Indian Canyon Summit
Indian Canyon Summit has a peculiar appearance on the map.
A line, almost so straight that it could be drawn with a
ruler, connects Duchesne with Castle Gate. Reality has a
few more curves and bends than the mapped representation.
Still, the northern approach contains one remarkably long
straight stretch. Indian Canyon is a large climb in a
scenic, arid canyon landscape with much less traffic than
other connecting passes (Soldier Summit and Daniel's
Summit), which have the misfortune of having to serve as
main truck arteries. The summit is marked on some old
commercial state maps with a pass symbol, but is not
labeled with a name. There is no summit sign (May/05).
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1.(mile00,5500ft) START-END NORTH:
Duchesne: junction US40, US191
2.(mile03,5700ft) Sowers Canyon (dirt) road leaves
on left
3.(mile10,6300ft) Right Hand Fork Road leaves on
right
4.(mile24,9200ft ) TOP: high point
5.(mile24,9050ft) Argyle Ridge (dirt) road joins on
left
6.(mile30,8700ft) Reservation Ridge road leaves on
left
7.(mile36,7120ft) Emma Park road leaves on right
8. mile44,6080ft) Indian Canyon joins Price Canyon
and route to Soldier Summit. Profile continues to
left.
9.(mile47,5860ft) START-END SOUTH: outskirts of
Helper |
Approaches
From North. Duchesne (5500ft) to summit. Ut 191
climbs in an almost straight line up a light colored desert
canyon, flanked by rock formations that could be described as
very imaginative. The last part of the climb becomes quite
steep ( with more curves too ) and opens up on a scenic view
to the north from a forested plateau top.
From South. Ut 191 begins in Castle Gate. But adding
the extra 2 miles of shallow uphill from Helper gives added
appreciation to the relative peace of Ut 191 over Indian
Canyon summit, as opposed to the Soldier Summit road. Sure,
there is the occasional double length coal truck from the
Carbon Plant ( a power plant neatly hidden in the mouth of
Indian Canyon). but there isn't a road train of these
monsters, like there is heading up Soldier Summit. Also, if
there is such a thing as a scenic power plant, the Carbon
Plant in Castle Gate surely is it. The top picture shows that
side of the canyon, but without the powerplant. The climb on
this side is more sustained.
Tours
Dayrides. An out and back ride between Duchesne and
Helper measured 94 miles with 7114 feet total climbing using a
Vetta100A cycle computer.
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to cycling Utah's summits and passes
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