Lynn Blamires, Special to the Standard-Examiner

The second week of September, I mapped a course from Emery to Salina for a ride with some friends. It wasn’t exact because there was a loop on the map that looked interesting, but one I had not taken. It is the stuff that adventures are made of and it didn’t seem to bother anyone. These friends had ridden with me before.

We started our quest from Ferron after spending the night at the Big Mountain Lodge. The Lodge has become a go-to for staging ATV adventures. Their staff is friendly and anxious to make your stay enjoyable.

Their restaurant stays open until 8 p.m. where we enjoyed a simple, but delicious meal. Their convenience store opened a 6 a.m. to provide hot breakfast sandwiches and a personal favorite that I requested before arriving — biscuits and sausage gravy. We trailered to Emery after topping off with blue gas at the Lodge.

The streets in Emery are extra wide, which allowed us to stage just east of the old church with plenty of room. Having lined up on a westerly course, we left town headed for Link Canyon.

In a previous article I mistakenly referred to this canyon as Wildcat Canyon, but it was no less scenic as Link Canyon. As we climbed out of Emery, we felt the cool mountain air and embraced the fragrant pine scent all around. We were experiencing the reason we enjoy riding in the mountains.

Lynn Blamires, Special to the Standard-Examiner

We topped out at about 8,600 feet. To our left was Wildcat Knoll and on our right was a trail that ventured into an area known as “The Pines.” It was a fun place to explore with trails that crisscrossed a wooded area that would be a great place to stop for lunch, but we had other plans.

Continuing our ride north, we skirted around the left side of the East Fork Box Canyon. We were on a trail that was on the south side of the Arapeen Trail System looking for a track that would take us on a loop further south.

We found it and turned left and began climbing Big Ridge. This loop had some challenging parts, but just enough to be fun.

Finishing the loop, we joined the trail we had been on headed west and then north. We soon began passing some of the famous fishing spots the Arapeen Trail is known for. The first of those was Julius Flat Reservoir on our right.

Turning north, we dropped down several hundred feet as we crossed Muddy Creek. This clear stream was anything but muddy, but it was fun to cross.

Photo supplied

We turned left following the shores of Spinner Reservoir to our right and then we passed Emery Reservoir on our left. There are some 53 fishing spots marked on the Arapeen Trail Map.

Reaching the Skyline Trail, we were on top of the mountains where the views were amazing. They were short lived, however, because it was lunchtime and Twelve Mile Campground was just below us. We headed down and took a lunch break and we couldn’t have picked a prettier spot at just over 10,100 feet. After a leisurely break, we turned south on our way down to Interstate 70.

On our way, we passed more fishing spots — Emerald Lake, Island Lake, Blue Lake, Henningson Reservoir and Three Lakes. We didn’t start losing altitude until we dropped off Nipple Ridge, but our descent was still gradual. Riding Dead Horse Ridge, we turned onto another ridge before dropping into Corral and Skutumpah canyons coming onto the I-70 frontage road in Spring Canyon.

This road followed the interstate west into Salina. It is actually a section of the old Spirit Railroad bed, a plan that would have connected Green River with Salina, Huntington and Price with rail service and much needed commerce. The plan was abandoned and the men on this section worked for two years before they learned that they were out of a job.

It was a fun trail to ride to Salina as it traveled through two tunnels meant to bring trains into town. We chugged our way at a rapid clip, honking our horns like kids, taking advantage of the Doppler effect as we passed through the tunnels.

We made Salina, finishing an 82-mile ride, and chose the comfort food offered at Mom’s Café for dinner. When you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down and enjoy an amazing ride to Salina from Emery.

Contact Lynn R. Blamires at quadmanone@gmail.com.

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