Trail 066

September 27, 2017

I have been waiting 2 years to write this article and am so excited to reveal a hike that I believe could have the greatest positive impact on our community.  If you have enjoyed reading these articles about hiking in the mountains above Beaver, then read this one and share it with others,  because this is an important one!  The longest trail on our forest (26 miles!), the closest one to town, and one that is low enough elevation to be used year round, has been hiding in obscurity for nearly forty years.  The 066 trail disappeared for several reasons, the first being that in the early 1980’s the Beaver river flooded terribly, resulting in the loss of Little Cottonwood Campground.  When the campground was rebuilt, the new entrance and automobile bridge was located further upstream, disconnecting trail 066 from having an easy and proximal crossing of the river for hikers.  Secondly is that the trail was overtaken by a roadside debris repository nicknamed “the Boneyard” where bar ditch cleanout material, boulders, and deadfall trees and logs are piled for burning.  Trail 066 has always started from the Beaver City Municipal Power Plant at mile 6 up Beaver Canyon and paralleled the river to a river ford before turning southwest up a ravine known as Little Cottonwood Canyon.  All the old maps confirm this, however, what’s on the ground has puzzled me for many years.  All I could ever find was a wooden trail sign 20 feet from the highway in the middle of sagebrush with no trace of a trail.  One very old trailblaze on a ponderosa pine confirmed that the 066 went right through the Boneyard.  Because horses don’t care, or at least the human on it’s back doesn’t care, if it’s hooves get wet,  cowboys have always forded the river at the same spot at the south end of the Boneyard.  But there has never been a footbridge until NOW, so hikers were just supposed to know to go into Little Cottonwood Campground, not knowing if they owed fees or not, and pass through site #14(awkward if occupied) to be on the correct side of the river to begin hiking up Little Cottonwood Canyon.  No wonder this hike never gets any use.  Such a shame because I see big things for this quiet and shady little draw,  full of maple, pinion pines, junipers,  gambel oak, cool moss covered rocks,  coyotes,  jays, juncos, chipmunks, lizards and snakes.  Nature! Yes nature is right there in your face and is only ten minutes from your house,  five minutes if you live near the golf course!  We all know how popular the bike path around the golf course is and how healthy habits and exercise is realized there everyday,  well, I see trail 066 as being developed into a similar amenity to all of Beaver County's citizens.  There is ample flat parking area south of the Power Plant by the dumpsters and a Trailhead with maps and info kiosk would look great there.  I have proposed this to my higher-ups at the Forest Service and the wheels are turning!  

So that’s why this article is important to me and I hope it resonates with you, because without use, numbers, or demand, trail 066 WILL disappear again.  I doubt any hiker has ever hiked along trail 066 all the way to Wade’s Canyon above Circleville(26 miles!), but I challenge you to go check out the first 1.5 miles.  Park near the dumpsters at m.m. 6 up Beaver Canyon (UT. 153) and spot the trail sign I relocated near the river.  Now this first 300 yards is a cute little fisherman’s trail right next to the river.  Then comes the footbridge to get you safe and dry to the other side.  Once across, you’re traveling under the power lines until you climb up to the right and away from the river finding another wooden trail sign and enter the mouth of the ravine which makes for a great autumn leaf hike.  By the time you read this the big-toothed maples will be neon orange and fiery crimson,  the oak orange, brown and yellow, and the smell of composting frosty leaves will fill the crisp air.  This drainage has two steep and rocky spots that add interest and challenge, but once above that, the trail levels to nearly flat and is a two track behind “B” mountain where cattlemen drove in from grassy canyon(BLM land) to build and maintain a cattle watering impoundment (dam).  At the saddle near the Forest Service Boundary you’ll start to see cowboy junk ( beer bottles and rusty cans).  At this junction, trail 066 turns east and climbs steeply through mostly oak and pinion, then levels off on nice tread into Wet Hollow, then continues east up Wet Hollow, south up to a flat, east off that flat through tunnels of mahogany to Horse Flat and Mud Lake.   But, back to cowboy junk junction,  that’s the first 1.5 miles of trail 066 so head back the way you came, or continue exploring on your own, hopefully with a map!  I hope you liked it and return many times when all you have is an hour to burn some calories.  See how many of my other hikes you can squeeze in before they’re blanketed with snow, visit the awesome website maintained by my tech savvy wife Tracy:  mcmullins.wixsite.com/intothetushars.  Please have fun, take a friend, and be safe as you journey Into the Tushars!