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Great Salt Lake Circumlocution. – “Where Nowhere Is Close!” Bryan Dixon This is a place where “solo solitude” isn’t redundant. Mention a trip along the north and west side of the Great Salt Lake and friends will say, “I didn’t even know there’s a road out there,” or “but there’s nothing out there.” Tell that to the rabbit brush, salt grass, lizards, horned larks, coyotes and northern harriers making a decent living in these unpeopled spaces. The West Desert of Utah is the perfect antidote to a crush of humanity. It’s not “nothing,” but “nobody” who’s out there. And even that’s not entirely true. You do, however, want some company because, if something doesn’t go as planned – the definition of “adventure” according to Sir Edmund Hillary – it could get very interesting. Prudence prompted me to invite friends, but none of my dirt riding companions could get away. It was mid-September and the window of opportunity was closing – summer heat gone, but fall rains had yet to convert the clay surface to snake snot – so I decided to go it alone. I knew that a dirt road connected Golden Spike National Monument to I-80 west of the Great Salt Lake because I’d ridden it once before. That time we’d been uncertain; exploring, carefully calculating our fuel to make sure we could return to a gas station if we couldn’t get through. This time the concern was what summer storms might have done to the road. “Never fear,” I told myself. “You’ve taken the Jimmy Lewis course!” Not hubris, exactly, for I knew I was no Jimmy Lewis - or Heather either for that matter - it was more encouragement for the soul. Mile 0, 0830, Leave Golden Spike National Monument (N41.61822 W112.54915) It’s only a day trip, but an early start is still a good idea because it’s 128 miles from Golden Spike to I-80, 112 miles of it dirt. You can warm up on the gravel road that leads southwest from Golden Spike. There are still grasslands on either side of the road providing harbor for sparrows and rabbits which, in turn, provide food for the northern harriers. Except for small gravel berms on either side of the road it’s very uniform and smooth. Mile 5.5, Bear right at “Y” and pickup Railroad Grade (
The National Park Service has provided an information kiosk along the right of way to give you the whys and wherefores of the old railroad corridor, complete with the names of former sidings where wood and water were provided for the steam engines and where local ranchers could arrange to ship their animals or pick up supplies. The Park Service also maintains a website detailing the history of the building of the Transcontinental Railroad (www.nps.gov) Mile 10.2: Bear right (west) on smaller (main) track at sign “Kelton 31” (N41.59738 W11268374) Some of the turns are confusing. The track you want may not always be the most traveled or best maintained. GPS helps only if the old roads are part of your map base! Basically, head west dude! Mile 18.1: Left (southwest) at “T” on Cedar Springs Road (N41.70107 W112.69897) If the abundance of gravel, weather or mechanical surprises are overly enhancing your trip, you can bail out at a couple of spots such as the Cedar Springs Road. From this point on use great care if there’s been any precipitation since crossing the edge of the salt flats to the west can be treacherous on two wheels and even four! Mile 22.9: Left (southwest) at “T” to Salt Wells Road Pass by rock outcropping “Lone Rock” (N41.72308 W112.78383) Persevering, and rejecting the chance to opt out for Snowville to the north, turn southwest below Monument Peak, a small knoll to the north, t Mile 31.0: Left (southwest), then immediate right (northwest) at sign “Kelton 11”. Follow railroad grade. Historical markers along this section note former sidings. (N41.73467 W112.91146) Now you’ll have to do a zig left and a zag right to stay on track. Locomotive Springs, developed for steam engines but now an important water source for wildlife, lies to the south and you’ll pass markers for Nella Siding and Seco. You’ve come to Kelton. The sign is poisoned by sun and lead, but still reads: “Historic Kelton existed until 1942. It was Mile 734.1 from San Francisco and 1123 from Omaha. Stages left Kelton daily for Boise (2 days), Walla Walla (4 days) and Portland (5 1/2days). The Wells Fargo stage from Kelton to mines in the north was reportedly the most robbed route in the west. It was held up almost weekly and sometimes daily! There’s a small cemetery just west of Kelton (N41.74604° W113.11162°). Mile 41.6: Bear left (southwest) on the best gravel road Multiple tracks make choosing the correct route a bit challenging, but basically bear left and head generally southwest. Mile 44.2: Left to Hogup Mountain Road (N41.7204 W113.14375). Another turn at mile 44.2 is required to stay close to the Great Salt Lake. With a little imagination you can see a giant crocodile in the low ridge on the edge of the lake to the south. There were several washouts where those Jimmy Lewis skills really came in handy – standing on the pegs and slipping the clutch to go slow while picking a route between b After twenty miles of gravel road between the Hogups and the lake you reach a long finger jutting south. It’s a peninsula only in wet years and a great place for lunch. You’re overlooking Gunnison Bay to the east and Clyman Bay to the southwest, both in the North Arm of the Great Salt Lake. Great Salt Lake Minerals wants to build a 25,000 acre evaporation pond here on public land. By now it’s serious desert and so far from any fresh water source that there’s not even any sign of livestock, a rare reprieve on BLM lands. Descending to the southwest from Fingerpoint you’ll want to use care again, especially if the clay soil is at all wet. I was surprised here by a very loud explosion and mushroom cloud rising from the military area.
munitions disposal 2 miles away. Mile 71.9: Right (NW) up a small hill to continue on the county road (N41.3854 W113.0784 Turn to the west past Dead Man Knoll. This takes you away from the lake and up into the hills. It’s the best road though and eventually connects. Mile 75.4: Continue straight – don’t turn for Big Pass (N41.3945 W113.1371) The road gets a bit loose in places, but a cool head and slow speeds will help you stay in control as you climb gradually to a pass. Mile 75.8: Keep left and follow the road toward the railroad tracks in the distance (N41.3830W113.1453) Mile 85.1: Arrive Hogup Siding (N41.2615 W113.1222) Work your way down the hills, following the main track west of a minor ridge and heading gener
Mile 87.8: Bangerter Pumps (N41.2537 W113.08404) Along the way, you’ll find a large building on the right – a legacy of Utah Governor Norm Bangerter, who pushed through a massive project to build and install pumps to lower the GSL by moving lake waters to evaporate in the deserts to the west. Costing over $60 million in the mid 1980s, it was said to pay for itself by preserving tax revenue from the mineral extraction companies in danger of being put out of business by the rising lake. The pumps are now mothballed and waiting for a new chapter of global weirding to call them into action. A sign explains that the thre Mile 99.1: Lakeside, railroad crossing on the right, but do not cross yet. (N41.22283 W112.86504) After paralleling the railroad for fourteen miles you’ll come to the crossing you’ll use to reach pavement, but continue on another mile on the north side of the tracks to reach the Great Salt Lake where the causeway separates the north and south arms of the lake. Watch the birds eat the brine shrimp and brine flies. Don’t drink the Mile 101.1: Cross the railroad tracks and head south. Reversing course, return to cross the tracks and immediately turn left (east) to pick up a dirt road along the base of the mountain. Follow the road around the east side of the hill to head south along a good dirt road. The road crosses a military gunnery range so it’s possible that the road could be temporarily closed. Sometimes there’s a sign indicating a closure “ahead”, but no one is around to show where that might be.
A road closure could introduce some delay – or not, if there’s no one there. Mile 115.5: Bear left (south) on to paved road – watch for wild life! (N41.02829W112.92071) Working your way south, the road turns from dirt to pavement and you’ll probably be glad to have a firm surface beneath your wheels. Although you’re out of the woods, you’re not necessarily “out of the woods.” Be on the lookout for Pronghorns! Pronghorns seem to make a living even in the desert. Mile 131.1: I-80 and Exit 62 The Interstate came all too soon for me. The closest fuel lies east along I-80. The BMW dealer is 61 miles east. I felt lucky to have over one hundred miles of remote dirt roads to myself – except for the guy from the U.S. Geological Survey who was tracking tectonic plate movement with his ultra precise GPS and a thirty foot rod driven in to the ground. And I had no mishaps this time (last time we had to plug a tire). Someday I’ll head further west to Wendover, and north around the Silver Island Mountains, and then further north to Lucin, crossing the route of the Donner Party. Maybe this spring, but I’ll bring company next time. I certainly don’t want to end up like the Donners.
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N41.55964 W112.62139)
hrough evidence of the extensive range fires that burned thousands of acres in ’07. Two small, but interesting rock formations lie between you and the Great Salt Lake to the south. You pass within a few hundred feet of Lone Rock and within another mile an unnamed Pachyderm-like formation just off the road.
Wheeler Survey Marker – In 1889 the United States Army sent First Lieutenant George M. Wheeler on a brief reconnaissance which later created the Country’s ‘Geographical Survey West of the One Hundredth Meridian.’ This survey gave our leaders the first accurate mapping of the Western half of the Country, collecting data of the natural history, geology, geography, climate, weather and ethnology.”
asketball-sized rocks and patches of deep sand. It’s doable with good tires - and dry weather.
ally southward to Hogup – no town or structures, just a place on the map. Take the left hand branch at the “Y” and head east on a good dirt road alongside the Union Pacific tracks.
e natural gas engines drive three pumps which can move 1.3 million gallons of lake water per minute.
water.
