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!
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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 |
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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 |
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From the top of Elephant Rock Mtn we could see Sandy Peak (where the first picture was taken)
& the Lower Bear Valley |
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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 |
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Hiking in the Willow Creek drainage . . .
The aspens had already shed their leaves, but it was still a pretty sight |
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| We weren't cold, but these plants look cold! |
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| The ice crystals were striking on the fall foliage |
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| Near the top of Willow Creek, we met a cougar hunter, from Parowan, with his pack of hounds |
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| It's warming up . . . the frost has melted |
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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! |
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| We had nice views of the Tushar Mountains, to our north, as we worked up the spine of the Mtn |
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| We weren't expecting to see a mushroom in November! |
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| The snow, on the north side of the ridge, really sparkled |
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There it is . . . The "Holy Grail" we have come to see!
We have made it to the top of Cottonwood Mtn . . . Woohoo! |
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Here are the names we have come to see!
Barbara would have been 75 and Gordon 80 when they placed this register! |
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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! |
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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 |
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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) |
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Kent looks so small as he nears this rock formation . . .
About halfway back to the trailhead |
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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.
