While little elevation change is encountered, most of the trail is sandy, and can be very strenuous walking, particularly in warm weather. However, the falls area, once reached, is a delightfully cool, shady haven well worth the effort. Calf Creek is a clear stream which runs yearlong from its headwaters some 7 miles north. Until then, mail and supplies were carried to Boulder by mules and pack horses over Hell's Backbone Road or the Boulder Mail Trail, both hazardous routes.
Boulder is said to be the last town in the United States to have mule train mail delivery.
Dried seeds are used by Native Americans for making jewelry. Pinyon is popular for Christmas trees and produces an edible nut, long used as a staple food by Indian people. The nuts are an important food source for rodents and birds. Resin from these trees was also used by Indians to waterproof baskets and to cement turquoise stones to jewelry. Peoples of both the Anasazi and Fremont cultures were residents in the area at the time these structures were built.