OLD SPANISH TRAIL ADVENTURE: DAY 3 We have...

Things to do at state parks near the Old Spanish Trail; camp, boat, fish, hike, and start each morning with a little airYoga.

Jen Evans, BLM Richfield Recreation Planner took us Geocaching today near the Old Spanish Trail in Kingston Canyon. Guess what we found in the cache!

Strolling down the Old Spanish Trail, Abbey Road style!

Bob Leonard, USFS Archaeologist, identifies a 160 year old blaze (trail marker), just 1 of 100 in the area.

Risking life and limb for an #OSTadventure...well sort of, but we would follow Bob Leonard anywhere.

Primitive rock structure, believed to be a Spanish shrine, found near the Fish Lake Cut-off.

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OLD SPANISH TRAIL ADVENTURE: DAY 3

We have reached our turnaround point. It’s 4 a.m. and after a bone-chilling evening under the stars at 15 below freezing, we’ve all been humbled by mother nature. All of us agree that, without modern day equipment, we would be heading back to Santa Fe or really anywhere with promise of warmth. Nothing a little sunshine and airYoga can’t fix…

According to Fish Lake National Forest Archaeologist Bob Leonard, the Old Spanish Trail is described as the “longest, crookedest, toughest pack trail in North America.” And since the mule was, at the time, the hands-down choice for beast of burden and as riding animal, we thought we would re-enact the caravan in action at the Kingston Canyon, Old Spanish Trail interpretive site. Here, Jen Evans, BLM Richfield Recreation Planner, joined our #OSTadventure crew, and we headed up a side-canyon in search of a BLM geocache stashed along the trail.

Further northeast, in central Utah, the group met up with Bob Leonard (mentioned earlier) who was kind enough to show us his passion – a section of the trail known as the Fish Lake Cut-off. This small section crosses public lands administered by the Forest Service and is packed full of traces of the past.

Follow the group this week on Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter using the hashtag #OSTadventure