Photo supplied, Lynn Blamires

The rain wasn’t scheduled until 5 p.m. – it began at 1 p.m. The flat tires weren’t supposed to happen – there were three. We planned to meet my grandson and his friends at the Left Hand Fork of Blacksmith’s Fork Trailhead southeast of Logan on the Shoshone OHV Trail System at 8 a.m. – that didn’t happen. While traveling through Weber Canyon on I-84, a light on my dashboard indicated that one of my tires was losing pressure.

I had picked up a small spike in my tire. To make a long story even longer, I left my truck at the tire store while my grandson Mark met me and took my trailer with two machines and his that he had loaded on his flatbed and we headed to the meeting point.

At the trailhead, Mark backed the trailer into the staging area to unload. He didn’t see the piece of angle iron – neither did I. It ripped big holes in the sidewalls of two tires on one side of the trailer, further delaying our ride.

We jacked up the trailer, took off the two wheels and loaded them into the cargo space on the back of my RZR. We sent Mark and his friends to Garden City on Bear Lake while my wife and I drove to Millville looking for a tire store. Two new tires and 30 miles later, we were back to where we started on our way to catch up with the party in Garden City.

It was a beautiful day for a ride. I have ridden sections of the Shoshone, but this route took us from the south end of the Shoshone Trail System to Garden City on the north side.

Photo supplied, Lynn Blamires

We started up the Left-Hand Fork Road following the creek to our right. I love following a stream on a ride. We passed Hog and Sow Holes on our way. We weren’t curious enough to stop for a closer look.

We turned off the Left-Hand Fork Road at Herd Hollow. Who would have thought that we would run into cows on Herd Hollow? I didn’t. We crept through the herd like we were one of them. They were not in a hurry.

This trail took us by Old Ephraim’s Grave and near the Sinks to Highway 89. The trail goes under the highway and down into Garden City where we met our group.

I was not expecting the crowd we met in town. It was like a tourist town at peak season. Every burger and raspberry shake shop had long lines waiting to order. Well, I guess it is a tourist town and it was peak season. Our friends were kind enough to let us get something to eat before heading back.

It started to rain while we were eating. It wasn’t just a sprinkle, but a lot of rain. We stopped at a country store next door to get some rain gear. My wife picked out a sleeping bag. “Don’t ask questions,” she said. “Just pay for it.” As it turned out, it kept her warm and dry which was fine by me. We put our windshields up and started back.

We took the highway back to our junction to save time. Once back on the trail, we followed the same route to a junction at Saddle Creek. One trail pointed to Hardware Ranch and the other to the Left-Hand Fork. We innocently chose the latter.

We rode a short distance before we came to a sign that read, “The Rock Garden.” We learned that the rocks weren’t little. It was a challenge to ride this section, but as we came to the end, we were rewarded with the site of a large spring flowing out of the mountain. It is a beautiful water feature. One we would like to visit again.

We learned that coming from the other direction to see this spring, we could avoid the Rock Garden. Our crazy friends said they would like to do the Rock Garden again.

We rejoined the Left-Hand Fork Road and went back to my jacked-up trailer. This had been an adventure with a capital A. We had completed about an 80-mile round trip. At the end of the ride, it was hard to make out the color of our mud-covered machines and we couldn’t see through the windshields, but everyone enjoyed the ride. When you go, take plenty of water, keep the rubber side down and enjoy an adventure on the Shoshone Trails.

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

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