The Northern Utah ATV Trail Riders recently met at the end of the pavement in Mayfield Canyon, south of Manti. Even though we were traveling with more than 30 riders, everyone rode at their own leisure because of a flag system we were using. The leader dropped a ribbon tied to a large metal nut at a junction, alerting riders to an upcoming turn. Then another flag was dropped indicating the direction of travel. It allowed riders to hang back out of the dust and enjoy the ride without worrying about getting lost. The last rider used a magnet to pick up the flags.?We rode up the canyon on the Penchot Trail. This narrow two-track trail was a major road until wet conditions in the early 1980s caused major landslides.?We turned onto the Dinner Creek Trail and made our way to Twelve-mile Campground. The higher we climbed, the more beautiful the scenery seemed to be. We passed through huge stands of aspen and pine sometimes mirrored in quiet ponds. We passed Deep Lake, skirted around Mount Baldy, and stopped for lunch at the campground.?After lunch, we went up to the Skyline Trail; an easy trail that travels along the ridge top for about 58 miles. Coming off the top we passed Ferron Reservoir toward Willow Lake. Just before reaching the lake, we turned onto a trail that took us through the remains of a recent forest fire. I was in this area last year after the fire. I thought the smell of burnt wood would be diminished, but it was still strong. These charred woods presented an eerie scene.?We traveled across Singleton Flat and dropped down to Indian Creek. I say “dropped” because it was a challenging descent into the canyon. We rode over an ATV gate and a wooden bridge that crossed the creek. Cheers went up as we gathered on the other side. It was an exhilarating feeling having made it safely to the bottom. I heard one rider say, “That was great. Let’s don’t do it again.” I can still remember how big his eyes got when he saw the trail up the other side of the canyon.?We continued our climb between Cove Lake and Cove Peak back up to the Skyline Trail past the Jet Fox Reservoir. We took our last break before heading down into Manti.?After cleaning up, we gathered on the lawn at our motel. We enjoyed a meal of pork spare ribs and a variety of homemade ice cream including pistachio nut, peach, and apricot. Apricot proved to be the favorite. We enjoyed sitting around talking until dark.?The next morning we rode to the south end of Manti. Turning up the gravel pit, we climbed trail #03 some 4,000 feet to a ridge with a view where we stopped for a break. This trail tops seven ridges divided by six beautiful valleys that drop off on both sides into Manti and Twelve-Mile Canyons.?We finished our climb to the Skyline and took an ATV-only trail down to Duck Fork Reservoir. Finding a stand of aspen just down the road from the lake, we took time for lunch.?Heading back, we passed Ferron Reservoir and began our climb to the Skyline Trail. At nearly 10,000 feet there were still some patches of snow near the trail. Being at the front of the line, I couldn’t resist stopping to throw a few snowballs. I turned out to be a good target and retreated to my machine to get out of range. By the time we got back to the trucks, it was warm enough to want a snowball.?When you go, check the map. Some of the trails are restricted to machines 50 inches wide with ATV gates as enforcement. Never go alone, take plenty of water, always wear a helmet, and keep the rubber side down.?

You may contact Lynn Blamires at quadmanone@gmail.com.