Smithfield Dry Canyon Trail
Mt. Naomi Wilderness Area

This is just the start of a big web site on my hikes with the dogs. But it takes a lot of time to keep it updated. Let's get started ...

By the way, my dog Onyx is always very much in favor of starting up the trail.

The Trailhead Road

Here we have a view from the practical trail head. You can click on the image to get the big picture. If you do, look for Opal. There is also a nice Utah juniper (juniperus osteosperma) in the middle with characteristic round shape.

To get to the national forest trailhead, you have to drive up a dirt road that was previously closed off to vehicle traffic by the owner. We should not blame the owner. The 4-wheelers (ATVs) and dirt bikers had run all over the slopes of this property. Agnès and I watched this property for several years. We could not help notice the owner's apparent frustration in trying to allow sports persons access to the wilderness area while protecting his property from damage. We would see ATV (off-road vehicles like 4-wheelers and dirt bikes) riders on the sides of the hills there. We also saw new signs essentially pleading with people not to ride ATVs on this property. It looks as if the people who ride ATVs can't read. So the owner had to put a rock barrier at the bottom of the road to protect this private property.

But this is now changed. The property was purchased by Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, a nonprofit, apolitical group operating in Utah. The name implies what the groups does, and they do it well. The problem is back, however. You can see where people have driven on the hills to the north and south of the access road. Perhaps old Mr. Weeks was right. There is apparently no way to keep vehicles off private land short of closing it down.

The USFS Trailhead

This is what you see as you walk up to the "official" trailhead. That gate is typical of what you find at the main road to ranches in the Intermountain West. Although not common in the Cache Valley, you can still find gates with the tall side posts and the high beam across the top. I took this particular picture in April. The trees do not have leaves yet and the grass is about the only thing that shows green. There is some dog-tooth violet ( Erythronium grandiflorum) in the lower right corner of this picture. This plant may serve as a welcome snack for the spring hiker. Another early blooming eatable is the capitate waterleaf (Hydrophyllum capitatum). Not as tasty. But good to know in a pinch...

The trees are mostly maple, perhaps the big-tooth maple (Acer grandidentatum) so common around here. You will find some pictures of this and other plants in the plants section of our site.
One thing about this gate that you cannot miss is that the sign is shot full of holes. It is a well established fact that people in the west do not like signs; even signs showing public property boundaries like this one. Mr. Weeks used to allow sportsmen to practice rifle shooting on this patch of land. There was no fee. He was just a nice guy. But when the Hunter's Education Center opened up, there was no longer a need and he stopped this. Apparently some people that shoot around these parts need the Hunter's Education Center training. They teach you not to shoot at signs.

You can see a different perspective of this area at the bottom of this page.

At the Start

There is a lot of tree cover near the bottom. Many of the trees are the big tooth maple. But you will find cottonwoods, river birch and alder, and quaking aspen a bit higher. As you peer up on the canyons sides you find Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) and curly leaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius). These species seem to thrive on the dry, baked slopes in the area.

There will be water running in early spring. The stream crosses the trail at several places closer to the trailhead. But as you head up, the stream will run right down the rocky trail. So be prepared and wear waterproof boots in the early spring.

Also, the water will make the rocks slick, so you have to watch your step!

Over the River and Through the Woods

Pushing up, we pass through an area with water most of the year. This wet area is found where the canyon narrows between two cliffs. The canyon opens up above this point and we pass into a zone with mostly quaking aspen. This part of the trail does not seem as steep as down lower. But we are still climbing.

The canyon can still have a lot of snow from here on up, even through April. Climbing on the side allows us to see what is in store. The trail follows the bottom of the valley seen to the left. It goes up and around to the left. You may be able to see the 'saddle point'. It is the lowest point on the ridge line.

Half Way There

And my dog Opal is ever ready to go on.

Spring

There is a spring up here. If it is running drink at your own risk. I do. It taste fine to me! Actually, this is not funny. People get real sick around here drinking what looks to be pure clean water. You have to remember we share that water with bacteria and 'bugs' like the infamous giardia, AKA Montezuma's Revenge. But if you are dying of thirst, there are a couple rules to follow. First, look for cows. Any signs of cattle ranging and don't risk drinking it without purification. The ultra-purification filters are my favorite. They take out the bugs but leave in the minerals.

My second rule is to look up the mountain. If there is water above the "spring", it probably isn't a spring but just a point where the water comes to the surface from a higher source. This is what you observe down lower in Dry Canyon. The water goes below the rocks for a while and then re-emerges in the narrow parts of the canyon. This also happens in Spring Hollow, up Logan Canyon. You have to locate the right spring.

Third, look for bones or skeletons. (Not really)

The spring is marked on the topographic maps. It is called Red Ledge Spring. There is a seep just off the trail. You may have to search for it if it is not running good.

Views from the Saddle

It is a big accomplishment to make it to the saddle point at the top of the climb. The trail splits up here. There are perhaps three or four routes one could take. It is hard to see what is going on. Even the last 1/4 or so mile up is more or less guess work. But, the way I see it, you can go up to Flat Top to the north; down to Birch Creek to the North East; down Water Canyon to the south; or on to Mount Elmer to the east.

If you head to the north, up the ridge line toward the top of Flat Top, look around you will see a trail switching back and forth down to Birch Creek Canyon. This trail head down toward the east. It can be found just a little up hill to the north of the saddle.

Heading to the south top of the saddle you can get a view down into Water Canyon on the south side, and into Birch Creek to north. Looking east you will see the rocky top that is Mount Elmer. If you look east from the top dividing Water from Birch Creek, you may just make out the trail. It is not used very much. Don't worry if you don't find it. It is hard to get lost on the way to Elmer. It is relatively flat and easy to pick a way up.

Heading Home

It's a long way up. It's a long way back and it's getting late. It never takes as long to run downhill in the cool evening as it does to walk up under the baking sun. But don't miss the opportunity to examine some of the old twisted limber pines (Pinus flexilis). The fallen ones often have trucks resembling a barber pole. Some of these trees have been dated to 2000 years old around here. These are usually easy to identify because of their habit to grow alone, or rather, where no tree has been able to gain a foothold for several hundred years. The real distinguishing characteristic is the 5 pine needles to a bundle. The pinyon pines, which may also grow on the dry areas have only 1 to 3 needles per leaf. So you have to pull a bundle or two and count. he limber pines are obvious close relatives to the bristlecone pine.

Some people don't know when to give up