Mary Ellen Gulch trail
This is a road?
Steeper than it looks.
We were rewarded, however, for reaching the end of the navigable road at 9,000 feet with the splendor of an alpine cirque in which to have lunch. Several folks who arrived at our lunch spot on ATVs -- the only people we'd see on the trail all afternoon -- commented on how tough it was even on their vehicles.
At our lunch stop, at timberline at 9,000 feet.
Upper Mary Ellen Gulch. The ridgeline at photo right center middleground is the backside of the Sunday Cliffs in Mineral Basin at Snowbird.
The Yankee Mines. The ridgeline in the background is the south side of 11,483-foot West Twin of American Fork Twin Peaks.
The Globe Mines
The Globe Mines
I would've loved to have acquiesced to Mrs. Admin's pleading to climb up to the mines, especially as I heard that there's an old grave marker for one of the miners next to one of the buildings still standing, but I wanted to be out of there before the weather turned.
Looking back down Mary Ellen Gulch as the weather says that it's time to leave.
Arriving back in American Fork Canyon
Lower Mineral Basin
Upper American Fork Canyon
Mary Ellen Gulch (left) and Mineral Basin
Mineral Basin from the Baker Fork Trail. The lifts on the ridgeline are Snowbird's (L to R) Little Cloud, Mineral Basin Express and the Aerial Tram.
American Fork Twin Peaks and Mary Ellen Gulch from the Baker Pass Trail
Sure enough, right after we ascended Baker Fork and topped out at 8,939-foot Pole Line Pass the skies unleashed. It was slow going on the slippery dirt roads all the way to Midway via Snake Creek behind Alta, and for the first time since I bought the truck in March I actually had the wipers on high.