Cinder Cone

So . . . Tom says to Kent, "You plan the hike and I'll come along and do whatever you pick out."  Tom should know better than that!  After this hike, he might be more careful in his selection of words!

What did Kent pick, you might ask?  Nothing out of the ordinary . . . just a little no name cinder cone that was within eyesight of HWY 14 and just a few miles north of Navajo Lake.  Oh, did we fail to tell you that this cinder cone was completely surrounded by a lava field that stretched for close to a mile in all directions?  Ah, that's the intrigue with this little mound of cinders.  How many people have actually made it across the lava field and stood on its summit? Would we be one of the few to complete this arduous trek?  And so the adventure began!

Maybe you've seen this information sign along HWY 14, near Navajo Lake . . . 
Have you ever stopped to read it or looked at the cinder cone in the distance?
Maybe the next time you pass by this way, you will, but in an entirely different light after reading this post!
(Click on the picture for a larger format if you're trying to read the signs)

For perspective of what we were up against, we've inserted this screenshot from Google Earth
(The picture is actually two shots spliced together, with one being taken in winter with snow on the ground)
Now you can see the challenge! How do we cross this lava field without severely injuring ourselves?

There she is.
  Hmm . . . those chunks of lava look a little more ominous from ground level! (Google Earth lies!)
This might be more of a challenge than Kent had envisioned

Along the way to our starting point we traveled by a large sink hole or possibly a collapsed volcanic vent

Colorful amanita muscaria

Let the adventure begin . . .
Notice we're still working on getting our balance into some sort of rhythm (ha!)

Hey, we're almost there!  Only a little over a mile to go.

A cool spider web

Kent and Tom are up ahead . . .
We all agreed that we would make a decision on this ridge whether we would continue or turn around

After working our way through a bad section of lava, the cinder cone appears to have gotten farther away . . .  How can that be!
If we continue on, we're committed . . . Kent, what's the call? After all, this is YOUR hike!

September just started and some of the aspen leaves are changing color

Defeated! 
We decided to turn back and go with "Plan B"
(Plan "B" was to climb Peak 9845 to the north of our trucks)

Recent rains and forest decay make perfect conditions for fungi

A mushroom pushing its way up through the soil

Almost to the top of Peak 9845 . . .
We stopped to view the cinder cone that got the best of us 

As we descended Peak 9845, we came across this cute cabin . . .
It was apparently built by a family who camps here often, as there was a picture of them inside

As we headed back for the trucks we came across another sinkhole . . .
It was probably created when the ceiling of a lava tube collapsed, causing the forest floor to give way

We found a road that wasn't on our maps or GPS . . . this will get us back quickly

Looking back at Peak 9845
(The one we actually made it to the top of!)

Okay, so we didn't make it to the top of the cinder cone!  Kent still hasn't given up on making it across the lava field . . . he's already begun working on an alternate route that will cut off almost half a mile.  If we can make it to the top, we want to place a register and leave our blog card, asking others to contact us if they come upon it . . . we think it would be fun to see how many other "fools" are out there!

Peak 9304

After a great morning hike of Black Butte, we continued on in our quest to summit Peak 9304.      So what's so "outstanding" about Peak 9304 . . . not much . . . but the views from the top are unmatched and may be only paralleled by the formations that can be seen in Bryce Canyon National Park! Thanks to Tom and his Can-Am, we were able to make it within a mile of the summit, and albeit there were times of fighting some old smaller deadfall, this was a pleasant afternoon hike!

These formations caught our eye, as we made our way towards Peak 9304
(There's even a little window on the left . . . another hike for another day!)

Peak 9304 is? . . .  Tom's GPS battery just died . . . Kent will have to lead the way
(Now that's a scary thought! He does know how to navigate with a GPS, right?)

We saw several green pine cones on the ground . . . the squirrels have been busy gathering food

We have reached the top of Peak 9304 . . . 
Great views of the Sunset Cliffs as we look into the Alton Amphitheater

From Peak 9304 we could see Black Butte where we were this morning

Time to head back to the Can-Am . . . We took the long way-wrong way, but we made it!
(Looks like Kent needs a little more practice with his GPS!)

Kent wanted to know if this creek had any fish

It might be narrow, but it was deeper than it looks

Yes, there are fish in the creek!

What a surprise to pull out this nice Cutthroat trout

We're assuming this spillway was built by the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) . . .
They have been vigorously trying to reintroduce Bonneville Cutthroats into their original habitats . . .
These dams protect the Cutthroats by not allowing other species of trout to swim upstream

For a short hike that provides outstanding views, you will want to hike out to Peak 9304.  We were fortunate to have Tom's Can-Am to get us close, but even if you don't have an ATV at your disposal, this peak could be reached by a 4-mile (r/t) hike from the main road.  For a link to Tom's Peakbagger.com post, click here.  This will give you a topo map of the area and a short YouTube video of the views from atop the peak.

Black Benchmark

Tom called us on Wednesday and wanted to know if we'd like to meet him to do a couple of hikes west of Bryce Canyon on the Paunsaugunt Plateau.  It didn't take long for us to decide to meet him at his camp on Saturday morning.  Boy, are we glad we did!  It's crazy how we've explored all around this area but have missed these hikes because the peaks weren't "high enough" or "distinct enough" to give them a chance.  Thanks to Tom and his unique way of finding hikes that are unexpected gems, we have now totally fallen in love with the area and are planning other adventures later this summer!

We are on our way to Black Butte to locate Black Benchmark 

Tom asked if we wanted to do a longer hike or a shorter one . . . We were undecided until we came to the Grandview Trail . . . This looked like an interesting option, and once we knew it would lead us to the base of    Black Butte we chose this slightly longer route . . . It was a great choice!

    The trail follows along the western rim of the plateau    
    and provided amazing views of Bryce like formations    

This blaze on a Bristlecone Pine was one of many trail markers, along the way

Black Butte is off in the distance 

Tom and Kent are dwarfed by this old Bristlecone Pine . . .
It's astounding how these "weather beaten" trees hang on to life so tenaciously!

The Grandview Trail definitely gave us nice views of the Sunset Cliffs

This horned toad blended right in with its surroundings . . . You do see him, right?

The only tracks besides ours were that of a mountain bike and several deer

The trail goes does not summit Black Butte . . . Instead it continues around it's western base . . .
So, we left it and did a short bushwhack to reach the top . . .
Black Benchmark was placed here in 1964 . . . we also located one Reference Mark

Views to the west . . . Looking towards Long Valley Junction on HWY 89

After finding the benchmark, we continued on to the high point of Black Butte 

It was fun to find a register left by well known Peakbaggers, Gordon MacLeod & Barbara Lilley
(Barbara Lilley is 95 years old and last summitted a peak in 2022 at age 93)
The correct elevation of Black Butte is 9557 ft 

Rather than take the trail back, we opted to head straight down for the road in order to make a loop

Next time we'll take the trail . . . it was more scenic and much shorter!

If you don't have this short hike (2.8 miles r/t) on your list of peaks to do, make sure you add it! With only 570 ft of elevation gain (of which half comes in the last short push to the top), you can't afford to miss out on the beauty this trail provides as you stroll along a bristlecone and ponderosa studded ridge.  If you'd like a topo map and GPS tracks, along with a short YouTube video, you can click here for a link to Tom's Peakbagger.com post.

This was our morning hike.  If you'd like a link to our afternoon hike of Peak 9304, you can click here.

Henrie Knolls

After leaving Strawberry Knolls (and Strawberry Point), we continued on our trek to Henrie Knolls.  Not being in a particular hurry, we decided to travel some backroads that we had never been on before.  Thankfully, most of them had a solid base, because we were about to experience one of those powerful monsoons rainstorms that the desert southwest is known for in the summer months.  As the road turned into a river, we were thankful for 4WD and a route that's base material was lava rock!

Heading further north we drove by a huge meadow which is part of Uinta Flat . . .
Those clouds look ominous! (And they didn't disappoint)

A little before 1 pm it began to rain hard . . . then the road turned into a river . . .
Thankfully, the road had a basalt base or we wouldn't have even attempted to reach Henrie Knolls

The temperature quickly dropped to 53 degrees . . . it even hailed

After waiting out the storm for 30 minutes in our truck, the rain finally let up . . .
Even though it's possible to drive to the top, we opted for a little more exercise and
began our ascent near the bottom of the cinder cone

Henrie Knolls (9,192 ft) . . . straight ahead!
(It seems there was a lookout tower on this knoll until at least 1971)

Within 30 minutes we made it to the top in the sprinkling rain . . .
Henrie Benchmark was placed here in 1957

We continued on around the rim of the cinder cone on a road used by ATV's

As you can see, this cinder cone provides really good views of the pink cliffs of Bryce Canyon
(We are parked somewhere in the aspens to the left of Kent's hat)

Looking south towards some more cinder cones and a lava field that was created by them

Looking back at Strawberry Knolls (and Pumice Benchmark), where we were earlier in the day

This big leaf lupine barely survived the downpour 

As the clouds continued to clear, our views eastward towards Bryce Canyon, just kept getting better!

Once we got back to the truck, we still had a couple of hours left in our day, so we decided to travel towards Panquitch Lake and fish Bunker Creek.  We've almost always had good luck on this beautiful little stream, and today was no exception!

Bunker Creek

It didn't take long before the trout came calling!  Nothing too big, but a fun way to end a wonderful day!

While it certainly was possible to drive to the top of Henrie Knolls (in fact, this was probably the best section of the road), we chose to park and get in a 2.5 mile r/t hike with 560 ft of ascent.  If you're interested in a GPS track and topo map, you can click here for one that Tom has provided from his Peakbagger.com post.  (We didn't start from he did, but came in from the paved road on the eastern most portion of his GPS track.)