The distant peaks in the frame above are the Henry Mountains, the last mapped mountain range in the lower 48 States. The Navajo called them the Nameless Mountains, or No Name. If you look at them on a Four Corners topo map, you’ll see the 40-mile-long range surrounded by canyons and lowlands. It’s almost as if ancient giants dug moats around these primal heaps of frozen magma. It’s no coincidence that I set at least parts of many of my novels and some of my short stories here, as this is some of the most remote terrain anywhere in lower America.
The Henrys sprawl out in sections: the tallest group, the Ellen group on the northern side near the town of Hanksville, top out at over 11,000 feet. The middle group, centered around Mount Pennell, are set back from the main spine of the range. The southernmost group of the main part of the range, Mount Hillers, sits near highway 276. The ruins of an old ranch and mine sites, run by a man named Al Starr, are also available for view near the foot of Hillers. Starr tried keeping horses out here, but locoweed put an end to that. An oasis named after Starr is filled with big oaks and other species you won’t ordinarily see in high desert lands like this.
Across the highway, the Little Rockies, a smaller sub-range of the Henry’s, look like they have a different origin from the Henry’s. As you drive down highway 95 toward Hite crossing at the north end of Lake Powell, you’ll glimpse the Little Rockies through gaps in the east wall of old Glen Canyon at places like White and Farley canyons. The contrast between the ruby walls of the lower canyons and the high blue-white mountains which shoot like crystals above them make some of the most dramatic geologic contrast anywhere in the West. The mountains cure to gold as the sun moves across the sky. The feeder canyons which drop down into Lake Powell, formerly Glen Canyon, separated by walls of amethyst sandstone, carve gigantic paddocks.
As you drive west toward the Henry’s, this castellated appearance intensifies. Along the backside of the Henrys, a long, graded road, Nottom/Burr Trail/Stratton, parallels a reef. You’ll find some great hikes (bring plenty of water) at Muley and Lower Muley Twists. Near here, you enter Capitol Reef NP. Yet my favorite region is around Mount Hillers north of the paved highway, away from the marina at Bullfrog and the hotel at Ticaboo.
West of the Henry’s near Mount Hillers, deep, wide, red-walled canyons drop down at the foot of the range. Campsites are few, unless you cross east over or around the canyons to Starr Springs. Be careful if there have been storms up in the high country that parallel the road, as you may encounter washes you can’t cross, especially without high clearance, 4WD vehicles.
The region remains remote, but, like all of the Southwest, it’s being discovered. Savor the solitude while you can.
To get here: Take Highway 95 west or south to highway 276. Then, it’s south along 276 to either Starr Springs (R) or Stratton Road (also R).
© 2022 by Michael C. Just
Mike’s novel, The Dirt: The Journey of a Mystic Cowboy, is available in softcover or eBook formats through Amazon.
You can purchase the book through this website. Or go straight to amazon at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+dirt+journey+of+a+mystic+cowboy&crid=1S40Q4BXSUWJ6&sprefix=the+dirt%3A+journey+of+a+m%2Caps%2C180&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_23
Mike’s other titles, including The Crippy, The Mind Altar, and Canyon Calls, are available through this website or through Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002
Four of his short stories have recently been published online:
Lies, Ltd. has been published by The Mystery Tribune @ Lies, Ltd.: Literary Short Fiction by Michael C. Just (mysterytribune.com)
The Obligate Carnivore has been published by the Scarlet Leaf Review @ Category: MICHAEL JUST – SCARLET LEAF REVIEW
I See You, Too has been published by the 96th of October @ I See You, Too – 96th of October
Offload, a short story about a man who can heal any disease, is now live and can be read at The Worlds Within at Offload – The Worlds Within