Skyline

July 6, 2016

Happy fourth of July everyone!  What a splendid time to get into the mountains for a myriad of fun activities.  I hope some of you will enjoy a hike in the Tushars with friends or loved ones because almost all of our high elevation routes are open and free of snow.   This week I got to hike and bike on the southern half of the Skyline  Nat’l Recreation Trail and it was amazing.  The entire Skyline trail (Forest Tr. # 225) is 11 miles long, connecting Big Flat on the south to Big John’s Flat at the north end.  Lake Stream trailhead is right in the middle and all three of these starting points are accessible by most vehicles, making the Skyline Trail one of the premier routes of Fishlake Nat’l Forest and certainly a well used and well loved path.   Hikers, horseback riders, and human powered bicycles are all allowed on this trail which straddles the ridge dividing Beaver County and Paiute County.  The northern half of the Skyline trail skirts beneath Mount Holly and Mount Delano right along the timberline and has numerous springs and streams emerging right out of the rocky talus slopes.  

If you’re new to high elevation travel, I would recommend starting this hike at the Big Flat trailhead because highway 153 takes you to within a half mile of the trailhead and is a lot smoother dirt road than the other two alternatives.  Driving from Beaver to the Big Flat on UT. 153 takes 45 minutes.  The pavement ends at Puffer Lake and in 4 miles of dirt road, you’ll pass Big Flat Ranger Station and then there’s a sign for the Skyline Nat’l Recreation Trail, turning east on F.R. 514.  The trail begins about 300 feet past the restrooms.  The trail meanders back and forth through aspen and pine trees with soft smooth tread until it flirts with a cliffy, rocky drop-off viewpoint down into the North Fork of City Creek canyon.  The towns of Circleville, Kingston, and Junction look tiny from this height and the southern tip of Paiute Reservoir may be glistening in the morning light.  You depart from aspen stands and travel through a seeming “alley way” of young Engleman Spruce before City Creek Peak becomes the apparent target of northbound travel.  Watch your footing on the West flank of City Creek Peak because the trail goes through two rocky talus slopes that in August have some nice raspberries.  Around mile 2 you will finally get views to the big peaks Holly, Delano, Baldy, and Shelly Baldy which tower above the ski runs in the distance to the northwest.  Another breathtaking view to the east is just up ahead where you’re on the brink of a gray-rock canyon looking into the head of Ten-mile Canyon.  As you continue north, you’ll see trail junctions for tr.#072 east to Little Park, tr.#072 northeast down the Bear’s Hole, then finally tr. #219 just shy of the Lake Stream trailhead, or the Skyline’s halfway point.  Trail #219 is a high elevation crazy, rocky, wild trail heading north through avalanche country to Allunite Ridge and further on into the South Fork of Bullion Canyon.  Fantastic backpacking country!  The total mileage from Big Flat to Lake Stream is 5.3 miles and is anywhere from 2 to 4 hours one way, depending on your pace.  So pack up a picnic, fill a canteen, and go “Into the Tushars” to celebrate our Freedom’s this July in some awe-inspiring country!