Coming down from the flanks of Heber Mountain, our 2011 Jeep Rubicon was enveloped in a wave of white and brown. It was the first of many water holes as we drove down into a deep valley along the West Fork of the Duchesne River. Morning temperatures were just creeping into the 50s without a cloud in sight.

It was a great day for a Jeep adventure!

High up on the north side of the river was the Duchesne Ridge, one of my favorite fall color drives with sweeping meadows on its flanks. On the south, towering pines clung precariously to the steep slopes leading down to the river.

The West Fork has its humble beginnings in headwaters along the eastward-facing slopes of Heber Mountain just a mile away. It runs a squiggly line for 20 miles before sweeping down along S.R. 35 to Hanna, where it joins the main Duchesne River, eventually becoming one with the Green River in Ouray on its journey to the Colorado.

With limited access, this is a quiet part of the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. We saw just three other vehicles during my four-hour drive.

Just a few miles in, we spotted a strange-looking grove of fallen aspens. Coming up onto the scene, we could see more than 50 stumps with pointed tops — carved away by the orange front teeth of beavers. The scene was almost eerie. Some of these trees were huge, a few so large that they weren’t cut all the way through. With remnants extending three feet above the ground, you get a sense of the size of beavers, which can be three to four feet long and weigh 75 pounds or more.

But while we surveyed the scene and the size of the trees, our minds drifted to how in the world these busy beavers hauled the trunks a hundred yards down to the river. Carole plotted out her route while I started thinking about how maybe they slid them down on the melting spring snow.

Walking through the brush down to the river, you can quickly see the remarkable engineering that goes into a beaver dam. With the spear-like tree trunks forming a bulkhead, sticks and mud are used to create the main dam. It serves to create a pond environment while establishing a lodging structure underneath for their family.

All along the river, beaver dams created pond after pond as the West Fork wiggled its way down the valley. Flowage after flowage poured water from the steep north and south canyon walls into the river, from Vat Creek to Telephone Hollow. 

The region was explored by the Spanish Dominguez-Escalante Expedition in 1776. In the early to mid-1800s, French-American fur traders populated the area, taking advantage of the large beaver population to harvest pelts.

As we came around a corner near the base of Washout Gulch in Pine Hollow, an aged old cabin with a collapsed corrugated roof came into view, standing next to an old corral, undoubtedly with many stories to tell.

As a Jeep driver, you have this great feeling of independence about you — the ability to go where others can’t. You feel it when you reach down to throw the transfer case into 4WD, or when you put your Goodyear off-road tires into a stream crossing.

From rushing creeks to rocky roads, this was one of those mornings where you felt good to be driving a Jeep. Well, until near the end, we ran into a woman in the opposite direction driving the family Honda CR-V. I’m wondering how her day went.

DETAILS

Getting There: It’s about equidistant to access FR050 from Heber Mountain (Center Street in Heber) or Mill Hollow Reservoir (via S.R. 35 from Francis and Woodland). Plot out the route of FR050 (West Fork Duchesne Road) in advance. Plan on 1:15 to get to the intersection of FR054 and FR050 where the trail begins.

Difficulty: While I wouldn’t recommend the family Subaru, this is an easy route with high clearance helpful, but 4WD is not really necessary. This is a long off-road segment with no midway exit points. From Park City, allow six hours or more for the whole adventure.

Dining: Bring lots of water and snacks. If you come up via S.R. 35, consider starting your day at the Woodland Biscuit Company. And when you complete the route on the east side of Wolf Creek Pass, it’s just 10 minutes to the Hanna Hilton & Cafe for a sandwich.