Wildcat Creek

June 2, 2017

Don’t you think it’s time you try something or somewhere NEW.  Variety is the spice of life, so they say, and the Tushar Mountains have many different types of hiking to offer.  Not only could you explore a whole new side of the range, but you may consider going for an outdoor adventure at an unusual time, like I did for this week’s hike.  I left Beaver at 9:30 pm and tent camped near Circleville at Birch Creek Picnic Area.  I wanted to get out super early to gather data, clean the trail, and see if there was more or less wildlife to observe.  It is also starting to get hot by lunchtime so the wee hours can feel refreshing.  I had the whole picnic area to myself and did not see or hear another soul for all 4 hours of this adventure.  Sure this hike is off the beaten path, (an hour and a half drive from Beaver), but that is why it appeals to me.  Once you get to the trailhead, the 2.3 miles uphill to intersect with the Mabel-Payne ditch is pleasant and not to steep.  Wildcat Creek is a perennial trickle that adds charm and audio to this forest stroll.  The trail and creek are side-by-side for all but the first half mile.  Because of that, you need to pay attention and be sure you're parked in the right spot.  Just south of Circleville, Utah, turn west off U.S. 89 near m.m. 156.  Then after 4 miles you come to Birch Creek Picnic Area where you stay on the main road, which turns south and is F.R. 121, suitable for any type of car.  A few bumpy spots, but there’s way more smooth road than not.  Reset your odometer as you turn away from the picnic pavilion and continue for 4.1 miles.  At the bottom of a steep hill, look on the right side for a huge cube-shaped boulder in a dry drainage.  Park here and look west up into the pinyon\ junipers for the ATV barrier which sits 120 feet from the road.  If you drive out of Forest Service land over the cattle guard, you drove too far. Wildcat Trail is Forest Trail #247 but does not begin next to Wildcat Creek.  Less than ten minutes from your car, you will hear crackling above your head as you pass under the high voltage power lines.  The cicada’s were really humming at lower elevations that day, but this crackling is much more subtle.  Next thing to observe is a wide swath of clear-cut running perpendicular to the trail  which is a buried natural gas line.  Careful not to veer off your direction of travel here, because the old two track disappears in a sagebrush clearing, just keep climbing uphill,westerly, until the canyon slope squeezes you and the creek together.  From here up to the Mabel-Payne ditch,  the stream is right beside you, making for a peaceful and green setting.  I need to pause here and acknowledge Mr. Howard White, whose book “Trails of the Tushar’s” was critical for me to find most of these trails, and also for all the great historical points and place name origins that he researched and included in his book.  Because of Mr. White, I can relay to you that the Mabel-Payne ditch conducts water from a small earthen dam in Pine Creek clear out south to Little Dog Valley to water livestock.  The ditch is shown on maps as Forest Trail 165, it is mostly filled in and hasn’t been used for some time, and I plan on scoping it out and seeing if it could be good for mountain biking.  The average hiker could get to the ditch and return the same way in about 2.5 hours.  Want a 4 hour hike? Turn right at the ditch and head over to the diversion in Pine Creek, and follow that trail #285 downstream to the dirt road F.R. 121 and then back to your vehicle.   While we patiently wait for snow to melt of Big John’s, and F.R. 137, we must be creative in our pursuit of outdoor fun!  Try some NEW way “Into the Tushars!”