The Wolverine Loop - Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah (Part 1)

The Wolverine Loop is comprised of 26 miles of dirt road. The road can be a little rough in some sections with what I call “Washlets”. These are small washes across the road that are a few inches wide and can be anywhere from 1” to 6” deep or deeper. They are plentiful along the road so pay attention. There are also major washes along the road as well. You will cross a dozen or more but they are usually dry and not too difficult to get though. Just about any four wheel, all-wheel, or even a two-wheel drive vehicle (With some clearance such as a truck) can handle this trail. It should be noted that no collecting of petrified wood is allowed in the entire region. Along the trail, there are three side canyons which you can explore: 1) Horse Canyon, 2) Wolverine Canyon and 3) Little Death Hollow Canyon. All three of these canyons do not allow vehicular traffic. At the Horse Canyon Trail Head, it is tempting to continue with off-road vehicles, but the trail marker clearly shows (I am told) that only horses and hiking are allowed. Wolverine Canyon has extensive petrified wood. Just to the east of Wolverine Canyon along the trail is a camp site by a dry creek which has many petrified wood blocks. It is worth the stop.
The Wolverine Petrified Forest can be accessed from the loop road (The entrance is shown in Part 2). It is approximately 12± miles from the Eastern entrance of the Burr Trail Road. Scientists are always using this entire area to determine what happened on Earth 250 million years ago. Some believe the planet was tilted differently and Utah was actually very near the Equator. They believe the area was hot, swampy, and humid. A lot of the fossils found within the Wolverine Petrified Forest support that theory .
Here is a website address for more information:
https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/documents/files/BLMUtahBurrTrailandWolverineLoopRoad.pdf