Tuesday, Oct. 4th

On Tuesday, I took the wheeler out on a solo ride in search of George Tyng's grave. I'm still new to American Fork Canyon and all of its beauty. But this is a popular ride. The story is as follows:

On January 19 1906 just after noon, George Tyng was in his cabin office when an avalanche occurred and crashed down through his cabin killing him. His body was hauled down the canyon to American Fork. His will was read and it stated that he wanted to be buried just below his boarding house on Miller Hill. His body was taken back up the canyon on toboggans and on January 30 1906 he was laid to rest on top of Miller Hill. This story was originally taken from www.americanforkcanyon.com. Unfortunately the site no longer exists.

While I was enjoying the view from the gravesite, I was greeted by an older man decked out in his camo on his wheeler. I asked what hunt was going on right now and he was on his muzzleloader/deer hunt. I told him I was about to start my Spike Elk hunt on the 8th and told him I was headed down to the Mayfield area. He told me to try it out here sometime. He only hunts this area and he said there is more Elk than deer in this canyon. We talked a little more about the area while he was still glassing slopes on his binos.

On this ride I found a few other trails that I had read about while trying to find Miller Hill where the gravesite is. There is an area on the way to Mineral Basin that people have named "Rock Garden". It is pretty much just that. The trail climbs the mountain side on a very rocky path and stock vehicles wouldn't make it. I had my wheeler on one and two wheels at times climbing over big boulders and it was quite scary as I had to shift my weight and give just the right amount of throttle to avoid tipping over. What I read about this trail is that the "pucker factor" is quite high on this, and I agree. It was fun, but don't know if I want to try this trail alone next time. The views are great in this canyon and there are trails everywhere. I'm glad AF canyon is so close, and I will be frequenting it next spring when it warms back up for sure. I might even consider hunting here next year instead of traveling so far away. It was a fun evening of riding...next up, Spike Elk Hunt 2011 in Mayfield Canyon with Dad and Joe...woohoo!