On our third (and last day) in Escalante, we decided to head back up to the Aquarius Plateau. Instead of using the Posey Lake Road (as we did yesterday), we decided to try the Main Canyon Road. Our plan was to get on top of the Plateau and travel northwards to recover Mud Benchmark. We would then turn south and try to retrieve Widtsoe and Barney Top Benchmarks, after which we would descend to Pine Lake and head for home. It turned out to be a good plan overall, but there was a rough 5-mile stretch of road to Widtsoe Benchmark that caused us to have "white knuckles." We definitely won't be taking our Tacoma on that road again!
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| Enjoying the aspen lined drive to Mud Benchmark |
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| We took a side road, for a couple of miles, that ended at what is known as Griffin Top . . . The views were gorgeous and we could see Bryce Canyon off in the distance |
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| And just when we thought it couldn't get any better . . . We turned south and got an amazing view of the Aquarius Plateau and Barney Top (far right on skyline) |
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| Now it was time to get down to business . . . There's a benchmark somewhere along this rim and we must find it! |
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| Fifteen minutes later we found it . . . Although it appears as if the cliffs disappeared and became more of a steep slope, you would be wrong . . . Just behind Kent (who was trying to find a reference mark), they were just as sheer as the previous pictures |
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| Mud Benchmark (10,686 ft) |
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| This benchmark was unique, at least to us, in that it had four reference marks . . . Number 2 was placed on the very edge of the cliff! |
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| If you know Allison, then you know she wouldn't let a cliff scare her from getting a close up . . . Needless to say, Kent was just fine viewing it from afar! |
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| A nice lichen covered rock . . . even the rocks are feeling fall in the air |
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| One benchmark down and two more to go . . . You can see our next destination, Barney Top, in the distance |
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| After making the arduous 5-mile trek, on the "bad" road, we came to our next stop . . . Widtsoe Benchmark |
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| To get to the benchmark we had to hike about 1.5 miles . . . The first 300 yards were excellent . . . and then the old road ended |
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| Now we had to bushwhack through lots of deadfall . . . Kent thought if we could get to the north side of the ridge we could follow a cliff line out to the benchmark . . . Thankfully, the deadfall section was only a couple of hundred yards or it would have been a long hike! |
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| To our utter amazement, when we reached the northside, we found a cairned trail . . . The cairns led us westward, along the top of the cliff, out to the very end of the ridge |
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| This is a sample of the views we enjoyed as we traveled along the top of the cliffs . . . This is actually looking towards the old ghost town of Widtsoe |
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| Once we reached the end of the ridge, the views just got better . . . We halfway expected to see a herd of elk in the meadow |
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| We were disappointed to find that someone had removed the benchmark . . . The only evidence that we could find that it once existed, was a reference mark |
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| Widtsoe Reference Mark #1 (10,394 ft) |
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| Kent couldn't give it up . . . he moved this pile of rocks trying to find the benchmark |
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| While we never did find the benchmark, we have to say this was a fantastic hike . . . We can't say enough good things about the route, from the cairns, to the spectacular scenery . . . Note the road (just barely visible) above the aspen trees . . . Later, we will have a picture from there looking back up towards where Kent is standing |
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| Next up was Barney Top Benchmark . . . it was only down the road another 1.5 miles . . . However, it was on the east side of the Plateau, allowing us to look back towards Escalante . . . It's suppose to be somewhere out on this point |
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| Almost at the very end of the point was a reference mark . . . but where was the benchmark?? |
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| Allison finally found it . . . it was covered up by the flat rock to the right of the arrow . . . For a while we thought we were going to get "skunked" for a second time today! |
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| Notice anything strange about this benchmark? Barney Top Benchmark (10,514 ft) isn't stamped with it's name or the year it was placed . . . This is the first time we've come across such a station mark |
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| Barney Top is the name of the rocky formation that rises above the Plateau . . . While this photo isn't looking back at the benchmark, it does give you an idea of how massive this uprising is |
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| Finally, back on a decent road and heading down towards Pine Lake . . . This is the picture, looking back up at Widtsoe Benchmark, that we mentioned earlier . . . Below this cliff (which is part of the Barney Top formation) was the meadow we expected to see elk in |
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| Pine Lake Only about 6-miles to go before we get back to a paved road and begin our final trek home |
Wow, what a day! We ended up driving almost 60 miles of dirt roads to log these three benchmarks. Would we do it again? With the exception of the 5-miles of 4WD, we'd say almost certainly. In fact, there are at least two other benchmarks (near Griffin Top) that we plan on going back to get. If you'd like more information on the specifics of our hike, just drop us a note on this link to "Contact Us".
