Dave and Jan returned to beautiful Pine Valley for another camping adventure in mid-May. The U.S. Forest Service campground provides access for people who like to picnic, fish, camp, hike and ride bicycles, with numerous trails into the mountains which surround the valley on three sides. Many of the campsites, like the one they enjoyed, provide very nice views of the mountains.

The Santa Clara River Walk trail follows the river up the canyon, so Dave and Jan enjoyed a Thursday evening walk along the trail with its scenic views all along the way – including a rock garden.

Friday was the day for a hike up into the mountains on the popular and scenic Forsythe Canyon Trail.

The trail followed the stream which flowed through the canyon, requiring a few stream crossings.

Some of the rocky crags above the trail were soon seen from a different perspective higher up.

But there were many rocky crags much higher still which will have to wait for further exploration because the trail was soon featuring patches of snow and many downed trees which would have made continuing the hike more ambitious than Dave and Jan had planned for on their hike early in the hiking season.

So it was time to return to the grassy flats in the valley below – well aware that there is much more to explore in beautiful Pine Valley on future camping adventures in Southwestern Utah – where Dave and Jan feel richly blessed to be living in their retirement years. What the psalmist wrote resonates with them:

“For the LORD is a great God And a great King above all gods. In whose hands are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also.” Psalm 95:3-4