The Wellsville Mountains - Then and Now

A few weeks ago I went on a solitary vacation that started with a hike up to Box Elder Peak, the highest point in the Wellsville Mountains.  One of the things that struck me while I was hiking was how my attitude changed with every 500 feet of elevation gain.  A large part of my major attitude shift was the fact that I couldn't see my destination until I was right underneath it, thus every time I realized the peak I thought was Box Elder was not in fact my destination, there was heavy disappointment.  Here's the general flow of emotions: 

1. Excited 
2. Nervous (elevation gain) 
3. Nervous (storms) 
4. Nervous (animals) 
5. Despair (I could turn back now, I've seen enough) 
6. Cold (the wind blows at the top of mountains) 
7. Tired (legs) 
8. Tired (mind 
9. Done

I think this is a pretty general outline of how hiking goes (I recall the term "A Fine and Pleasant Misery"), but it seemed more acute due to some fun facts of the Wellsvilles:

1. The Wellsvilles are very steep - the Rattlesnake Canyon Trail gains 4,500 feet over 4.5 miles, and that's not unusual for a Wellsville trail.  These might be the steepest mountains in the lower 48, because they don't have foothills.  They're 14 miles long, north to south, and only 5 miles wide at the base.  
2. The Wellsvilles were heavily grazed before being declared a Wilderness Area in 1984.  The vegetation is really scrubby, I think because it's recovering from all the over grazing.  There's not really any shade on the route I chose (that's why I could mark the trail so easily in Google Earth).  
3. The Wellsvilles are windy, there is a Hawk Watch International station up there because raptors (the birds, not the dinosaurs) love to coast around these peaks.  

Amidst my clear suffering, I did spend a lot of time thinking about how these mountains have evolved over the millenia.  This all started in the lower elevation part of the hike, where the ferns were plentiful.  Ferns always make me think about dinosaurs.

 So here's a quick history of the Wellsville's from the Jurassic Period until August 2013.  

145 million years ago - Jurassic Period

The Wellsvilles didn't even exist at this point, but Utah was a rocking place.  Large deserts covered much of the area, but twice large seaways intruded in what would be northern Utah.  Later in the period, the Dilophosaurus, Sauropod, and Megalosaur were leaving tracks all over the state.  Of particular interest to me, the Entrada sandstone layer that I love to climb so much was formed during this period.  Check out this sweet link for a rundown of Utah's geologic history.  The Wellsvilles, like the rest of the mountains around Cache Valley are made of limestone, which is also interested to climb, and quite pretty.  

Wellsvilles to the south of Box Elder.  This view reminded me a lot of Rohan, except there weren't any horses

100 million years ago - Cretaceous Period

This was a great time to be in Utah because the best dinosaurs were around: the Utah Raptor, Tyranosaurus, Parasauropholus were all rocking.  Check out this sweet link for a rundown of Utah dinosaurs.  The climate of the region was quite different, as you'd imagine.  There were large coastal swamps and forests everywhere to support such large animals.  Over this period the seaways gradually receded and the lush vegetation began it's slow transformation into coal deposits.  

Cairn at Box Elder Peak.  Lush , right?

20 million years ago - Miocene period

The Wellsville Mountains as we know them formed 10 - 20 millions years ago, that's when the Basin and Range Region began stretching.  As the Earth's crust stretches, valleys form along faults between mountain ranges.  Cache Valley was a little different though, while the Bear River Range was formed through similar forces as the rest of the physiographic Provence, the Wellsvilles were formed more recently where the mountains slipped along a fault that caused the mountains to rise up very steeply, and they haven't had enough time for erosion to build foothills.  [Sorry for the lack of details and terminology, I can't find my class notes to put in the important details]

A view down a canyon toward Cache Valley, note the lack of foothills in this view

1.6 million years ago - Pliestocene Era

The Wellsville mountains were nearly completely inundated by pluvial Lake Bonneville, a giant lake that formed covered parts of Utah, Nevada, and Idaho.  Check out this awesome link for a rundown of Lake Bonneville, complete with animation.  Large alluvial fans formed at the mouths of the rivers that supplied the lake, and many of current bench communities are built on these fans.  During this period the climate was drying, and the combination of an ice-dam failure at Red Rock pass and decreased precipitation leads to a major decline in the lake.  

The view south, including Sardine Canyon.  Much of this was inundated by Lake Bonneville

1859 - Settlement of Cache Valley

Fast forward quite a bit and things start to move even more in Cache Valley.  Mormon's came up from the Wasatch Front and began settling communities.  Irrigation needs determined the location of these early settlements, so the Wellsvilles were largely ignored as settlers began diverting the Logan River instead.  

Cache Valley from Box Elder Peak

1900's - Grazing

Sheep were a big part of the Wellsvilles' recent history.  It seems sheep do alright in really steep areas, but those steep areas don't always fair as well.  A few decades of grazing nearly denuded the entire range, and without vegetation rains just washed down the entire mountain devastating the closest communities.  Sheep were clogging up all the irrigation infrastructure and generally wreaking havoc so they were taken off to allow the vegetation to return and protect the downstream watershed.  

Me and some scrubby berries that are currently growing quite well.  

1984 - Wilderness Declaration

20,988 acres of the Wellsvilles were incorporated into a wilderness area in 1984, this means that there is no longer any grazing there.  Motorized vehicles, mountain bikes, and hang gliders are also not allowed.  All of these restrictions have lead to some pretty serious rebounds in the mountains, trees are slowly coming back and flood events are less common.  Plus it's an excellent place to go be alone.  

Aug 27, 2013 - I hike the Wellsvilles

There was one other person on the trail when I hiked it in late August.  His name was Bruce and he was taking some unconventional trails up and down the mountains.  This is intense in an of itself, but the guy was also at least in his 50s.  It inspired me, I hope to have the physical ability to do such a thing for the rest of my life, and the financial stability to allow me to take off and hike on a week day.  But I was alone hiking for 5 hours and that was a recipe for awesome.  Wonderful things happen when you've got the chance to be in a quiet place, pushing the limits of your body and exploring the way your minds works.  I very much enjoy the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of my surroundings, wonder about science behind it all, and push myself past the point I just want to give up. 

Celebrating on Box Elder Peak, 9,372 feet

 This was also the day I decided to figure out my new tripod and camera remote.  It was quite rainy that day and very windy at the top, so things did not go smoothly:

Trying so hard.  

 As I went back down the mountain my legs certainly felt the burn of a 4500 foot elevation gain and loss, but it was still really great to be able to see both my home in Cache Valley and my PhD study area in Box Elder County from the same place.    While it's a pretty grueling hike, the views and history and time to think are wholly worthwhile, I recommend everybody visit (and bring ibuprofen).

Box Elder County from Box Elder Peak

Coming Soon - the rest of my solitary vacation, including the Spiral Jetty, Antelope Island and Deseret Peak.