Circleville Mountain

Our friend, Tom, suggested Circleville Mountain to us several weeks ago.  He said it was a relatively easy hike that followed an old logging road for the first mile and a half. One would then leave the road and make their way up through the forest on a steep but relatively short ascent to open country.  From there he said it would be a nice stroll to the summit and some great views.

We didn't need much convincing that we should give this hike a try as it looked to afford us relief from the blistering hot temperatures around southern Utah.  When we asked Dan and Lorene if they'd like to come along, they were quick to respond with a "What time and where do we meet?"  I guess they were ready to get out of the heat, as well.

Tom's directions were spot on and can be found on his Peakbagger.com entry if you click here.  For our hike the distance was six miles round-trip.

It's a beautiful morning . . . 
temperature in the low 60's . . . and we have a trail!

After about a mile and a half, we left the trail and headed for the ridge 

Once out of the trees we worked our way up this rocky outcropping

Our reward for scaling the volcanic boulders . . . great views!

We came across this triangulation post with wires up on the grassy flats

We were keeping an eye to the sky . . . the clouds were amazing!

Circleville Benchmark marks the high point or summit (11,331 ft)
We have arrived!

The benchmark is in the middle of the wooden triangle

There is also a reference mark on the summit

These survey marks were used in mapping 

The town of Circleville lies in the valley below

Dan & Lorene enjoying a lunch break on top next to an old triangulation tripod
(According to Tom, it is pretty rare to come across a still intact one)

We added our names to the summit register

Even Chipper enjoyed taking a snack break at the top

I spotted these Columbine growing along the summit 

At times, the clouds looked threatening . . . so we decided to head back down the mountain
In the distance (L/R) you can see Mt. Baldy, Mt. Belknap, and Delano Peak . . . 
They are the three highest peaks of the Tushar's

It's Dan's lucky day . . . he found a horseshoe! (Unlucky horse)
A few minutes later he found a quarter!

Heading north back through the rocky section

The forest smelled so fresh and clean

Wild strawberries in bloom

We came across this weather station . . . 
Kent was pointing out our recent hike into Rock Lake

 Fireweed always gets Allison's attention . . . it's so colorful . . .
 Hiking up Circleville Mountain provided lots of color . . . 
great views and good company

Hiking to Rock Lake

Kent has been trying to read all the hikes that Jesse McMullin describes in his articles from "Into the Tushars."  This week he thought we should try hiking into Rock Lake which is located on the southwest side of Birch Creek Mountain - an area of the Tushar's we hadn't been to before.  After a rocky and bumpy two-mile drive (FS #575) (more of an ATV trail) off the main road (FS #137) we started our hike at 10,000 ft on the spine between the Beaver River and the North Fork of the South Creek drainage's.  We then hiked down a lightly used trail (#245) to Mumford Reservoir and the naturally formed Rock Lake.  What a fun hike - just a little over 3.5 miles round-trip.  The hardest part is driving the road to the trailhead!

About a third of the way down, we came upon this neat rock outcropping . . .
time to stop and explore 

Didn't see any spiders . . . just some cool webs

From on top of the rock outcrop we had some great views . . .
Looking south towards Buckskin Valley

In the distance, scattered among the evergreens, should be brightly colored green aspens.
 In early June, a cold front with freezing temperatures swept across the mountains . . .
so most of the aspen leaves lie on the forest floor  

We're on our way to check out Mumford Reservoir . . . 
Somehow we missed the turnoff to Rock Lake . . . we'll catch it on the way back!

Orange Sneezeweed . . . achoo!

Mumford Reservoir supplies water for grazing cattle . . . lucky cows!
The trail came down through the clearing on the right side of the ridge.

Chipper had a blast rolling in the mud and dried cow pies . . . he really did!
Think he was trying to cover up his spots?!

A perfect day for a hike and no one around . . . but us! Still social-distancing!

Mumford grave markers . . . ?  Keepers of the Lake . . . ?

Using the GPS, we were able to locate the cutoff trail to Rock Lake on the way back . . .
You can almost see the lake through the trees

Appropriately named Rock Lake . . .  notice these aspens actually have leaves!
Might be a fun place to view the Fall colors

Kent and his buddy, Chipper

Chipper cannot resist water!
Yes, by the time we reached the 4Runner he was a total mess!

I told Kent we needed to get a selfie . . . since there were no mosquitoes!

Kent spotted this while he was waiting for me . . .
Original signage . . . somebody did a really good job! 

Most of the hike was a nice trail . . . occasionally we had dead-fall to climb over
Surprisingly, the overall descent/ascent was only about 400 feet.

In one area we came across these pretty Firecracker Penstemon

Silvery Lupine growing near the Trailhead

We had nice views of  Mt. Baldy (12,122) and Mt. Belknap (12,137) . . . 
as we slowly drove back down the rough road

There's so much water in these mountains!

Springs cascading towards Anderson Meadow from high in the mountains

Here's where those streams end up . . . beautiful Anderson Meadow Reservoir

Kent caught a nice Rainbow trout . . . which narrowly escaped Chippers mouth! 
A good way to end a fun day!

Poison Creek Loop Trail

Over the last several years we have been trying to complete the 23-mile long Skyline National Recreation Trail.  We had two short sections (each about three miles in length) left to hike.  With temperatures in the 100° range in Hurricane, it didn't take much to convince us that today would be a good time to knock out one of those segments!

We ended up doing a very nice six mile loop, rather than an out and back.  We started on the Blue Lake Trail (#225 - Skyline segment) by going north two and a half miles, then southwest three miles on Shelly Baldy Creek Trail (#172) and then south on the Merchant Creek Trail (#58) for half a mile.  This lead us to Big John Flat where we ended our loop hike.

What a gorgeous route!  There were numerous springs and streams and of course beautiful scenery in the cool Tushars!  It won't be long until we're back to complete our one last segment of the Skyline National Recreation Trail.

The starting point for our loop hike is a short segment of the Skyline Trail
that we had yet to complete.

Not too far into our trek we crossed Poison Creek . . . 

Makes us wonder how the stream got its name . . . 
possibly something to do with mining??

It has been a dry year, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the stream flow . . .
Poison Creek starts high up on Delano Peak

Chipper loved drinking from the streams . . . 
they kept him hydrated the entire hike

This looks like the perfect fishing hole . . .
Not sure why Kent didn't "wet his line" on this little beauty??

Colorful fungus growing on a deadfall

Silvery Lupine

Walking along the trail on this steep hillside made us thankful for the trail!

We came to a clearing that gave us a nice view of Delano Peak (12,173)
Delano Peak is the highest mountain in the Tushars . . . yet one of the easiest to climb!

Here is Delano Peak and Mt. Holly (11,900)

Looking southwest towards Beaver Canyon

Shelly Baldy (11,321) lies off to the northwest of our trail

Pretty purple Larkspur (Delphinium) growing along the trail

We are now on trail #172 heading southwest for Merchant Creek
Along the way, we crossed quite a few bridges . . . sturdy enough for a horse

It was surprising how many meadows we hiked through

We enjoyed a little break at the start of Shelly Baldy Creek 

We sure weren't expecting to find these old beaver ponds . . .
just another reason to get out there and explore

What a pretty spot . . .  a reflection pond in the forest!

Chipper had a blast running through the ponds and mud!

At last, Merchant Creek . . . Kent was excited to fish here . . .
he quickly changed his mind . . . Yikes, mosquitoes!

Who said, "Kent can't dance?!"
Looks like he is doing the Mosquito Hip Hop!

You can't see the mosquitoes in this picture . . . 
but believe me, we saw them, we felt them and . . . we ran!

We stopped for one last peek at the meadow before heading back into the trees . . .
and those mosquitoes found us once again!
A half mile later we were made it back to our vehicle . . . 
hurrying to get in and away from the "swarm"