Life on the Lee-Side: San Juan Hut Trip

Day 4 was a stark contrast to the first 2 days of the trip. We had gone from the lush, high alpine surroundings of the San Juan Mountains to the dust and heat of the desert in Dry Creek Basin. We woke up at 5:30am to beat the heat. Andrew's horrible gas had robbed me of oxygen and sleep all night, I was wrecked. Our route took us through the town of Basin which consisted of the Basin Store and a few other buildings. The Basin Store had a grill and I was able to get an egg burrito for breakfast, which would be huge in staying ahead of my protein needs as the days progressed. The group was anxious to press on so we didn't stay long. We spent the next 15 miles navigating our way along flat paved and dirt roads that criss crossed the natural gas well riddled landscape of Dry Creek Basin. By mid-morning the heat was already becoming oppressive. We had opted for an alternate route that would take along the southern edge of the basin. It also offered a sliver of singletrack, less than a mile, but singletrack none the less. We got lost and ended up riding uncomfortably close to a few wells (wells periodically vent toxic hydrogen sulfide gas H2S into the air), but eventually found our way.

There was a note in Dry Creek Hut that read something like "Please be courteous to the oil companies, they are providing a patriotic service for our country and reducing our dependency on foreign oil." I thought this was horribly oversimplified and unnecessary statement. The majority of well sites in western Colorado and eastern Utah are natural gas, which is largely produced domestically and not imported. If done environmentally sensitively and outside of protected lands, I'm willing to cede the need for drilling in the western slope. It benefits the local economy and provides a cleaner resource to heat homes and fuel power plants than crude oil and coal. Unfortunately, drilling has not been always been done sensitively and companies headquartered in other states have amassed huge profits at the expense our a unique environment. Either way, I thought it was an odd thing to see in the hut, I wondered if there had been altercations with groups before us, or if it was just propaganda.

After getting back on route we climbed out of Dry Creek Basin into the picturesque red rock mesa and canyon lands south of Paradox Valley. We had gained elevation, but the heat was still inescapable. Wedding Bell Hut was set on the north side of Wedding Bell Mountain over looking the Dolores River and Slick Rock Canyon. With the La Sal Mountains in the distance it was a beautiful view. This area is still relatively undiscovered. It's on par with anything around Moab, but isolated and free of tourists. The cool water of the Dolores River taunted us (well me), it was about 1500 feet below the hut, but there was no easy way to get there. I repeatedly tried to talk the group into a mission down to the water, but rational heads prevailed. The only other relief from the heat were several abandoned radium mines, but the cool air flowing from them came at a price of radiation exposure. I'm not sure how bad radium is, but I wasn't willing to find out. We spent the afternoon periodically exploring then retreating to whatever bits of shade we could find. Some relief from the heat came at sunset, but it never cooled enough to be comfortable. Here are my notes from the day: