Cathedral Valley

Panoramic of Upper South Desert Overlook

After doing a fairly long bike ride yesterday we decided to rest our legs & drive out to see Cathedral Valley. On our last visit to the area we never explored that part of the park. The Park's description said it was a desolate area with little traffic. One thing really stood out in the description was 'prepare for self-rescue' since help may not arrive for hours to days...certainly sounds like our kind of drive. 

Hartnet Road

We headed off for the 6-8 hour drive of 57.6 miles along a remote dirt road. It was highly recommended to drive the loop clockwise due to fording the Freemont River. Oh boy no bridge! 

The river wasn't too high for the truck, but we could see how that would be a bummer to drive the loop from the opposite direction only to find it impassable and have to turn back.

Bentonite Hills

Bentonite Hills

Bentonite Hills

We rounded a turn and saw the banded hills of browns, reds, purple & gray...the bentonite clay is what makes the road slick & gummy when wet. Thankfully we had a beautiful bluebird day to travel without the worry of getting stuck. 

The drive was beautiful & very remote. By the end of the day we counted only 5 cars heading towards us and 3 cars going our direction. We started the drive along the southern half of the Cathedral Valley driving 27 miles along Hartnet Road and then made the turn onto Cathedral Drive for another 27+ miles of very fine dirt which covered the truck’s interior and bed. 

So much for having a clean truck, but dirty equals fun!

Bill at Glass Mountain

Close up of the selenite...aka 'glass'

Selenite crystals stacked

We made several stops along the way and managed couple of short hikes to various overlooks for better views of the valley. One of the weirdest sites along the way was called Glass Mountain...from a distance it looked like someone had piled up their trash. It glistened in the sun which made it impossible to get a good shot. We found out later that it was made entirely of selenite crystals...a variety of gypsum. 

Sink hole

Not too far away from the mountain we found a sinkhole over 200 feet deep. It formed when groundwater dissolved a gypsum plug. The cavity left behind collapsed from the weight of the rock on top. Really strange & totally different looking spots.

Monoliths on Cathedral Valley floor

View of Cathedral Valley from overlook

 

*click to enlarge pictures