West Mountain & Zion View Peaks

We called Tom to see if he was ready for a Saturday hike . . . of course he was!  Since he had done a hike the day before we decided to keep today's hikes "short and sweet."  West Mountain and Zion View Peaks both surround the St. George valley, but surprisingly, neither of us had done them.  It was time for that to change!

Zion View Peak turned out to be a fun, but strenuous little hike that provided great views.  After completing Zion View we drove up the road to the bottom of the switchbacks that lead to the top of West Mountain and parked our vehicles.  We walked the last mile to the top and were rewarded with outstanding 360° views from this desert "sky island" peak!

The early morning sunrise is just about to illuminate West Mountain
as we drive through Ivins, Utah

We parked at Hell Hole Pass and began our short but steep ascent up Zion View Peak 

Once we reached the ridge, the views began to unfold

Off to our north is West Mountain (7,680 ft) and the road that will take us to the top

A dried yucca stalk provides a unique contrast against Peaks 5961 and 5926 in the distance

For such a small peak the views were amazing
(Looking northeast towards the Pine Valley Mountains)

We stopped to check out this rocky outcrop on our descent
Notice Kent's reluctance to go near the edge . . . sheer cliffs on the other side!

Colorful striped rocks along the trail

Two does ran across the road to West Mountain . . . only one stopped for their picture!

The road was in good shape . . . which is not always the case
We drove 1.5 miles from Hell Hole Pass, parked, and walked the rest of the way so the dogs could run

There are two reference markers and a benchmark from 1938 at the top
 Along with plenty of communication towers and some of the best views in Southern Utah

West Mountain is the highest peak in the Beaver Dam Mountains at 7680 ft

Looking back at Zion View Peak (6,835 ft) that we hiked earlier

We could see this rock cairn from the road below . . . not sure what it marked??

Ezy on the go!

Two guys and their dogs heading back down the steep road
(Background views are of Beaver Dam Wash and eastern Nevada)

We couldn't see into the bottom of this ravine, but obviously someone missed the turn!
This makeshift guardrail is made from the bumper and frame of a 40 or 50's auto

Altogether both hikes totaled about three miles (r/t) and we were back home by 2:00 pm.  While not long, nor overly strenuous, they both provided amazing views of southern Utah and eastern Nevada that we're not sure can be beat by any of the other peaks in the St. George area.

For more information you can follow Tom's Peakbagger.com posts by clicking here for Zion View Peak and here for West Mountain Peak.

Vada Benchmark

It had been a busy week and we needed a "low key" hike for our Saturday getaway.  So, we decided to head towards Panaca, Nevada and hike Vada Benchmark, which is near the Nevada/Utah border.  Tom had found the BM earlier in the year and the pictures he sent intrigued us to go and see it for ourselves.  Although we traveled nearly 100 miles (one-way) for a three mile hike, it was good for us to explore an area that we hadn't been to in many years.

We don't have a trail, just a destination in mind . . . Vada Benchmark
(This isn't Vada BM . . . it's two more bumps, on the ridgeline, past this one)

Yikes!  A rattlesnake skin shed . . .
This is why we only hike in Southern Utah during the colder months!

Up on the ridgeline we followed wild horse trails through the unique boulders

This is what we were expecting to find . . . a survey tripod from 1944!
 In March 2021, our friend Tom found it tossed over the cliff edge.  He repaired it & put it
back in its' proper place over the benchmark for others to see.

Today, eight months later, we found the tripod laying in shambles . . .
Not sure if it was done by wind or humans (probably the latter)
Such a shame!

The Vada Benchmark

We are in Nevada looking southwest toward Panaca

Reference marker #2 is pointing to the benchmark

Reference marker #1 was a little harder to locate

We should have done our homework before hiking up Vada . . .
After we got home we discovered that the Panaca charcoal kilns are
 in the valley below, to the left of the rock formations . . . we shall return!

This was a short hike . . . only about three miles round-trip, but with 900 ft of elevation gain.  If you'd like a topo map and GPS tracks of our hike you can click here for a link to Tom's Peakbagger.com post.  We had a different starting point, thus the difference in mileage.  Best advice . . . find a place to access the ridge and check each of the major bumps as you work your way up.  The third obvious bump has the Vada BM.

Elephant Rock & Cottonwood Mtn

When we climbed Sandy Peak in October, Tom mentioned that Cottonwood Mountain had a summit register that had been placed there by Barbara Lilley & Gordon MacLeod.  Funny, we had no idea who these people were, but the way Tom said their names - almost in a revered tone of voice - intrigued us to ask him more about what made them so special.  He said they are highly respected members of the Sierra Club who have logged countless peaks over their lifetimes.  Barbara (92) still hikes and Gordon (95) has since passed away (Nov 2019).  And so our interest was piqued as we wanted to see one of their registers for ourselves!

Here's the view of Cottonwood Mtn (from Sandy Peak) that got our conversation started
This picture provides a nice view of the route we took from Elephant Rock to Cottonwood Mtn

We parked here and followed an old road to the ridge where we began the Elephant Rock hike
Later, we would descend Elephant Rock and use the Willow Creek Trail to get us to the base of Cottonwood Mtn

From the top of Elephant Rock Mtn we could see Sandy Peak (where the first picture was taken)
 & the Lower Bear Valley

Standing atop Elephant Rock Mtn and looking north . . . Cottonwood Mtn looms in the distance
Surprisingly, the high point of Cottonwood Mtn is the pointy peak above Kent's hat!
We will follow the Willow Creek drainage which is to the right of Cottonwood Mtn

Hiking in the Willow Creek drainage . . .
The aspens had already shed their leaves, but it was still a pretty sight

We weren't cold, but these plants look cold! 

The ice crystals were striking on the fall foliage

Near the top of Willow Creek, we met a cougar hunter, from Parowan, with his pack of hounds

It's warming up . . . the frost has melted

We have arrived at the base of Cottonwood Mtn . . . supposedly there is a trail to the top??
We didn't come across it until we were 400 ft from the summit . . . Man, this was a long, hard bushwhack! 

    We had nice views of the Tushar Mountains, to our north, as we worked up the spine of the Mtn

We weren't expecting to see a mushroom in November!

The snow, on the north side of the ridge, really sparkled

There it is . . . The "Holy Grail" we have come to see!
We have made it to the top of Cottonwood Mtn . . . Woohoo! 

Here are the names we have come to see!
Barbara would have been 75 and Gordon 80 when they placed this register!

Our friend Tom (and his faithful companion Lola) signed the register in 2018
 (He's another infamous peak bagger in his own right!)
Three years later it was our turn to sign the log!
We counted 22 entries over a 17 year period! 

For the most part the summit is covered in Mountain Mahogany and there are no views . . .
However, a short hike to the west provides a few views to the southwest

Heading back down on the TRAIL . . . wished we had found this sooner . . . like when we were ascending!
(If you ever consider doing this hike, please email us so we can give you directions on how to find the trail)

Kent looks so small as he nears this rock formation . . . 
About halfway back to the trailhead

Back to our vehicle . . .
This is the rock formation that gives Elephant Rock Mtn it's name . . .
You definitely have to use your imagination, but if you try, you can see the elephant head!

Altogether this hike ended up being about 6.5 miles (r/t) with approximately 2,500 ft total elevation gain between the two mountains.  If you are looking for a short hike with great views you many want to consider just hiking Elephant Rock . . . you can click here for a topo map and GPS tracks from Tom's Peakbagger.com entry.  For the route to Cottonwood Mountain you can click here for his entry . . . the views are limited on this hike, but the walk through Willow Creek Drainage is very nice.