For the past two years, Kent has looked at the red cliffs visible from our living room window, and wondered how he could get through "The Pass" that breaks them up. Much like our
Arrowhead Peak hike, we have tried various routes from the bottom up without success. Ultimately, we decided to to employ the same strategy we used on Arrowhead Peak last year. This meant enlisting the help of our friend, John, to car shuttle us to the Danish Ranch Road, so we could take a top-down approach. Our route started at Cottonwood Canyon, crossed the saddle (aka "The Pass), and finally made our way home via the Washington Hollow drainage. It was a excellent plan and a great hike!
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Mike is joining us today for his birthday hike . . .
A "shoutout" to John for making this hike possible with his shuttle to Cottonwood Canyon! |
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Heading down Cottonwood Canyon . . .
In general, it was a very pleasant walk with only occasional short stretches where we had to boulder hop |
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| There were many interesting rocks along the way . . . this conglomerate boulder caught our eye |
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The canyon was gorgeous from the very start . . .
The deeper we traveled the more vibrant and colorful the sandstone became |
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| This rock reminded us of the "Thirstystone" brand of coasters |
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A bolt was holding what remained of a barbed wire fence . . . it was more than likely used to
keep livestock from going up/down the canyon |
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After about a mile, the canyon walls became less vertical and were replaced with beautiful
sandstone formations |
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| We particularly enjoyed this section of the canyon as there were new formations around each corner |
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| And just when you thought it couldn't get any better . . . it would! |
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Two and a half miles down the canyon, the walls began to recede . . .
It was here that we chose to leave the wash and make our way southwest towards "The Pass" . . .
It was apropos that we departed the wash with a cottonwood tree still holding on to it's Fall leaves
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| An Anderson Buttercup . . . they are early spring bloomers |
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| Once out of the wash, we were able to look back and admire views of the Yant Flat area |
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| It's fun to find scratch circles in the sand . . . they are formed when the wind whips the grasses back and forth |
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| There weren't many cacti in the area . . . but this cholla sure stood out! |
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| As we neared "The Pass", the colorful rock formations began to reappear |
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| How's this for colorful striations? |
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| This side canyon was "calling" Mike to come explore . . . we continued on our way to "The Pass" |
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Wow!
Here's the view Mike was treated to when he reached the top of the draw . . .
Soon we'll be at the bottom looking back up! |
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| Everywhere we looked we were treated to exquisite sandstone swirls |
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We have arrived at "The Pass!"
Behind us lies the Cottonwood Canyon drainage . . . Before us is Washington Hollow
(About halfway up the century plant stalk you can vaguely make out Green Springs, where we live . . .
Click on the picture for an enlarged view) |
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After a snack break, we began our way down "The Pass" . . .
Note the rock formation in the middle of the picture . . . later Mike will climb it and take a picture of us |
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| What's this? Horse tracks up here? |
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No way!
Who would make their horses climb up this steep section of sandstone?
Crazy backcountry riders, we guess! |
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| Even the Manzanita are starting to bloom |
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Can you see Mike taking the last of the sandstone ramp to the bottom of "The Pass?"
Hopefully, this picture gives you a sense of the enormity of these cliffs
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Remember the picture from the top of "The Pass" where we said Mike climbed one of the rock formations?
Here's the picture he took, of us, from it's summit . . . Can you find us?
(Click on the picture to get a larger view) |
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| Looking back towards where Mike took his overlook shot from the side canyon he explored |
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| We believe this is called Liesegang banding . . . usually created by iron oxides in the sandstone |
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Exploring some of the area below "The Pass" . . .
If we would have had more time (or in our case, more energy) we could have easily walked up this
"dinosaur skinned" rock for great views of the basin |
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| A Western Wallflower |
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Time to leave behind this interesting valley of sandstone and make our way across this
sandflat, where we hope to find a route down to Washington Hollow Wash |
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What's so interesting about this pile of rocks?
Mike is standing is where we've chosen to begin our descent . . . as you can see it going to be steep! |
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Here we go!
This picture doesn't do justice to just how steep and loose this route really was!
(In the background, you can see the ridge we walked when we did Arrowhead Peak last year) |
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| Another iron oxide formation |
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| Have you seen enough sandstone striation pictures? How about one more! |
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Almost done!
We still need to slog a mile and a half through the boulder strewn Washington Hollow Wash . . .
And then follow Washington City well roads, for another mile and a half, back to our home |
It's hard to believe this hike was practically in our backyard. One of the great advantages of living next to the
Red Cliffs Desert Reserve is the ability to explore canyons and sandstone formations that few people ever see, all within a short distance from St. George.
If you are interested in trying this trek, please be prepared for a long day. We covered 9.5 miles with an elevation loss of nearly 1,500 feet over six hours of hiking. Should you want our GPS tracks, please contact us and we would be happy to send them to you. For more information on Cottonwood Canyon, you can click
here for a Red Cliffs Desert Reserve post.
