Water Benchmark

In July, we hiked to Black Benchmark, on the Paunsaugunt Plateau, with our friend Tom. We instantly fell in love with this area and especially enjoyed the Sunset Cliffs that are located on the west side of the plateau.  As the "crow flies" they are only about ten-miles away from the Paunsaugunt's more famous east side cliffs, also known as Bryce Canyon National Park.  However, the Sunset Cliffs do not receive the visitation and crowds that the Park does . . . mainly due to a series of dirt roads and little signage that would alert one to this most wonderful side of the Plateau.  So, on another gorgeous Fall Friday, we set off to find Water Benchmark.

Arriving at the trailhead we noticed this "happy tree" . . . it looks like a dog

The Grandview Trail has trailheads that begin at various points along the Paunsaugunt OHV Trail . . .
Just look for these signs and you'll find some "grand views"

Within minutes, sections of the Sunset Cliffs came into view . . .
The trail follows along the rim, weaving in and out of various coves, that hold these beautiful formations

Our destination is Water Benchmark, so we turned east and headed off trail . . .
Straight up through the manzanita shrubs!

Up on top we spotted wire left by the surveyors . . .
Our first clue that the benchmark should be nearby 

Water Benchmark was placed here in 1964

Water Benchmark (9335 ft elevation)

What is Kent doing?
He's trying to find one of the Reference Markers . . . there's suppose to be a triangular blaze, on the stump,
that has a copper nail and washer mounted inside of it . . .
Turns out the blaze had weathered away and the reference markers were missing, as well . . .

60 years will take a toll on anyone!

Here's an example of what he was looking for
(We found this one, last year, when we located Cottam Benchmark)

It didn't surprise us to see Bristlecone pines growing along the edge of the cliffs . . .
They like higher elevations and harsh conditions

Bristlecone pine cone . . .
If you look closely you can see a few bristles on the scales

Kent noticed this window/bridge in the formations.  Can you see it?
(It's in the lower middle section of the photo)

We were surprised to find this survey marker

1942 . . .
Apparently, even a world war won't stop land surveyors from doing their work!

Looking south, along the Sunset Cliffs . . . what a view!

The entire day we saw no one else . . . the place was ours!

Heading back . . .
The Peak up ahead is where Water Benchmark was located

Our last view of the cliffs . . . until next time!

On the drive out we stopped to fish

We were both shocked when Kent pulled out this Cutthroat trout!
It was 18-20 inches long and meaty . . . don't worry Kent released him back to the creek

Pretty fall foliage that has gone to seed

What a beautiful stream!  Doesn't get much better than this!

Other than no crowds (in fact, we didn't see another person or vehicle for the entire day), we really like that this side of the Plateau is not within the Park boundaries . . . it is administrated by the Forest Service.  While we aren't against the National Parks (they're just extremely crowded and thus the need for protection of these unique natural resources), it certainly is nice to hike and fish with very few restrictions on where one can go!

Our hike was about 2.5 miles r/t with only about 300 ft of elevation gain.  The next time you are driving through Hatch and look off to the east and see the Sunset Cliffs, think about spending some extra time exploring this quiet and beautiful area!

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 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.