There were plenty of trucks pulling ATV’s to the dunes on the highway, but once we took that left turn onto the dirt, we saw no one for the remainder of our excursion. After we turned off highway 6, it was just 3 miles or so to the trailhead for the woodpile, after that it is just over a mile hike to reach the formation.
I would call it a moderate hike, as does the sign at the trailhead. I can tell you that with a 10 pound pack and a 28 pound 2 year old on your shoulders in 90 degree heat it is somewhat more that moderate.
Usually my son loves to run around and never wants to be confined, but today he seemed to enjoy the view from up on my shoulders, so there he would stay for the majority of the hike. Only briefly would he want to get down, usually to chase a lizard, or to try and pick up a Mormon cricket. He’s fearless, those bugs really creep me out. They have got to be one of the ugliest creatures on earth.
As we trekked up the trail, my son was first to see the cows, and kept shouting at them to move off the trail, and, for the most part they obeyed his command. We did have one stubborn chap who refused to move until I grabbed a large stick, and then he stubbornly huffed his way up the hill and off the trail. Occasionally CJ would get down off my shoulders to lead the way but he seemed to enjoy dad doing all the work so soon he would be back up on his lofty perch on dad’s shoulders.
Once we reached the woodpile, we stopped and climbed around a while, had some lunch and rested in what little shade we could find. Well, I rested while CJ threw rocks down the hill.
The hike down follows the same route, but someone must have moved the rocks I used to cross the stream, because they weren’t at the same location, and I ended up with a muddy, wet foot.
This was a great hike to a seldom visited place in Utah.
Tips: If you go, take water. While it is only just over a mile of hiking to the formation, it is up hill in somewhat rough terrain. Tell someone where you are going, this place is seldom visited, and a sprained ankle or other injury would not be a good thing here.