Walking through Tushars tundra and seeing mountain goats from afar on the highest mountain range in southern Utah.

The volcanic high Tushars looking west.
From left to right:  Mount Baldy, Mount Belknap, Gold Mountain, Signal Peak.

Hike Summary
0 - 0.7 miles:  Bullion Pasture Trailhead to first high point at 11,200'
0.7 - 2.0 miles:  to highest point on hike at 11,500' (this is just to saddle;  option is to summit 11,673' peak)
2.0 - 3.5 miles:  highest point to Copper Belt Peak summit at 11,383'

Overview
There's something about this little-known mountain range that keeps us going back.  Actually, lot of things. It's a striking high volcanic range where you walk on tundra above tree line to look over southern Utah and through aspens and meadows with wildflower-lined creeks in the summer.  It's only a couple of hours drive from St. George.  Often times we see more mountain goats than people on the trails.

So far we've hiked four of the Tushar summits, all of them over 11,000 feet.  The hike to Delano Peak, the highest peak in southern Utah, is a defined and short path if approaching from the west.  Hikes to Mount Holly and Shelly Baldy require a bit of cross-country navigation.  

​​This hike starts and stays high, with fantastic views as you cross grassy ridges and a talus-riddled saddle to drop onto an old mining road that leads to the easily-climbed ridge to Copper Belt Peak.  There's a good chance you will see mountain goats, and we did on this trip.  The trail is not marked and is faint in some places, so having GPS tracks and a map is helpful.

This peak gets its name from the significant copper ore deposits in this area, and in fact, Copper Belt Mine lies to its northeast.  Other mines in the area are Bully Boy, Cascade, and Shamrock.

Our Hike (topo map and our tracks at end of this post)
We stayed in our favorite campground, Mahogany Cove, on Hwy 153 about 13 miles east of downtown Beaver, Utah, sleeping in the bed of our truck.  It's ~ 6 miles from there to the turnoff for FR 123, a graded gravel road that goes past Big John's Flat and the trailhead to Delano Peak, and to Bullion Pasture trailhead in about 10 miles from turn-off.

At this elevation, aspens had already dropped their leaves and it was chilly, but beautifully sunny.  The trail begins east from the parking lot, where you see the mountain range you will be traversing through.  It goes to the right of the dark copper-colored peak furthest to the left.  To the right of that, a higher, broader light tan peak (Peak 11,673') is the highest on this trail.  Copper Belt Peak is behind this summit.

​The trail starts out very defined for the first 0.6 miles, where you encounter your first "bump" on the ridge after walking through a wide grassy saddle.  It traverses the right (south) side of this bump, where you see the next dark bump.   Unless you want to climb it, the trail goes around it to the left, 1.0 mile into the hike.  

For another 0.6 miles, hike along a relatively flat path through grass and volcanic rock to drop down onto another grassy saddle with a close-up view of the climb to come.  We met two hunters from St. George here, and we had a nice chat with them.  One is also a wildlife photographer:  mike_wildphoto64 on Instagram.

From this saddle, it's a 250' climb to the saddle between the round dark brown peak on the left and Peak 11,673' on the right. The climb to this peak is just 100 feet above the saddle.  The talus slope here is steep, so the trail climbs high towards Peak 11,673' summit to avoid too much traversing through the talus.

Once past Peak 11,673', the old road to the base of Copper Belt Peak comes into view;  follow it to the base of Copper Belt and then hike up its southern ridge to the summit at 11,383'!!

For the Geo-curious:  Walking through Volcanic Terrain
The map below shows our tracks (blue) through a geologic map of the Tushar Mountains on Google Earth.  Each of the different types of rock are recorded as map units, with their corresponding color and abbreviation.  On geologic maps, yellow always denotes the youngest map unit - the Quaternary Period which is 2.5 million years ago (Ma) to present time.

The oldest is the prevolcanic sedimentary rocks - 170 million years old - from the Jurassic Period (Ja) unit in blue on the right side.  Even after the explosive volcanic eruptions that formed the Tushar Mountains 22 Ma, this old Jurassic unit is still revealed at the surface.

​Our tracks begin at the Bullion Pasture Trailhead (lower left) in rhyolite (Tmbl), an extrusive rock that's high in silica and the chemical equivalent of granite (an intrusive rock).  It originated from the inside of the Mount Belknap Caldera.   Quickly, the trail crosses over the wall of the Belknap Caldera (line formed by red "T's")

After briefly crossing a Quaternary landslide (Ql), we headed into the Bullion Canyon Volcanic rocks (Tbm and Tbd), where we would spend most of the time for the rest of the hike, higher on the ridge.  

This hike is significant for trekking through Mount Belknap caldera (collapsed volcano following magma chamber emptying) rocks as well as Bullion Canyon volcanic rocks to the southeast, two different volcanic terrains.

So much more to explore in the unique Tushars:  more peaks to climb and trails to hike.  We're grateful we are able to experience these beautiful places.

Geologic map of the Tushars with our hike tracks on Google Earth.

Truck shot:  on our way to Bullion Pasture Trailhead on FR 123, AKA Paiute ATV Trail #01.

The trail begins at the left of this sign.  Trailhead reached via FR 123 coming from the south.

Starting from the trailhead in the morning - heading to the peaks on the left with the dark "copper" colors.
​Copper Belt Peak is behind the pointy peak on the left.

A good night's sleep in our truck bed last night and we are ready to go!
Just past the trailhead.

Looking back at the trail we have just ascended (far right).  I'm on the first "bump" on the ridge.

Trail goes across saddle to the left and around to the left of this next bump on the ridge (11,450').

Not too many hikes do I have to wear my puff jacket:  pretty chilly this morning at 11,000 feet!
Heading to the saddle between the two peaks above my head to the right.

Looking at Peak 11,673', the highest peak on the hike, to the right of the copper-colored peak.  Trail goes up through the pass between these two high points.

Approaching the lighter-colored mini-ridge where the trail descends through its low point into a lower saddle where it then ascends the flank of Peak 11,673' to the right, then traverses through the saddle on the left of the darker peak.

We ran into two fully-outfitted hunters.  The man on the left is a wildlife photographer.

Trail goes up to the saddle separating the two high points above.  You have the option of summiting the point on the right, which is Peak 11, 673', the highest on this hike.  The trail is just to the left of this summit.

Getting closer to Peak 11,673' on the right. You can see a faint trail on the left side of it.

Looking back at hunters (left) and our trail.  Mount Baldy on the right.

Ascending toward saddle with Peak 11,673', the highest point on this hike, on Fred's right.  We didn't ascend this peak, but instead walked around its left side.

Mt. Belknap, the second-highest Tushar peak (left), and Gold Mountain in center.
Added to our peak-bagging list!

Past the highest point on the hike, you walk toward the old (probably mining) road to the right of Fred. Copper Belt Peak is just on Fred's left with small dark dome on top.

Seeing mountain goats lying down on rock outcrop in the distance (lower center).

Looking back at old road along ridge, Mount Belknap on the right.

Copper Belt Peak ahead.  Planning our ascent:  we left road near saddle of ridge to the peak' right.

Heading toward saddle on ridge just under Copper Belt (left).

It's an easy scramble to the top of Copper Belt Peak.

Looking west at the volcanic Mount Baldy and Mount Belknap from near Copper Belt's summit.

From Copper Peak's summit:  Looking east at Mt. Baldy (left) and Mt. Belknap (right). 

Another Tushar peak conquered!

Copper Belt Peak register.

Post-hike celebration with fresh cantaloupe at the trailhead.  We use the foam pads in the truck cab to sleep on.  

Caltopo map of our GPS tracks from Bullion Pasture trailhead (lower left) heading northeast to Copper Belt Peak.
Elevation profile shows the one-way approach to the peak.
​North points up.

Hike to the top of a collapsed stratovolcano in Arizona's alpine tundra for a view of the Grand Canyon (on a clear day).

On top of Arizona:  a spectacular look toward the east at the Inner Basin sculpted by San Francisco Mountain avalanche that occurred as a result of caldera collapse, and the San Francisco Volcanic Field in the distance.

Sue and Fred on top of Humphreys Peak among rocks that are the remains of a huge stratovolcano caused by Great Basin stretching that brought mantle rock higher to the surface.

​The remnants of a much higher stratovolcano, Humphreys Peak stands higher than any other summit in Arizona, with an additional advantage of having the second-highest prominence.  Prominence is a measure of the difference in elevation between the summit and the lowest point along the ridge that connects the mountain to a higher mountain (from surgent.net).

Both Fred and I hiked this this summit 30 years ago, separately.  The aspect I remember most, aside from the false summit, was the view of the Grand Canyon to the north.  This time it was a bit too hazy to see the Grand Canyon, but I could see the Painted Desert in the distance.

As with other summits, Humphreys has a couple of "false summits".  In fact, on our way down, a guy hiking up was grumbling about the false summit he was on and that the trail was a bit hard to follow occasionally.  But we knew what to expect this time:  the first summit you see is not Humphreys; it's hiding behind it.

The altitude is the most limiting factor of this hike, especially if you are coming from a lower elevation.

Our Hike
​Trailhead to forest switchbacks (0 - 1.0 mile, 9,266' - 9,940')
Forest switchbacks to saddle on Humphreys' south ridge (1.0 - 3.8 miles, 11,780')
Ridge to Point 12, 297 (3.8 - 4.2 miles, 12,297')
Point 12,297' to summit (4.2 - 4.8 miles, 12,633')

The Arizona Gondola of the Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort is visible across the valley to the south as the trail progresses up to Humphreys' south ridge and a spectacular view to the east.  Here, and the rest of the way to the summit, you see different views of the massive avalanche topography that occurred hundreds of thousands of years ago when the eastern flank of San Fransisco Mountain collapsed, leaving six peaks lining the ridge above it.

Agassiz Peak is one of them, a large peak to the right (south), and from what I read of other trip posts, illegal to climb unless there's snow to cover a federally-listed threatened plant, the San Francisco Peaks groundsel.  It grows only in the alpine tundra of the San Francisco Peaks at 11,000 - 12,400' elevation.  It thrives in the volcanic rock talus on Humphreys and Agassiz Peaks.   We did see one sign - "Hiking off trail prohibited - $500 fine" at the ridge. 

At the saddle on the ridge, the Weatherford Trail heads southeast towards Agassiz, Fremont and Doyle Peaks that line this huge avalanche chute, which is referred to as the "Inner Basin."  It looks so tempting to go back and summit these mountains, but for Agassiz it would have to be with snow cover.

Now it's just a matter of hiking through a steep volcanic talus slope, arriving at a "false summit" before you actually get to Humphreys, another 0.5 miles, straddling the ridge with the inner basin to the east and cinder cones of the San Francisco Volcanic Field to the west.

We got to spend more summit time than usual because of the great weather:  sunny, pleasant and no winds!  A jubilant group arrived with one South Carolina couple that had Humphreys on their peak list.

We made a hasty retreat down the trail in anticipation of our celebratory beer.  We walked around a vibrant Flagstaff downtown, after leaving our car at the hotel.  Afterward, we met our Uber driver in front of an impressive climbing gym.  

For the Geo-Curious:  San Francisco Volcanic Field
​Humphreys Peak sits in the middle of Northern Arizona's San Francisco Volcanic Field, which covers about 1,800 square miles.  Around 600 volcanoes were produced in this field starting 6 million years ago.  Many of the mountains between Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon represent this field.  These eruptions "migrated" west to east, meaning the eastern eruptions were the youngest.  What better place, besides a helicopter or plane, to see a lot of these volcanoes than the summit of Humphreys?

Volcanism is usually associated with tectonic plate boundaries, like with Mount St. Helens or Mount Rainier or Kilauea in Hawaii.  This volcanic field occurs on the border of the Colorado Plateau and the actively stretching (extensional) Great Basin and Range Province.  Stretching causes a thinning of the Earth's crust, which in turn brings warm mantle rock closer to the surface.  The resultant depressurization and increased heat of this rock was the impetus for the San Francisco Volcanic Field and its many volcanoes.

Volcanic rock color gives a clue as to what type it is.  The more silica it contains, the lighter and thicker (more viscosity) it is.  Basalt is black and has the lowest amount of silica, with larger amounts of iron and magnesium, and is the most prominent rock making up the San Francisco Volcanic Field's volcanoes.  Andesite, a dark grey rock, has an intermediate silica amount, and is the prominent rock of Humphreys and Aggasiz Peaks.  Light grey rhyolite is the most silica-rich rock and therefore is more viscous.

Picture Canyon and the Northern Sinagua Petroglyphs
Long before Flagstaff's vibrant downtown, the Sinagua (sin = without, agua = water) people inhabited northern Arizona between 500 - 1450 AD.  They were hunters and gatherers with some agricultural practices.

We stopped by Picture Canyon Natural and Cultural Preserve in Flagstaff to find the Northern Sinagua petroglyphs, one of which is a waterbird.  We found this cluster of petroglyphs on basalt boulders along the Tom Moody Trail, next to Rio de Flag, a permanent stream, where perhaps the Sinagua saw cranes or herons.  

The "zig-zag" petroglyph may represent lightning, water, or mountains.

Check out photos of these petroglyphs at the end of this post.

A 1.5-mile section of the Arizona Trail treks through this preserve.

More to Explore
​As usual, with each hike we do, we find more to do, more places to explore.  We're in our early 60's, gratefully healthy, and trying to get as many summits and expeditions in as possible before we can't.  We've lost a little speed, joints hurt a little more from our earlier hiking days, but we still take advantage of our good health and keep challenging ourselves.  Life is short - get out there (put the phone away) for mind, body and spirit!  

From the Snowbowl trailhead, hike up this ski slope and then enter the forest.  Humphreys summit is in the shadow.

Switchbacks through a beautiful forest to saddle on ridge.

Reach Humphreys' south ridge at 3.8 miles and 11,780'.  Looking toward the east at the "Inner Basin" created by a massive avalanche.  Humphreys Peak trail traverses along ridgeline upper left.  The green peaks lower center may be Aubineau and Rees on the northern-most rim of the Inner Basin.

Intersection at saddle.  A glimpse of the top of Arizona Snowbowl's gondola just above the bottom sign.  No hiking off-trail probably due to protection for the threatened San Francisco Peaks groundsel.

On the ridge headed up to Point 12,297', the second "bump" from the left.

Heading north up the ridge from the saddle.  Trail markers are made of old branch signs.  Also a warning sign to stay on the trail.

Looking back at Agassiz Peak on the left and Arizona Snowbowl Ski Area in valley to the right.

Approaching Humphreys' summit.

Humphreys' summit!!

Someone made two rock lounge chairs on the summit.

Heading back:  Agassiz Peak on the left.

Looking west toward Kendrick Peak (my best guess after looking at maps of the San Francisco Volcanic Field map).

Map of San Francisco Volcanic Field from Aperiodic Wanderings
Humphreys Peak is the largest in the center with its horseshoe-shaped Inner Basin on the east side sculpted by a giant avalanche from a caldera collapse.

Off the saddle and into the forest on the way back down.

Our GPX tracks on Google Earth.

Caltopo map of our tracks (in pink) going through switchbacks and along ridge to Humphreys summit. 
​This map includes all six of the peaks surrounding the "Inner Basin."
Profile of Humphrey ascent from 9,266' to 12,629' in 4.8 miles.

Interactive ​Caltopo map of the San Francisco Peaks and Flagstaff Area with our GPS tracks.

Northern Sinagua petroglyphs.  Note the waterbird (first photo) in lower center, partially shaded.

Sources
Atlas Obscura.  Picture Canyon.

Wade, B.  (from Arizona Snowbowl website).  San Francisco Peaks Geology.

Cook, T., Abbott, L.  2017.  Travels in Geology:  Cones and Craters in Flagstaff, Arizona.  From website Earth.

USGS.  San Francisco Volcanic Field.

The University of Arizona:  Arizona Geological Survey.  San Francisco Peaks Inner Basin.

Glen Canyon Linear Style
This petroglyph style was identified by Turner in 1963 when he spent three years documenting various petroglyphs in the Glen Canyon region, which is supplied by the Colorado and San Juan Rivers.  What he called "Style 5," was switched to the term "Glen Canyon Linear Style" by another rock art expert, Polly Schaafsma.  The Escalante River, where this panel is found, drains into the Colorado River just north of Glen Canyon.   

Elaborate headdresses, rectilinear forms, and small arms and legs pecked with a single line are characteristic of Style 5, or Linear Style.  The cross-hatching present in the lower part of the torso is highly diagnostic for this style, which predated the Anasazi.  Vertical and horizontal lines in the interior of the body in quadripeds (usually sheep) is a defining characteristics of Style 5.

If you look at the petroglyphs on the panel above, you will see more images diagnostic of Glen Canyon Linear Style:  the long wavy line with the knob at the end to represent a snake possibly, as well as zigzags, and plant images.

Is it a Shaman?  Or Warrior?  Or Leader?  Or Hero?
​This figure seems to suggest a person of special significance because it's more elaborately attired than others on this wall.  Headdresses like feathers and horns often signified supernatural shamanic power.

Warriors are often depicted with shields, weapons (bows, arrows and atlatls) and helmets.  However, Schaafsma says that figures with feather headdresses can symbolize chiefs or warriors.

Shamans, in many native American cultures, were the link between the physical and spiritual world.  They represent a deep connection to the Divine through all things, and the natural force in everything.  Shamanism is a primal belief system common to many ancient peoples and predates established religion of today.  Shamans would enter the spirit domain via a trance to communicate with spirits for healing, information, so they could heal the mind, body, or soul of their subject.  These special people weren't always called "shamans" by native Americans, but mystics, healers, and medicine people instead.

Shamanism and the Sensuous
A quote from David Abram, an ecophilosopher, from his book The Spell of the Sensuous describes the shaman's role:
"The traditional or tribal shaman, ....acts as an intermediary between the human community and the larger ecological field, ensuring that there is an appropriate flow of nourishment, not just from the landscape to the human inhabitants, but from the human community back to the local earth.  By his constant rituals, trances, ecstasies, and "journeys," he ensures that the relation between human society and the larger society of beings is balanced and reciprocal, and that the village never takes more from the living land than it returns to it—not just materially but with prayers, propitiations, and praise."

​For me it's fun to imagine what people looked like while they were pecking these petroglyphs.  How long did it take?  What did they use?  What were they thinking while making them?  Were they portraying their idols, just like we do today?  What were they trying to communicate?  What was their life like?  What did they think about life......and death?

Sources
Turner II, C.  1963.  Petrographs of the Glen Canyon Region:  Styles, Chronology, Distribution and Relationships from Basketmaker to Navajo.

Schaafsma, P.  The Rock Art of Utah.  1971.  

Schaafsma, P.  1980.  Indian Rock Art of the Southwest.  School of American Research, Southwest Indian Art Series.

Indian Traders.  Native American Shamanism.

Patterson, Alex.  1992.  A Field Guide to Rock Art Symbols of the Greater Southwest.

​Abram, David. 1996. The Spell of the Sensuous.  Vintage Books.

 Searching for Prometheus, chasing sunset's light, and finding peace in the remote Great Basin Snake Range.

Stella Lake at sunset under Wheeler Peak (right) and Doso Doyabi (left).
 Great Basin National Park

Mount Moriah
Other adventures in Baker's backyard include summiting Mount Moriah, in the northern Snake Range, north of Great Basin National Park. This summit includes "the table" reached just below, a worthy destination all its own.  Our plan to summit this mountain failed when we parked too far away from Big Canyon Trailhead, the highest on Moriah's western side, after a very slow (5 mph) drive up a grueling and long rocky access road, doubling our planned hiking distance.  We didn't have it in us to do it this time.  Instead, we made it to a 10,000-foot summit nearby with a register in a glass jar and some bristlecone pines.  Mount Moriah will have to be a "grudge" peak for now.  We will probably access it from an eastern trailhead.  (Trail map to summit at end of this post).

Bristlecones! ♡ is an entry in the register that prompted me to explore more of this ridgeline, and indeed I did find some bristleccone pines a few hundred yards away, sadly dead or nearly dead.  I can't help but wonder what these stalwart trees witnessed over the possibly hundreds and maybe even thousands of years of their lives.

Hike toward Mount Moriah from NF Road 469.

Bristlecone pine or Limber pine?  I think bristlecone.  Near Mount Moriah Wilderness at 10,000 feet.

From the truck:  driving back down to Spring Valley, looking at the Schell Creek Range on the other side.
Nevada, the heart of the Great Basin, is significant for its many parallel mountain ranges as a result of extension of the Earth's crust.  Note the sun shining on the light-colored silt and clay playa, an ancient lake filled during Pleistocene times.

Ward Charcoal Ovens
The Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park near Ely and to the northwest of Baker features an essential process of remote silver ore mining in the American West.  It's a popular place to do night photography.  Located in the Egan Range, these ovens, or kilns, were used in the late 1800's to make charcoal, an efficient fuel used in smelters to extract the minerals from silver ore.  Normal supply lines couldn't reach these remote areas, so the kilns burned local trees to make the charcoal.  The image below was made by Mish.

Ward Charcoal Ovens State Historic Park.
photo by Mish  (Mike Shedlock) - mishmoments.com
Comment from Mish:
“I used small, thin, Lume Cubes to light the inside of the kilns. The Milky Way was taken separately at Great Basin but is in the correct spot.  The kilns are a panoramic blend of 8 overlapping images with only 4 of 6 kilns used in the final composite.”
“I like blue hour blends. That is the hour after sunset or the hour before sunrise. Working with multiple sets of images improves the ability to capture details and reduce noise. There is a period of about 20 minutes in the middle of the blue hour where ambient light and light from Lume Cubes roughly match intensity. The resultant image is a whopping 656 megabytes.”​

​Wheeler Peak Bristlecone Grove:  Prometheus - the oldest tree on Earth
Fred and I searched for Prometheus, the oldest-known non-clonal organism on Earth, estimated to be 4,900 years old when it was cut down by a researcher in 1964.  It's in the Wheeler Peak Bristlecone Grove, but we didn't find the stump.  Its scientific name - Pinus longaeva - literally means "ancient aged."

Bristlecones flourish where many species cannot, in limestone rocks and soil; this reduces their chance of burning by forest fire.
The Wheeler Peak grove is unusual in that it grows in quartzite boulders on a glacial moraine.   The top of Wheeler Peak is quartzite, a metamorphic sandstone.
​
Prometheus, in Greek mythology means "forethought";  he was a god of fire.  Actually, myth has it that Prometheus stole fire from gods and gave it to humans to advance civilization.

​The bristlecone's dramatic, jagged and twisted appearance reflects its endurance in harsh conditions.  High winds twist them, cold temperatures contribute to slow tree ring growth, creating a protective, dense wood that resists insects and rot.

These majestic trees have been around during the fall of civilizations and the creation of America, survived through catastrophic volcanism.

Two other bristlecone groves in Great Basin State Park are the Mount Washington and Eagle Peak groves.

Our Photo Expedition
The challenge Mish and I had on this day was to find the right light conditions for photographing these bristlecones and then make sure we got to Stella Lake in time for optimal sunset shots.  Lucky for us, the wind blew away smoke from wildfires, storm clouds came in to reveal perfect illumination for photography.  

After photographing the bristlecones in late afternoon, we took the long way to Stella Lake afterwards risking missing optimal sunset light on the lake.  We realized afterward that there's a quicker way to get to Stella Lake from Teresa Lake, next to the bristlecone grove.  We set up our tripods and began shooting just in time as the light grew more and more intense on Wheeler and Doso Doyabi and in the lake's reflection.  The clouds were perfect!

One of the extraordinary things about photographing nature is the few magic seconds when you capture a scene not usually witnessed by humans.  The fast-changing light of a sunset makes you realize how quickly time passes.  Mountains stay the same for eons and a bristlecone pine would barely change during our lifetimes, but light can change quickly.  After all, it's the various degrees of light we are capturing with our cameras, as "photograph" means "writing with light."

Bristlecones from Wheeler Peak Grove and Forest Road 469 en route to Mount Moriah's Big Canyon Trailhead.

Identifying features of a bristlecone pine:  one-inch-long needles in packets of five that grow in tufts, and cones with scales that are tipped with a claw-like bristle.

Bristlecones under Wheeler Peak

Stella Lake with Doso Doyabi illuminated above.
The name comes from Shoshone language meaning "white peak."

FUN-ky Baker

Baker, Nevada scenes on a very smoky day due to distant wildfires.  The smoke actually made good lighting conditions for photography but bad conditions for breathing!

"Museum of the Future Coming Soon" on an old cabin with photos below:  something to look forward to ;)

Abandoned cabin in "downtown" Baker.

Topo map of hike (yellow) from Big Canyon Trailhead to Mount Moriah summit.

References
Britannica Website - "Prometheus."
​National Park Service - Great Basin National Park - Bristlecone Pines

Walk on one of Earth's largest laccoliths in a quiet part of the Pine Valley Mountains near St. George, Utah.

Solitude, cool views of Zion National Park, nice pines and aspens, and unique geology are the rewards you get with this hike to Mount Baldy if you don't mind hiking through a large burn area and can handle some frustrating bushwhacking and deadfall maneuvering.

With this ascent, we conquered one of our "grudge peaks," as we gave this a try in April but faced a thick blanket of snow covering the steep mountainside that the trail traversed.  We should have known when we had to ford a cold, overflowing creek with waterfalls from snow melt at the beginning of the hike.

However, a few days ago, we added another peak - Mount Moriah - to our grudge peak list, so the net number remains the same!

The New Harmony trailhead for Anderson Valley Trail is at a large gravel parking lot with signboards and pit toilet.  
​
This is a less-traveled trail - maybe because most Pine Valley Mountain hikers are on trails leading to Burger and Signal Peaks, 10,000-footers to the southwest looking over Mount Baldy's summit.  The approach to the saddle/ridge is bare of trees and faces east, so there's minimal shade in the morning.

The human-caused 2018 West Valley fire left a lot of charred tree skeletons.  The last mile of bushwhacking/navigating is crawling over/hiking around lots of large pine deadfall.

Hike Summary
0 - 3.2  miles (5,324' - 7,000'):  Anderson Valley Trailhead to saddle on Baldy's north ridge.
3.2 - 4.7 miles (7,000' - 8,175'):  Saddle to turn-off from Anderson Valley Trail.
4.7 - 5.8 miles (8,175' - 8,890'):   Cross-country to summit.

The first mile is flat, crosses over a few streams via wooden bridges, goes through private land with two gates.  At the wilderness boundary, the trail begins to climb up shrubby switchbacks with loose rocks.

Reach the saddle on ridge heading due south to Mount Baldy.  The trail is overgrown in a lot of places, but still discernible.  Great views of Zion to the east.  Anderson Valley Trail then traverses the west side of this ridge with great views of Main Canyon draining from the heights of Pine Valley Mountains.  This creek was roaring with waterfalls in April.  Aspens appear at 7,500 feet as the trail climbs past two water troughs and then up to the turn-off of Anderson Valley Trail.

Next time we hike this we would turn left to leave the trail right after what I call "the obelisk," a solitary rock pinnacle (see photo below) next to the trail to begin the cross-country navigation southeast toward Mount Baldy.  The AllTrails track for this hike goes further on Anderson Valley Trail and ends up unnecessarily mounting a steep and rocky ridge which you have to climb down anyway, so it's wasted effort.  This turn-off is ~ 4.7 miles in from the trailhead.  As with many other times climbing an off-trail peak, you find a more efficient track to and from the summit on the descent.

Now it's a steep climb (700 feet in one mile) through brush and over deadfall to the summit.  We made our way over a ridge just to the north of Baldy, then back down and up again to a saddle just north of Baldy.  From there, climb south to Baldy's summit.

I couldn't find a register or survey marker on the summit, but the views of the sheer orange cliffs of Zion's Kolob Canyons to the east was a contrast to this green and gray mountain.  Signal Peak, the highest in the Pine Valley Mountains loomed over us to the southwest.  There's a lot of Mount Baldys in the U.S. and now we can say we've climbed our local one!

This northern end of the Pine Valley Mountains with its trails and peaks deserves more exploring.  

Trailhead to saddle/ridge (0 - 3.2 miles)

Saddle to turn-off of Anderson Valley Trail (3.2 - ~4.7 miles)

Cross-Country to Summit (~4.7 - 5.8 miles)

Looking at the west rim of Zion National Park. The last peak on the right with the small "bump" is Mount Kinesava.

For the Geocurious:  Geology of the Pine Valley Laccolith
​Geology: 

• Most of the hike is on eroded Pine Valley Laccolith, perhaps the world's largest, formed by intrusive igneous rocks emplaced into existing rock layers 20.5 million years ago, and has since been exposed.  The rock is a quartz monzonite porphyry, with phenocrysts (large, noticeable crystals) in a groundmass (fine-grained).  
• Granite vs. quartz monzonite:  granite contains more silica, quartz, sodium and potassium than does quartz monzonite, which contains more hornblende and biotite, and calcium.
• Quartz content:  Granite = > 20% quartz.  Quartz monzonite = 5-20% quartz.  Monzonite = > 5% quartz.

The Land of the Laccolith
The "unique geology" appears once you've completed the first set of switchbacks to arrive at a saddle on Mount Baldy's northern ridge.  The rest of the hike to the summit is on perhaps the largest laccolith in the world.   The rock is a common igneous intrusive; it's the geomorphology (geo = earth, morphology = form/structure) and the size of this laccolith that make it unique.  Twenty million years ago, magma from a heat source deep within Earth's crust rose up through cracks in the rock until it found a layer with less resistance, causing it to spread horizontally and create a "lake" of molten magma (lakkos = pond or lake, lith = stone).

The molten rock formed a dome underneath the more resistant rock layer above it which prevented the magma from escaping.  The magma cools and forms a laccolith.  Over the millions of years afterward, the overlying rock eroded, exposing the Pine Valley Laccolith.  The heat sources still underlie this area as evidenced by the basaltic lava flows and cones in the area that are less than two million years old.

Cross-section of the rock units underlying the Pine Valley Mountain Laccolith.
Bottom orange unit = Cambrian (500 Ma).   Blue units = Permian (280 Ma).   Jn unit = Navajo Sandstone - famous cliffs found throughout southern Utah - the main rock of Zion NP (190 Ma.)
Geologic Map of the St. George area

References
Biek, R.F., et al.  2010.  Geologic Map of the St. George and East Part of the Clover Mountains 30' x 60' Quadrangles, Washington and Iron Counties, Utah.  Map 242DM, Utah Geological Survey.

Miller, R.  2/25/2018.  Our Geological Wonderland:  The Pine Valley Mountain Laccolith.  The Independent.

Utah State University Fire History Tracker.  ​https://fht.wildfirerisk.utah.gov/

Washington County Historical Society.  New Harmony, Utah.

This awesome hike up the much-loved and revered rock tower known as Mount Timpanogos lived up to the lore and legend.  Its final summit approach perches on its steep, rocky sides where you can gaze upon the cities like Provo that sprawl along Utah Lake's eastern shore on one side, and Robert Redford's posh Sundance Resort on the other.  I love these small, ultra-high summits  where, when I look down thousands of feet below to glaciers and meadows, I get a funny feeling in my stomach.

Mountain goats are often seen:  a fellow hiker pointed one out on the west side of the mountain below Timpanogos Saddle.

​Even before we finished this hike, I wanted to go back again.  Lush blankets of wildflowers surrounded the trail, especially in Timpanogos Basin on the way up to the saddle between Mt. Timpanogos and Bomber Peak.  I was blown away by the sheer numbers of lupine, bistort, columbine and paintbrush.  So many bluebells!

​"Timp," as this mountain is affectionately called by Utahns, is the second-highest mountain in the Wasatch range.  Mt. Nebo, 11,933 feet elevation, which we hiked two years ago, is the highest.   Both peaks have a huge prominence, a measure of the vertical distance from summit to lowest contour line encircling that mountain with  Nebo at 5,489' and Timpanogos at 5,269'.

When we got to the trailhead parking lot in the dark, at 5 a.m., we saw a lot of vehicles parked and wondered if people were backpacking.  It turned out that many students started the hike at 1:00 a.m. to witness the sunrise from the summit.  We passed a lot of groups of them descending.  Since this was a Monday, we didn't need a parking pass (see link above for recreation.gov permitting).

Seems this is a perfect training mountain for the serious trail runner and cross-country athlete.  We met a family at the top who run and hike this mountain every year.  The fastest known time is 2 hours and 18 minutes round-trip for 14.3 miles and 5,000 cumulative feet of elevation gain!  We were passed by a few runners.

On the trail at 5 a.m. with headlamps, we hiked the 7 miles to the summit by 9:30, taking our time and having a "second" breakfast break.  It was refreshing to be on an actual and well-traveled trail for a change, since we have been doing more scrambling and navigating to peaks.

Aspen Grove Trail, another way up to the summit, intersects with Timpooneke Trail as you enter the basin.

A metal building topped with a pyramid-shaped roof with hundreds of signatures scrawled on its walls crowns the summit.  This summit hut has overlooked the spectacular scenery of snow, glaciers and lakes and mountain goats for almost 100 years.  The Timpooneke Trail was completed in 1921.  The pointed roof acts as a survey marker that can be seen with a telescope from the valley below.

Next time I would drive a little further on Utah State Hwy. 92 to the Aspen Grove Trailhead and hike Timp from the east.  There's a snowfield to hike through in Timpanogos Basin that looks really fun.  There's more elevation gain with this approach.
​
I have passed by and eyed this imposing peak many times on Interstate 15.  Finally I can say we were on the top!  I think we'll join the many hikers and runners to make this an annual pilgrimage.

The Best Lobster Roll
The "welcome book" at our excellent Bath Airbnb recommended The Five Islands Lobster Company in Georgetown, Maine.  I've had a few lobster rolls in my life, but this one was THE best!  This lobster shack is located in the fishing village of Five Islands in the town of Georgetown, south of Bath.  The waters there are  among the deepest and coldest on Maine's coast, which means really excellent lobsters.  I guess we just missed the "blessing of the fleet," a tradition in which the local clergy pray for a safe and bountiful season.

Dining is outside on the wharf, looking at beautiful scenery.  BYOB.

16 Essential Maine Lobster Rolls - Eater - Maine

We are talking about making this an annual trip.  So much to explore in New Hampshire and Maine!   People are happy and very friendly.  Already looking forward to my next lobster roll and White Mountain hike.

On Top of New Hampshire Again, After 25 Years
There's lots of reasons why this New Hampshire loop hike rates a 4.9 out of 5 on AllTrails:  beautiful forest, three peaks to summit, a fun ridge (part of the Appalachian Trail) with spectacular views, waterfalls, and just enough challenge.  The trailhead is just off I-93.  The historic Greenleaf Hut at the base of Mount Lafayette allows you to refuel and replenish your water.

We return to our old "stomping grounds" 25 years later - we hiked many summits and trails in the Whites and other ranges back in the late 1990's.  We have great memories of hiking in all New England conditions - gorgeous autumns, buggy summers and icy winters.  We bought our MSR snowshoes there and continued to use them when we moved to Idaho.  Fred proposed to me on Mt. Cardigan, and we were married in Nashua in 1999.  ​

Greenleaf Hut finally emerged from the forest.  It's full-service season is end of May through mid-October.   You can reserve a bed in the unheated bunkhouse and get a full breakfast and dinner and naturalist programs.  

Another 1.1 mile steep climb brought us to Mount Lafayette's west ridge and the highest elevation for the loop, and also a huge prominence of 3,320 feet.  That rivals the west's mountain prominences!  These Appalachian Mountains look a lot different than the raw and jagged ranges of the west like the Rockies because they are much older, rounded and eroded.

Even though Lafayette is 1,000 feet lower than famous Mt. Washington, New Hampshire's tallest, it still feels like you are on top of the state with spectacular views.  On Lafayette's broad summit, hikers lazed in the sun and great weather.

The hike along Franconia ridge, part of the Appalachian Trail was glorious.  Great to see so much emerald green!  We saw the familiar krummholz trees  - brought us back to memories of hiking these mountains so many years ago.  We had experienced some of the harsh conditions these stunted trees are subjected to on a few hikes - cold winds, snow and ice.  

By the time we reached our third summit of the day, Little Haystack Mountain at 4,760 feet, we were ready to descend via Falling Waters Trail with no idea the beauty we would see in a few miles.

Steep boulders and rocks made the initial straight-down descent slow.  As switchbacks appeared, we came upon the soothing sound of Dry Brook which was anything but dry.  I see why hikers would prefer to ascend via Falling Waters Trail because you cross and walk in this stream for awhile - the rocks were slippery.

Dry Brook descends with a series of beautiful falls.  Stunning Cloudland Falls drops down several rock ledges.  A light yellow dog named "Lemon" (I wish I would have taken his photo!)  needed help from his owner to navigate the slippery rocks.

I wished we could re-hike more New Hampshire peaks.  I'd choose New Hampshire if I had to live on the east coast, but my heart still lies in America's grand, dramatic and often mysterious southwest.

Imagining a Natural Catastrophe
Still feeling energized after our Grand Canyon rim to rim hike, we decided to maintain our hiking fitness and get out of St. George's heat to hike a remote peak.  I often go to Stavislost website to get ideas.  Sandy Peak looked like a great opportunity for us to explore more of the forested Markagunt plateau near Cedar City, Utah.

The rocks on Sandy's summit are just a microcosm of Earth's largest landslide - covering at least 1,600 square miles of southwestern Utah's high plateaus.  It's called the Markagunt gravity slide, a catastrophic event that happened 20 million years ago when the surface of a huge volcanic field collapsed and slid southward for many miles, placing older rock on top of younger rock.

"Markagunt Megabreccia" is the name of this rock unit.  Breccia refers to jumbled angular rock fragments cemented together by a fine-grained matrix, with "mega' referring to fragments that are larger than one meter length.  Catastrophic events like volcanic explosions create breccias.

"Markagunt" is the Paiute word for "Highland of Trees".  It resides in the Colorado plateau province.  Cedar Breaks National Park rises from one of its highest points.

Our Route:  Avoiding the Steep Climb until it got Really Steep
We parked just off the Old Spanish National Historic Trail in Upper Bear Valley.  Locally, it is a nice graded road out of Paragonah that is also named Forest Road #077, Markagunt Plateau Trail and Bear Valley Road.  

0 - 1.3 miles - walk southeast over Bear Creek right after parking, then walk up road (not numbered) that leads around the knoll to the east and drop into Ashton Creek at when it turns to the right (south).
1.3 miles - 2.9 miles - walk up Ashton Creek.  
2.9 miles to summit - steep walk up Sandy's west slope, avoiding the top of the long ridge just to the north of the summit.
​
We couldn't see Sandy Peak from the road approach.  If I were to do this hike again, I would get out of Ashton Creek sooner and climb the first ridge on the left (east) I could see, which leads easterly to intersect with Sandy's north ridge.  In the creek, we saw what looked to be a hunter's path (found a camera on a tree and a salt lick nearby) that led through a nice forest of pines, aspen and meadows, although we had a bit too many mosquitos.  Getting on the ridge sooner out of Ashton Creek would have probably meant less bushwhacking.  

The steep walk to the top on Sandy's western flank was riddled with deadfall, rocks, and vegetation, adding to precarious footing at times.  Maneuvering around rough volcanic blocks at the summit was fun.  The view was huge.  To the north, we saw smoke from a fire just south of the incredible Tushar Mountain range, and to the southeast the orange rocks near Bryce Canyon.

This area of the Markagunt Plateau, squeezed up between Parowan Valley to the west, and the Panguitch Valley to the east has lots of trails, mountains, and mountain-bike friendly roads to explore.  Gotta get back there!

Visions of a Centro Woodfired Pizza got me through the last bit of route finding out of the creek.  Per tradition, after hikes in this area, we went to this restaurant in Cedar City.  Route-finding, wilderness, amazing view, pretty tough hike (at least for us), great pizza and great beer makes for the perfect day.  Life is good!

Riding instead of Hiking
We decided to switch up our usual mode of adventure - hiking - and get on our mountain bikes.

After our epic Grand Canyon rim to rim in one day journey a few weeks ago, we noticed the beauty around Jacob Lake and GC's north rim in northern Arizona.  Only a few hours drive from St. George, Utah, we got out of the heat to explore the cool, aspen-filled forest on the Kaibab plateau.  So many aspens that it reminded me of Colorado high country.

We stayed at Kaibab Lodge, five miles from the entrance to the north rim of the Grand Canyon National Park in a spartan "hiker's" cabin, the last place available there.  Maybe a rim-to-rim hiker had cancelled at the last minute.  The dinner and breakfast buffets were a bit spendy, but then again this is a pretty remote location.

The Arizona National Scenic Trail links Mexico to Utah through 800 miles of prime Arizona deserts, mountains, and canyons.  It's divided into 43 sections, or "passages."  At the Mexico border, it begins in the Huachuca Mountains, trekking through grasslands to gain 3,000 feet to a ponderosa pine forest.  The final passage is through Buckskin Mountain to the Utah border, where you can see the Vermillion Cliffs.  It's open to hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians.

We rode a gorgeous section of this trail through pristine forest and meadows in the Kaibab National Forest on a splendid single track to a viewpoint of the east rim of the Grand Canyon, making a loop by riding back on perfect gravel roads.  No other vehicles - we had it to ourselves.

The day before this, we just picked gravel roads to explore and ended up at an old cabin, possibly a line shack for ranchers.  

Our friend Jeff is an avid mountain biker.  We hiked the rim to rim trail with him.  When I showed him photos of this single track, he said, "Looks great.  Let's go."  That's the spirit!

Looking forward to another northern Arizona adventure!