We have traveled Parowan Canyon many times over the years enroute
to several of our adventures. Often
times we have noticed cars at a pullout about halfway up the canyon and
wondered, “What’s the big attraction?”
After doing some research we learned that this area is known as Hidden
Haven and that there is a nice waterfall located nearby on Benson Creek. Even with knowing all this we never took the
time to pull over and check the area out!
Today was to be different . . . we were going to be one of those cars in
the pullout and we were going to find out “what all the hype” was about.
The Hidden Haven Trail will lead us to Benson Creek Falls . . . The entire trail was well marked with these signs . . . if you have the time, consider doing the entire loop
Benson Creek begins flowing from below the Thunder Ridge Scout Camp about 3 1/2 miles from here
There was a variety of mushrooms sprouting up in the shaded sections of the forest
This colorful American Dagger Moth Caterpillar was easy to spot . . . Look, but don't touch! Toxins stored inside the hairs can cause a stinging sensation
One of many mini waterfalls enroute to the main fall . . . Much of this portion of the trail involves walking up the streambed
Water was seeping out of the sandstone walls . . . It resembled a smaller version of Zions Weeping Rock
We have arrived! Benson Falls cascades about 43 ft to the canyon floor . . . Many canyoneers like to rappel the upper narrows and use the Falls as their exit
We met a nice couple from Parowan Thank you Barry & Charlene for taking our picture!
Okay, Kent is a little guy . . . but this is a big tree! Too bad recent flash floods have eroded it's root base and caused it to fall over
There were a few obstacles to maneuver over, both in and out of the final segment
On the hike out we took the loop trail that lead us up to the Mineral Ridge viewpoint
The view from Mineral Ridge looking back toward Parowan . . . We think the "nipply" knob, in the center, is Valentine Peak . . . another good hike!
Heading back for the main trail . . . It was a perfect day for a hike
Colorful Fleabane
A Sickener Mushroom
If you have the need for an amphitheater, there's a good chance you'll have this one all to yourself!
There are two bridges along the trail . . . this one crosses Parowan Creek
The Hidden Haven Trail is easy to follow . . . There are some portions along the creek that have been damaged by flash floods . . . These floods were the result of recent forest fires in the Brian Head area
The Autumnal Equinox is just one week away, but these Mountain Maples are already starting to change
This hike is only about two miles round-trip. Don't let that deter you from bypassing (like we did) this short trek along some babbling brooks to a hidden waterfall. Consider taking a couple of hours out of your day to relax and get outdoors . . . we think you'll enjoy it as much as we did!
Kent is always looking for new places to explore. Having been to the Tushar Mountains on numerous outings, it's easy to think we've uncovered all the "secrets" such a special place has to offer. Usually, when this happens we turn to topo maps and begin to look for out-of-the-way places we might have overlooked. Such was the case with Iant Creek. Seeing the name on a topo map, Kent immediately began to wonder if it was large enough to be more than a seasonal stream. Google Earth (satellite imagery) confirmed, that even in mid-summer, this stream was flowing and might even be large enough to hold some small trout. Yes, indeed, it was time to go find out.
Starting at Three Creeks Reservoir, we followed FR 147 to Strawberry Flat . . . This beautiful wildflower filled meadow gave us nice views of Mt. Baldy (12,122') and Shelly Baldy Peak (11,321')
Orange Sneezeweed
As soon as we reached Iant Creek we could see trout scurrying away from us!
It didn't take Kent long to drop his line in the cold clear stream . . .
. . . and it didn't take long to begin catching Brook trout . . . Not big by any means, but still fun to catch and release these little beauties!
Iant Creek is easy to walk along and fish . . . The stream isn't "choked" with brush and has many nice pools leading down into the canyon
There were some interesting rock formations along the creek
We each caught several trout
Iant Creek begins at Betenson Flat, 4½ miles to the southeast . . . We're already making plans to come back and set up a car shuttle so we can walk this lush valley!
This basalt column had some unique swirls
We noticed Fireweed growing off the side of the road as we walked back to our truck
Three Creeks Reservoir . . . we're getting close to where we started Last year this reservoir was completely empty . . . what a reminder of the winter we had! Beyond the lake is Mt. Holly (center) and Lake Peak (to the right)
Iant Creek ended up being so much more than we expected! If you have a side-by-side or a short wheel based 4x4 you could actually drive right to the creek. Not knowing what the narrow road was like, we chose to park and walk the last mile from the ridge to the creek. This ended up working out nicely, for us, as we were able to log about 2.5 miles of hiking to go along with our fishing.
It was forecasted to be 115° in southern Utah on Saturday. That could mean only one thing . . . get out of town and go as high as we could to beat the heat. But the question was where? Just call Tom . . . he's always got a plan . . . and so that's exactly what we did!
As usual, Tom didn't let us down! He'd been out riding his motorcycle, earlier in the week, and noticed an interesting peak he'd missed on the Sevier Plateau. It didn't take long for us to come up with a "game plan" to bag Mt. Pierson. And so we were off on another adventure!
Mt. Pierson (10,653 ft) Tom was concerned about Lola (his older dog), so he took a shorter/more direct route . . . We wanted to make it a longer hike and decided to walk the ridgeline
Colorful Big-Leaf Lupine were in full bloom
This small stream greeted us as we started out for Peak 10,256
A beautiful high country meadow that seemed to go on forever
We came upon this old hand hewn fence . . . it seemed like a lot of work, and for what? To keep a few cows from falling over the cliff edge? Remnants could be found the entire length of the ridgeline
Firecracker Penstemon filled the summit of Peak 10,256 Circleville Mountain (11,309 ft) is off in the distance
A spring of cold clear water was flowing out of the ground as we followed bits and pieces of a trail
Time for an ugly bushwhack . . . this section was rough!
We came to a clearing filled with wildflowers
Ah! . . . Mt. Pierson is just up ahead! Mt. Dutton is off to the left . . . our plan is to do it next! (Notice there's a big bank of snow still on top)
Tom was waiting for us at the top and decided to use his drone to capture us on the final ascent
. . . it gives a neat perspective that still pictures can't quite capture . . . if you have time, make sure to watch this short video . . . it's only a couple of minutes long!
Kent enjoying the views from the top of Mt. Pierson 10,653 ft Circleville, Utah can be seen down in the valley below
King's Sandwort was growing on the summit
Tom was happy we finally showed up . . . our route took longer than we expected! Thanks for waiting, Tom!
This vista looks like a possible photo op
Kent & Tom havin' a little fun . . . maybe it's because we haven't hiked together in 8 months! Or could it be that Kent & Allison have hiked two peaks so far today!
For our followers (and I know that there are many of you . . . ha!), you may be asking, "Why eight months?" Each of us has had extenuating circumstances over the last several months . . . Tom needed to assist his aging mother and Kent has faced some minor health issues. Needless to say, it's was good to get back together!
Kent is terrified of heights . . . really he is!
We hiked back with Tom to his Tacoma and hitched a ride with him back to our vehicle. Since he had already done Mt. Dutton, he decided to head home, but we, being so close, decided to continue on. Mt. Dutton is a peak that you can drive up . . . that is if you don't miss the turn off! Realizing we had done just that, we continued on until we could see the towers at the top, where we pulled our truck over and did a quick 40 minute r/t hike to the top from the south side.
On the top of Mt. Dutton (11,041 ft) . . . Kent is looking back at Mt. Pierson (10,653 ft) The Dutton Benchmark was placed here in 1966 . . . we also found the two Reference marks
The north facing slope had a large snowbank, most of which was watermelon snow or snow algae (This is the same snowbank we could see from our ascent of Mt. Pierson)
Time to head back down to our truck . . . we have a long drive ahead of us to get off the mountain
Firecracker Penstemon and Ragwort leave us with some fond memories of a good day!
Half the battle for this hike was just getting to the starting point! We followed FS125 out of Antimony and traveled nearly 40 miles of dirt road (with many downed trees) coming out to the east of Adams Head in Johns Valley. While the road wasn't terrible, it definitely was slow going. We ended up getting home at 9:00pm . . . a very long day! If you're interested in a topo map of this area, you can click here for one courtesy of Peakbagger.com.
