Scenic Highway 95 below Comb Ridge
When I’m on the road, measuring distances by the amount of ground I can hike or drive in a day, this world can start to seem like a very big place. But every now and then, forces conspire to remind me what a small world it is too.
The other day near Comb Ridge, just west of Blanding, Utah I passed a red Jeep towing another Teardrop going the other direction and the trailer looked so much like mine, I almost pulled a U-turn to chase them down. Turns out, it was just like mine! It was the second trailer built by Egon (I have #3) on the road from Lincoln, Nebraska! With only six of these trailers in the world what are the chances that two would cross paths on a rural highway in Utah? Small world, indeed.
My Teardrop on the west side of the Comb. The decal is a photo from my 30th birthday backpacking trip at the Grand Canyon, a gift from Egon. 🙂
It seems I can’t drive through Comb Ridge – Utah highways 95, west of Blanding and 163, west of Bluff were blasted through the ridge – without parking on the side of the road and hiking up the sandstone slabs. Comb Ridge is a textbook monocline, a tilted fold in the Earth’s crust that runs for more than 80 miles through southeast Utah down into northeast Arizona. The eastern slopes of the fold tilt upwards at a calf-burning 20 degree angle, thrusting upwards to the precipitous western edge.
One of these days, in the early spring or late fall, I’d love to spend a week or two exploring the Comb, hunting down some of the Anasazi dwellings hidden in its convoluted slots and recesses. This time of year it’s too hot to hike during the day. I settled for a late evening scramble up the north side of the highway and then an early morning climb up the south side after spending the night boondocking among the cottonwoods in Comb Wash.
Free campsite among the Cottonwoods below Comb Ridge. You can see the spires we hiked up to as well as the notch where 95 passes through the ridge.
Hiking up the sloping slabs on the east side of Comb Ridge
Comb Ridge Tree. You can barely see the Rover & the Rattler on the road below.
Approaching the steep western edge of Comb Ridge
Dogs giving me grey hairs on the edge, highway 95 below
The next morning Dio and I hiked up the Comb on the south side of the highway.
Good Morning, Comb Ridge!
For more on Comb Ridge check out David Robert’s classic Sandstone Spire: Seeking the Aansazi on the First Traverse of the Comb Ridge. It’s too hot in southeast Utah! Time for an altitude adjustment. 🙂
Travels with the Blonde Coyote 
I adore Utah. So many beautiful sights. It was fun joining you through these lovely photos.
That is some rugged country side. What an adventure!
Leslie
You are wise to enjoy this lifestyle while you are young. Great pictures. Glad I found your blog.
I love the photo on the back of your teardrop!
The picture of the dogs on the ridge above Hwy 95 is beautiful
I love that old tree!
There is a man in Bluff who is extremely knowledgeable about the history (Everett Ruess!) and natural landscape of Bluff. His name is Vaughn Hadenfeldt – he guides around the area. Happy travels!
I want a Teardrop camper, and I want to travel the backroads, and I want dogs that will hike with me instead of drag me along on a leash, or run off without me when off leash. I love your photos and seeing your adventures. Incredible views.
You have so much fun!
that twisted tree is amazing!
The last photo that has your shadow is my favorite, but all are awesome. Love your life, thanks for sharing.
Any major issues with living out of the teardrop?