Pace Knoll

This was one of those "memorable hikes!"  Not so much for the scenery (which was truly outstanding), but for the ordeal we put ourselves through to get to the top of three different peaks.  We will remember this June day for our bushwhacking through scrub oak, traversing over mountain mahogany, avoiding spiny cactus, a relentless sun and running out of water.  If this sounds appealing to you, then you've found the right post for a truly grueling hike!  In reality, there is a sense of accomplishment that we actually made it and will live to see another day . . . not that we are exaggerating or anything . . . but this was one tough hike that we were glad to see come to an end!

The Strawberry Moon was still high in the sky, early Saturday morning, as we headed out

   A scenic five-mile drive on the Kolob Canyons Road took us to the Timber Creek Overlook Trail parking area
(Getting here early provided us with cooler temperatures and a place to park before the crowds arrive)

We weren't expecting this much bushwhacking

It was slow going . . . breaks were a must

We are headed for Peak 6965
(This picture gives one a good idea of the magnitude of the oak thickets)

At times there was no way around the scrub oak

It took us a little over an hour to reach the top of Peak 6965 . . .
We are already feeling tired and we have two more peaks to go! 

Pace Knoll is next . . . then Peak 6336 . . .  both look so far away!

Ferris' Sandwort

More bushwhacking . . .
It was exhausting and unrelenting . . . especially in the heat!

It was nice to finally have slabs of sandstone to walk on!

 Allison took a scary tumble here on our way to Peak 6965 
  Kent & Tom are looking for her wristwatch that came off in the fall . . . Tom found it!

Finally, off the ridge and on our way to Pace Knoll
(Pace Knoll is the mesa in the center of the picture) 

Our destination is just up ahead . . .  so close, yet so far away

When planning this hike, Kent could see this slab of yellow sandstone on Google Earth . . .
Tom and Allison used it as a ramp to get them on top
(Kent's leg was beginning to give out, so he waited at the bottom for them to return)

Tom & Allison are standing in the Blackridge Wilderness area . . .
With the exception of a small portion, most of Pace Knoll is located in this wilderness . . .
To the east of this Boundary Marker, is Kolob Canyons of Zion National Park

Pieces of petrified wood were scattered in places

After meeting back up with Kent we began working our way back towards Peak 6336

We took many short breaks under any shade we could find . . . it was hot and we were almost out of water
(Looks as if Kent is wiping sweat away from his face with Tom's shirt . . . not to worry . . . that wasn't the case!)

We were hoping this was a running spring . . .
But, alas, there was no water for us to filter!

One last 400 ft push to the top of Peak 6336 . . .
It doesn't look too steep from this angle, but the picture is deceiving

Here's a better idea of how steep this little ridge truly was
It was not easy . . . we were exhausted . . . but determined to finish this hike!

We have never been so happy to see a trail at the end of a hike!
 This is the Timber Creek Mountain Overlook Trail and Peak 6336 . . .
It will lead us back to our vehicles!

As we look back on this post, and the pictures that Allison took, it reminds us of the beautiful landscape that is almost literally in our backyard . . . people travel from all over the world to see what we have available to us everyday.  Too bad we didn't take the time to enjoy what often became mundane on our desire to just complete the hike!  If you are interested in seeing our route, Tom has provided a topo map and GPS tracks on his Peakbagger.com post.  You can find them by clicking here.

Graff Benchmark

One of the things that we like about recovering benchmarks is that it forces us to seek out places that we wouldn't necessarily put on our list of hikes we want to do.  An example of just such a hike is Graff Benchmark.  Ordinarily we wouldn't hike a non-descript peak such as this one . . . there wasn't anything "crying out" to us to come hike this peak other than we knew there was a benchmark on top of it.  So, looking for something to do that was fairly close to home, we decided to head towards Hamilton Fort and check out this little hill.

If you wanted to, it would be possible to drive to the top of this peak . . . we opted for some exercise!

Nearing the top and looking back towards where we started . . . 
That's Graff Peak on the skyline . . . it looks interesting . . . another hike for another day!

It wasn't long until we had located the benchmark

Graff Benchmark . . . placed here in 1948

This wire, presumably from 1948, appears to have been used to hold the tripod in place,
that would have originally been set over the benchmark and used for triangulation

Reference marker #1 wasn't too hard to locate . . . but #2 proved to be a challenge!

Note the arrow on the reference marker points to the benchmark

Trying to locate reference marker #2 . . .
We know it is set in a rock, but don't know the distance it is from the benchmark . . . 
Kent thought maybe it was under this ant pile . . . nope!

Looking west at the fields that surround Hamilton Fort . . . 
Hard to believe I-15 is between this hill and the fields!

Kent is not giving up on finding reference marker #2 . . . 
Maybe it's under this old log . . . nope!

After 30 minutes of trying to locate the marker, we finally gave up . . . we'll leave it for Tom to find . . .
Afterall, he's the one who's passed on his passion for these markers, to us!

Although, not a remarkable hike, our searching got us to an area we hadn't been to before.  We parked our truck early on so we could get some exercise.  We ended up making this a 1.6 mile (r/t) hike with only about 250 ft of total elevation gain.  One more benchmark down . . . and a thousand more to go!

Navajo Lake Benchmark

The seasons have officially changed!  Time to move from hiking desert landscape and get back up to the mountain tops.  With temperatures predicted to hit 108° in the St. George area, we decided to look for someplace cool that was close to home.  Although we had hiked Andy Nelson Peak five years ago, we had never "officially" made it to the top of Navajo Peak . . . and when we found that it had a benchmark, our decision as to where we were going was made.

We began our hike on the Lodge Trail . . . it's located across from the Navajo Lake Lodge
(You can use their long-term parking so you don't have to park on the road)

The trail climbs quickly, providing nice views of Navajo Lake

We met a couple of mountain bikers doing volunteer trail maintenance . . . 
 They were using an electric chainsaw to remove the deadfall on the trail . . .
Looks like we got here too soon . . . should have been 15 minutes later!

Bluebells were in bloom

When we reached the saddle that separates Navajo Peak from Andy Nelson Peak,
we were welcomed by very nice views of Zion off to the south

Phlox covered the ground on the saddle

Most people use the saddle for their "springboard" to ascend Navajo Peak, but after reading several comments about the deadfall, we decided to continue east along the trail and come up the backside . . . 
This made the hike a little longer (maybe an additional mile), but was relatively painless!

Within minutes of leaving the trail we were up on top walking a ridge to the benchmark

Navajo Lake Benchmark (1938) was easy to locate . . . as were the two reference markers

We were the first to sign the summit register this year!
(We found a log book inside a cooler jug . . . not a bad idea)

Our friend Tom beat us by 5 years and 364 days!

On top of Navajo Peak (9965 ft)

Deep in thought . . . We have a dilemma . . .
Do we go after the azimuth mark on Andy Nelson Peak? (The peak beyond Kent)
All we have to go on, from the NGS description, is that it is located on the SE face of Andy Nelson Peak
 in a small opening between two dead trees!
Tom couldn't find it and we've already hiked it once before . . . what to do??

The decision is made . . . we're going for it!
We are headed down through the deadfall we bypassed on on our way up Navajo Peak . . . .
Looks like it was a good call on our part to go the extra mile!

It was a little easier going up Andy Nelson Peak . . . with less deadfall . . . but still very steep!
(This is looking back towards the saddle that separates the two peaks)

Standing on top of Andy Nelson Peak (10,027 ft)
Kent rethinks the exact location of the azimuth . . .
It's location is supposed to be 313° from Navajo Benchmark on the SE side of this Peak

Still looking . . . 

  After searching for about 45 minutes, looking for 'the two dead trees,' we called it a day!
 (Needless to say, there were way more than two dead trees!)

On the way back, we left the trail near the saddle, and cut through a meadow towards a draw,
so as to shorten the distance to the car

Obviously, we aren't the first ones to do this . . . we followed a trail of orange ribbons

Back to the parking area

What a great way to spend a Saturday!  We ended up hiking 6.2 miles and gained about 1400 ft of total elevation . . . not too shabby!  If you're interested in doing this hike, you can click here for a topo map and GPS tracks from Candace Skalet's Peakbagger.com post.  We met Candace several years ago when hiking Moapa Peak with Tom.   Thanks, Candace, for your post!

Pioche Benchmarks

On our way back from exploring Bristol Wells Kilns, we decided to "grab" some benchmarks that were located on the hills above Pioche.  What intrigued us about these benchmarks were their ages.  White Cairn BM, was first observed atop Treasure Hill in 1883 and the other, Red Hill BM, was monumented in 1915.  In addition to their ages, we were hoping to find the unique/rare crosses that were chiseled in the rock and used for reference markers . . . we have heard about these, but have never seen one for ourselves.  Since we were in the area and needing to stretch our legs, before the two-hour drive back to St. George, we decided to see if we could locate these rather easy to reach benchmarks.

If you felt like putting your truck to the test, you can drive your 4WD to the top of Treasure Hill . . .
We chose to walk the last mile, from the saddle, and not tear our truck up on the steep and rocky road!
(We know it doesn't look bad, from this picture, but trust us it is and there's no place to turn around)
The skies sure looked threatening and Kent brought his rain jacket just in case of a downpour 

Up on top, Kent checked the GPS coordinates for the benchmark . . . we are close

It's supposed to be right here . . . just a piece of rebar with a white cap was all we could find
No benchmark or treasure to be found on this peak!
The arrow points to Red Hill benchmark . . . our next stop . . . maybe we'll have better luck over there

As we were heading down, it started thundering off to the east . . . 
This put a little, hop, skip and a jump into our steps to get down off the peak!

This picture shows a little of the road's steepness . . . it would have been a scary drive!
The two skyline bumps, in front of Kent, form Mount Ely . . .
It also has an early benchmark (1915), but we won't be able to make it over there today

On the way out we spotted this doe laying next to a foundation of someone's house

Now we are working our way towards Red Hill

Along the ridgeline walk, there are several "bumps" that need to be crossed or side hilled . . .
On top of one of the bumps, we came upon this mine shaft

We could not see the bottom

Thick clusters of Fleabane were scattered along the hillside

Once again, Kent checks the GPS coordinates for the benchmark

There it is (the gold medallion below the wooden stake) . . . but it's not what we were expecting 

The original benchmark must have been replaced . . . the NGS map shows this was monumented in 1952

The GPS coordinates (taken from NGS) show that the benchmark should be under this tree . . .
Needless to say, we couldn't find it or the chiseled cross reference markers we were hoping to see

Keeping our eyes to the sky, we didn't waste any time heading back down the mountain . . .
The arrow points to Treasure Hill, where we had been earlier, searching for White Cairn BM

It's been a while since we've seen such colorful Buckwheat in bloom

We tried our best to beat the storm . . . but no such luck this time!

Although somewhat disappointing that we couldn't locate either of the early benchmarks and chiseled reference markers, it still didn't diminish a good hike that provided us with exercise and great surrounding views.  Between the two hikes we logged about 3.75 miles and 1200 ft of ascent . . . not too bad!  I guess we need to come back and see what's up on Mount Ely . . . another hike for another day!