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Cataract Gorge/Little Deer Creek Falls

Wasatch Rebel

Wasatch Rebel

Man of the mountains
Location
Middle of Nowhere
I'm just looking for a road report for this area of the Uintas. Basically it's FR027 off of Murdoch Basin Road. I'll be taking my grandkids on it tomorrow and I've never driven it, but the reports I've seen make it seem pretty rough. I have a 2000 4Runner with good tires and I'm pretty experienced at typical bad forest roads, but with my grandkids along, I'm a little more cautious. Anyone been down this road?
 
Stephen

Stephen

Who Dares Wins
Moderator
Location
Never Far From Nowhere
Wasatch Rebel said:
I'm just looking for a road report for this area of the Uintas. Basically it's FR027 off of Murdoch Basin Road. I'll be taking my grandkids on it tomorrow and I've never driven it, but the reports I've seen make it seem pretty rough. I have a 2000 4Runner with good tires and I'm pretty experienced at typical bad forest roads, but with my grandkids along, I'm a little more cautious. Anyone been down this road?
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Its a well maintained forest road, you shouldn't have any problems. I've never had to put it in 4WD on that road.
 
Wasatch Rebel

Wasatch Rebel

Man of the mountains
Location
Middle of Nowhere
Trate D said:
As stated nothing technical or intense. Just baseball to football sized rocks everywhere.
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Thanks. Good to know.
Cody said:
Rough in the sense that it's the most annoyingly Rocky road on earth. Nothing is difficult about it.
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Ha ha. Okay. I know exactly the kind of road you're talking about. Not enough challenges to make it interesting, but too many to make it comfortable.
 
Herzog

Herzog

somewhat damaged
Admin
Location
Wydaho
How'd it go?

I decided to cruise up there and take some photos yesterday. Bumpy bumpy but well worth the view.

Does anybody know what's up with the water stations in that area? Seems to me like they are used to monitor water coming down but also looks like it does some redirection.

edit: further reading sounds like it funnels into the duchesne tunnel. Interesting.
 
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Herzog

Herzog

somewhat damaged
Admin
Location
Wydaho
Stephen said:
Yeah, thats the diversion dam and head of the Duchesne Tunnel. Its pretty neat.
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There's some stuff in the canyon there that just don't look natural on the way down there, including some concrete work and what looks like mine tailings, but probably isn't because the location is odd... I wonder if it's where they dumped the dirt from the tunnel build? It is pretty neat!
 
Stephen

Stephen

Who Dares Wins
Moderator
Location
Never Far From Nowhere
Herzog said:
There's some stuff in the canyon there that just don't look natural on the way down there, including some concrete work and what looks like mine tailings, but probably isn't because the location is odd... I wonder if it's where they dumped the dirt from the tunnel build? It is pretty neat!
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So there was a dam there called the Little Deer Creek Dam. It was built in 1961 and 1962 and failed in June of 1963. The failure is attributed to the unseasonably wet fall when the dam was completed which led to improper compaction of the fill material. And then the unseasonably wet spring didn't let everything dry out enough. You can see the remains of the abutments here. All of the canyon downstream was washed out, and the dam fill material deposited along the floor. So thats why it looks so unnatural.
 
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