Red Bluff

With a Monday off for President's Day, we asked Tom if he would be interested in doing a hike on short notice.  After bouncing around several different possibilities, we suggested that Tom might be interested in Seegmiller Peak in Arizona.  (We had been there "many moons ago")  Tom was "in" and quickly pulled up his topo map and planned a ridge route that would take us from Seegmiller Peak to the Red Bluff Benchmark.  That seemed to tick the boxes for all of us - Tom would get two peaks and a benchmark and we would get a fun hike to a seldom visited bluff on the Arizona Strip.

 We are standing on Seegmiller Peak in Arizona (you can drive to the top)
and are looking north towards St. George, Hurricane and Zion (all off in the distance)

We came upon this sinkhole . . . thankfully none of the dogs were interested in it!

Chipper wasn't too sure about the large volcanic boulders . . . he needed a little coaxing

Red Bluff was quite a surprise . . .  It looks like any other tree covered mountain from the road! 

Here's a closer look at some of the interesting geologic formations on Red Bluff

Looking back toward Seegmiller Peak where we began our hike
(Seegmiller is the rounded knob in the middle of the picture)

Red Bluff Benchmark (1953) along with pieces of the old wooden survey tripod
Tom & Kent are searching for the survey markers . . . they could only find one of two
Tom will make this notation when he submits updates for the benchmark

We enjoyed a nice lunch break before heading back down
(Looking east towards the Hurricane Cliffs)

What started out to be just a hike to give the dogs some exercise,
turned into a really fun day full of new discoveries!

Our route ended up taking us about 5.5 miles.  On the way back, we cut over to walk a portion of the road to Seegmiller Peak in order to avoid returning along the lava rock lined ridge.  For a topo map and gps track of our hike, click here to read Tom's Peakbagger post on Red Bluff BM. 

Starlight Arch

Tom asked us, a couple of months ago, if we had ever done Starlight Arch.  Starlight Arch?  Never heard of it.  He said it was located on Pilot Ridge and that he had come across it while looking at topo maps when planning our Calico Peak hike.  Needless to say, we became very interested and quickly added it to our "wish list" of hikes to do.

One of the things important to us, when hiking with Tom, is making sure that there is a peak close by that he can bag and add to his Peakbagger log.  This hike "fit the bill" for all of us - we could grab a peak and at the same time visit this unique and seldom visited Arch, which we all wanted to see.  It turned out to be a great plan!

Our hike began in this wash . . . that isn't snow it's alkali

Within 30 minutes we could see Starlight Arch in the distance . . . 
 it's the little Minion on the right, next to the Crown

We continued in the wash for 2.5 miles, until we reached this colorful Chinle dome
(If doing this hike, you will come to two separate intersections in the wash . . .
always take the left fork at each of these junctions)

Chipper and Ezy enjoyed a water break

Directly across from the colorful Chinle dome was this rock cairn
This is where we left the wash and began our ascent up a ridge

We quickly gained elevation and great views
(Looking back down on the dome and wash we came up)

The red line shows the path we took . . . parts of it were steep!
We headed for Peak 6216 first . . . then onto Starlight Arch

This pretty dome was off to our east

We have spent quite a bit of time in this area and never tire of the views
(That's Calico Peak to the left of center and Navajo Mountain in the distance)

Here's Tom & Kent on Peak 6216 . . . woohoo!
(Those white teepees in the back sure look interesting . . . better add them to the list!)

The Crown and Minion Rocks look different as we approached the Arch from the east
(The arch is actually on the top of the mound, to the right . . . it can't be seen from this angle)

Starlight Arch is best viewed from the northside . . .
 Make sure to take some time to walk around and explore this side

Can you see Tom on the right?  He's probably dreaming of No Mans Mesa (on our list)
In April 2020, we reached the summit of Mollies Nipple . . . it was our first hike with Tom

Starlight Arch is part of this huge sandstone formation

There's even a teeny tiny arch on the far right side

A panoramic view of Starlight Arch across Dugout Canyon and over to Mollies Nipple
(Click on the picture to open an enlarged view)

Have you ever felt like you're beating your head against the wall?
Hmmm . . . this sandstone 'woodpecker' must feel the same way! 

All fun stuff must come to an end . . . time to head back

The dogs did really well . . . at times like this, they needed a little help

This cool rock looks like some mini teepees

Ahhh . . . time for one last break before entering the wash
(We had left our jackets here and were glad to reunite with them)

This cliff is a welcome sight . . . our vehicles are just around the bend!
  

There is very little information on the Internet for Starlight Arch.  In fact, most sites will redirect you to Skylight Arch which is closer to Page and Lake Powell.  If you're interested in doing this 8.2 mile hike, that took us about six hours, make sure to visit Tom's Peakbagger post.  You can find that by clicking here.  This will give you a topo map and gps tracks of our route.  Hope you enjoy the hike and please keep this lovely and solitary place beautiful and pristine!
 

Exploring the Swags of Kitchen Canyon

With the recent moisture (which makes sand more compact) it seemed like a good time to explore the Swags (drainages), as they are known, that help form Kitchen Canyon.  Our original plan was to hike No Mans Mesa, but upon arriving it was clear there was no passage up from the southern end.  After studying our GPS's we decided to drive a little further up the North Swag and hike to Potters Butte.  This ended up making for a nice trek and gave us several other ideas for future explorations.

On the way back, we made a two-mile detour to an alcove on the West Swag that Kent had read contained an ancient Anasazi granary.  After a pleasant walk, up a draw, we were able to locate not one, but two granary's and enjoyed reflecting back on what life must have been like in this harsh landscape.

One last stop brought us to the site of an old CCC camp from the 1930's.  Although there wasn't much left, it was fun to explore and take a small hike to the Kitchen Canyon Spring that provided water for these workers.

No Mans Mesa is huge!  It is three miles long and one mile wide and surrounded by 800ft cliffs

No Mans Mesa is a type of "sky island" - meaning it is isolated, by itself, away from or connecting to any other geological features in the area.  Per Michael R. Kelsey, there is only one known way to reach the summit and that is by using the Jepson goat trail.  According to Kelsey, a man named Lewis Jepson built the trail in 1927/28 so he could graze his Angora goats on top of the mesa.  Watch for a post on this trail sometime in the near future, as we plan on hiking his trail and exploring the top of No Mans Mesa.

Since No Mans Mesa wasn't going to happen today, it was time for a backup plan . . .
Potters Butte looks like a fun place to explore . . . let's go!

We waited while Tom searched for a route up to the top by using this crack

With no viable route to the highpoint we decided to check out the southern part of the butte

A scratch circle in the snow, a unique find!  

Using this weakness in the cliffs we were able to make it to the top with our dogs . . .
It was steep and slick all the way up  

Kent is almost to the top . . . have you ever walked on sand covered ice?

We had nice views up on top . . . that's Mollies Nipple in the distance . . .
This was a great place to sit and take our lunch break

We took turns climbing this fun formation . . .  our 'highpoint' for the day!

The red line shows the route we took to the highpoint . . .
Notice all the sand . . .
Be prepared to drive through this type of terrain if you want to explore the Swags

Time to head back to our vehicles

Next it was on to the West Swag . . .
It was here we found an alcove, with beautiful walls, that hid an ancient Anasazi granary

The reason we are here . . . to see these ruins

Tom and Kent checked out the log book that someone had placed here
Chipper is trying out Ezy's dog-pack . . . it fits like a glove and he likes it! 

It looks like Tom is about to teach Chipper how to grind corn . . .
 Chipper wants to know when he gets to sample the corn chips! 

Stunted pine trees growing up high in the cracks of the alcove wall 

Sandstone is very porous allowing this moss to thrive . . .
We're sure moisture collects here, during certain times of the year, for the wildlife

This alcove was really fun to see . . .
Notice the trees clinging on for "dear life" at the top

The walls, surrounding the alcove, are so high that the sun
 doesn't shine here during the winter months

On our way out we passed by these hoodoos that guard another alcove . . .
What mysteries lie in this alcove??  You'll have to explore to find out!

Our last stop for the day was the Telegraph Flat CCC Spike Camp
Pictured here is the remnant of the old camp cement water cistern  

We hiked up to Kitchen Corral Spring . . .
 and found a trickle of a stream and a lot of frozen ice . . .
This was the water that was piped to the cistern that the camp used

This rock caught Allison's eye!
(She thought it looked like some galaxy or moon rock)

What a great day this backup plan provided for us.  If you're interested in hiking Potters Butte you can click here to view Tom's Peakbagger post.  As always, you can find a topo map and gps tracks for our five-mile (r/t) hike.  As for the granary (which was two-miles r/t), you can purchase a copy of Kelsey's "Hiking and Exploring the Paria River" or contact us.  Without being a "killjoy" we want to make you work at it a little bit so we can keep this place special . . . hope you understand!