Home
Pig Hole Loop, 25 August, 2024
Five Cache Hikers enjoyed a relatively short loop hike on the Pig Hole trails (maybe we should call it a "circular", like they do in England). The day started with a slow drive up the rough Left Hand Fork road to a parking spot between the Pig Hole and Hog Hole trailheads. A short walk down the road brought us to the Hog Hole Trailhead and the need to ford the Left Hand Fork. Three hikers simply waded through the creek while the other two donned alternative footwear to keep their hiking boots dry.
The Hog Hole Trail obviously sees little foot traffic and could use some maintenance. Brush and branches intrude into the trail corridor and users are obliged to bypass fallen logs and other trail obstructions. The Hog Hole trail is steep, too, with grades of 20%. After crossing the ridge to the east, we came down to the more moderate (10% grade) Pig Hole Trail. Here, the Pig Hole Spring has been piped into a series of watering troughs and cattle have trampled the area. We continued to encountered cattle as we hiked down the trail.
The Pig Hole Trail merged onto the Sow Hole Trail about 1/3 mile from the stream. We forded the Left Hand Fork and enjoyed a cow-free lunch on the stream bank before hiking down the road to our vehicles.
Can anyone tell me the origin of these porcine geographic appellations?
Trip Summary:
- Five Cache Hikers: Kamren, Tom, Brent J, Jane, and Dave W (leader)
- Drove 20
miles, from Logan to the trailhead in the Left Hand
Fork of Blacksmith Fork
- Started hiking 9:00, lunch 12:20, back at our vehicles at 12:45
- Clear skies, pleasant temperatures and calm winds
- Hiked 4.1
miles with about 1200 feet of ascent
Thanks
to Dave W for the narrative, photos, and GPS data.
 |
|||
| A new sign marked the Hog Hole Trailhead at the beginning of our hike | |||
 |
 |
||
| Fording the stream |
The Hog Hole Trail is "non-motorized" |
||
 |
|||
| The trail could use some maintenance | |||
 |
 |
||
| There were fruiting fairybells, Disporum
trachycarpum, along the trail (left).
A photo from Logan Canyon (right) shows how
fairybells look in May. |
|||
 |
 |
||
| We encountered cattle (cows, calves and a bull) at Pig Hole Spring | |||
 |
|||
| The Pig Hole Trail joins the Sow Hole Trail about 1/3 mile from the end | |||
 |
|||
| Our lunch spot on the bank of the Left Hand Fork | |||
 |
|||
|
Our GPS track shows about 4.1 miles
and 1200 feet of ascent.
You can look at our route using Google Earth
or download our GPS file.
|
|||