Over the last several years we have been trying to complete the 23-mile long
Skyline National Recreation Trail. We had two short sections (each about three miles in length) left to hike. With temperatures in the 100° range in Hurricane, it didn't take much to convince us that today would be a good time to knock out one of those segments!
We ended up doing a very nice six mile loop, rather than an out and back. We started on the Blue Lake Trail (#225 - Skyline segment) by going north two and a half miles, then southwest three miles on Shelly Baldy Creek Trail (#172) and then south on the Merchant Creek Trail (#58) for half a mile. This lead us to Big John Flat where we ended our loop hike.
What a gorgeous route! There were numerous springs and streams and of course beautiful scenery in the cool Tushars! It won't be long until we're back to complete our one last segment of the
Skyline National Recreation Trail.
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The starting point for our loop hike is a short segment of the Skyline Trail
that we had yet to complete.
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| Not too far into our trek we crossed Poison Creek . . . |
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Makes us wonder how the stream got its name . . .
possibly something to do with mining?? |
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It has been a dry year, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the stream flow . . .
Poison Creek starts high up on Delano Peak |
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Chipper loved drinking from the streams . . .
they kept him hydrated the entire hike |
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This looks like the perfect fishing hole . . .
Not sure why Kent didn't "wet his line" on this little beauty?? |
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| Colorful fungus growing on a deadfall |
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| Silvery Lupine |
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| Walking along the trail on this steep hillside made us thankful for the trail! |
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We came to a clearing that gave us a nice view of Delano Peak (12,173)
Delano Peak is the highest mountain in the Tushars . . . yet one of the easiest to climb! |
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| Looking southwest towards Beaver Canyon |
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| Shelly Baldy (11,321) lies off to the northwest of our trail |
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| Pretty purple Larkspur (Delphinium) growing along the trail |
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We are now on trail #172 heading southwest for Merchant Creek
Along the way, we crossed quite a few bridges . . . sturdy enough for a horse |
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| It was surprising how many meadows we hiked through |
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| We enjoyed a little break at the start of Shelly Baldy Creek |
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We sure weren't expecting to find these old beaver ponds . . .
just another reason to get out there and explore |
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| What a pretty spot . . . a reflection pond in the forest! |
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| Chipper had a blast running through the ponds and mud! |
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At last, Merchant Creek . . . Kent was excited to fish here . . .
he quickly changed his mind . . . Yikes, mosquitoes! |
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Who said, "Kent can't dance?!"
Looks like he is doing the Mosquito Hip Hop! |
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You can't see the mosquitoes in this picture . . .
but believe me, we saw them, we felt them and . . . we ran! |
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We stopped for one last peek at the meadow before heading back into the trees . . .
and those mosquitoes found us once again!
A half mile later we were made it back to our vehicle . . .
hurrying to get in and away from the "swarm" |
