Valentine Peak

We headed for Parowan, Utah Saturday morning; it's about 60 miles north of Hurricane.  We don't normally go where the crowds are, so it may have seemed crazy to go hiking on Memorial Day weekend, but we were pretty sure most people hadn't heard of Valentine Peak; and we were right.  We met 8 hikers and 1 dog on the trail, all agreed it was a hard hike, but totally worth it. The trail is 3.5 miles each way with a 2000 ft. elevation gain and awesome views. 

We drove to Parowan, UT for our hike

To get to the Trailhead you drive through the Parowan City Cemetery

The trail begins here

The hike will climb 2000 ft. in elevation

Great views of Brian Head Peak from the get-go

If you get tired, take a seat and enjoy the view

 Valentine Peak is way up there, we'd better get going!

Wild Phlox were in bloom along the trail

We have hiked one mile ......no need to sit just yet

Much needed motivation!

There were great views almost the entire hike.....even better ones from the top

Colorful cactus and lichen

Volunteers stash water for dogs along the trail

We didn't bring anything to leave or we would have added to this tree

Double motivation to keep us going.....yes, the trail is hard!

We were surprised to find so many places to rest our weary bones ..... it was very tempting

The terrain varied a lot on this hike 

Looking back at the Parowan Valley

There were quite a few flowers in bloom

I call this hikers rock art ..... someone took a long break here and played with the rocks

ahhh .... this means we are at the top ... I think?!

Kent is definitely on top of Valentine Peak!

YES!  We have arrived!!

No Kent, that is for dogs .... we have our own water and snacks!

We signed the log book, will we see your name in there someday?

Now that we're here, we can sit and enjoy the views

There's still snow on Brian Head Peak

We could see a long way in every direction

We headed back down to avoid getting rained on, we can see the storm coming

A little squall off in the distance

More hikers rock art

Still a lot of snow on the Tushar Mountains to the north

Although a very strenuous hike, it's totally worth it!

Smile ..... you're either coming or going!

Indian Paintbrush

Wild flowers add color to every hike

The squalls went all around us and we stayed dry

We found this survey marker along the trail ... 1910 was a long time ago

Another Prickly Pear in bloom

About a mile to go ....  whoohoo!

Aerial View of Valentine Peak Trail

Taco Salad at Brody's in Cedar City ..... my reward for a good hike!  yum!

Bull Valley Gorge

Saturday morning Kent and I headed towards Kanab, Utah.  There was no rain this past week so it was a good time to explore Bull Valley Gorge in the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.  We enjoyed the back country drive through scenic Johnson Canyon before merging onto Skutumpah Road (Scoot-um-pa).  This area is quite remote so, if you go, be prepared.

Bull Valley Gorge is impressive when viewed from above, the gorge is at least 100 ft. deep.  One unique feature is a truck wedged high above a section of the narrows, since it could't be removed it became the base for a wider bridge over the gorge.  Once you descend into the gorge it is noticeably cooler, the deep sandstone walls sculpted by water form a pretty impressive slot canyon.  If you go be ready to face a few obstacles - one being a 10 ft. chockstone . . . there is a rope and you will need it!

Old movie set used for Gunsmoke, Death Valley Days,
 How the West was Won and a few other westerns

Johnson Canyon Road is paved and quite scenic

We left the pavement and turned onto Skutumpah Road

We have arrived at Bull Valley Gorge

Starting out on the trail......

This is a deep gorge, it's best to stay on the trail

Do you see Kent? He's trying to take a peek into the 100 ft. gorge

This is where we entered the gorge....

Starting to descend into the unknown

The walls get higher as we go

The walls twist and turn

It's nice and cool in the gorge

We're in the gorge, hope we can find our way out

Three men died in this truck

62 years later, it still has a license plate and tires

The truck is now part of the newer sturdy bridge, along with logs, boulders and dirt

Bull Valley Gorge is worth the trip, it's quite amazing!

Mud from recent rains

Beautiful

You definitely need upper body strength here!

It's only a 10 ft. rockfall ....whew!

Heading back out of the gorge

It is very deep

Here's a view of the truck from the trail up above the gorge

This shows the road that is built on top of the truck

Looking at the gorge from the road