Lucin, Utah October 11, 2010

The Union Pacific in Lucin today

Location: Lucin, Utah, is located on the western side of the great Salt Lake. To get to the ghost town from Interstate 80 take State Route 233 through Montello, Nevada crossing into Utah. The road becomes SR 30 in Utah. The turnoff for the ghost town is approx. ten miles from the border. Five miles before the town you cross the historic rail bed of the Central Pacific (original transcontinental route). This is a true ghost town with no services. PLAN accordingly!!!

History: Lucin originated in the 1860s, 10 miles to the north, to water steam engines on the Central Pacific. The town moved in 1903 to its present location to service trains on the Lucin cutoff. At its heighth the town was mainly inhabited by railroad workers on the Central Pacific and later Southern Pacific. The town was first abandoned in 1936 but resettled by retired railroad workers in the 1960s. The last family left in 1990. Today, the area is managed by the Utah Department of Wildlife as a wildlife sanctuary. Hundreds of species of wildlife use the pond including: migrating songbirds, hawks and owls (Info from Wikipedia and informative sign in Lucin).

The pond (fed by four inch pipe from Pilot Range)

Another pic of the sanctuary

Abandoned cellar

Smith Lake, Nevada October 4, 2010

Location: The trail for Smith Lake starts at Angel Lake in the East Humboldt Mountains. Take State Route 231 (Angel Lake Road) out of Wells, Nevada. The road itself is a scenic byway and worth exploration. There are two trailheads out of Angel Lake. The first one to Winchell lake is 1.5 miles below the campground directly off the state route. The second one is near the campground which goes to Gray lake and Smith lake.

The hike: Today I hiked the 4.5 mile round trip to Smith lake. The weather was drizzly and cool. The trail itself is easy to follow and moderately strenuous. Follow like you are going to Gray lake (July post) until approximatly a mile into the hike where a sign shows the turnoff to Smith lake. The main vegetation in the East Humboldt mountains is Aspen and Sub alpine fir. The hike is very beautiful and suitable for hikers of any ability. There is no off-trail navigation to the lake. The highlight today was talking to a man from Hawthorne, Nevada, named Harold. He was scouting the day before hunting season started. What I liked about him was his tough attitude. Harold was planning on hiking to Gray lake where he would spend a night huddled behind a rock. He said, "It will probably be cold around 3 am but the sun will come up soon." The guy also owns property in Montello, Nevada, where he wants to graze cattle.

The sign for the campground with fall foliage

Smith lake with drizzle coming down