Three weeks ago, when we were climbing a few peaks in the Wah Wah's, we mentioned to Tom that we needed to come back and explore the Pine Grove area. Tom, who really enjoys the Wah Wah's, called us and said, "Let me look at the topo maps and I'll plan a hike in that area, for us." Little did we know that his hike would be to a couple of peaks he had already done! But then, again, that's the kind of friend he is . . . helping us check off our "to do" list, even if it meant repeating a challenging hike!
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| We are on the road heading to our trailhead . . . Utah has some of the best sunrises and sunsets |
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| Don't let this fool you . . . those peaks are a couple of hours away |
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Frisco Peak is off in the distance
Tom thinks we need to come back and walk the rim of the old volcano in the center of this picture,
along with exploring the Kiln Springs kilns located close by |
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At times, the mountain mahogany bushwhacking was beyond ridiculous
Do you see Tom? He's right in front of Kent! Who knows where Ezy is! |
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| Kent snagged himself a branch |
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| A new flowering bush . . . Desert Sweet or Fern Bush |
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Tom added our names to the Wah Wah Highpoint (9,393 ft) register
To the south, Peaks 9065 & 9066 are visible . . . we were there three weeks ago! |
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Descending the Wah Wah Highpoint . . . now we are headed to the next bump . . . Wah Bench Mark (9,383 ft)
To be honest, Kent was thinking that might be one bump too many . . . glad we didn't stop and pressed on! |
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We came across some Bristlecone Pines near the saddle between Wah Wah Highpoint and the BM
They are very easy to identify . . . the branches resemble a long bottle brush |
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| Tom stopped suddenly . . . he just missed walking through this spiderweb! Yikes! |
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Wah Bench Mark was placed in 1958 . . . the surveyors arrived by helicopter
They were smarter than us! |
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| It's so fun to find ladybugs! |
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| If Kent looks tired, it's because he is . . . although the hike wasn't particulary difficult, between the 2,000 ft total elevation gain, warm temperatures, high humidity, and little shade, it took a toll on the "old man" of the group! |
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We enjoyed a well deserved break at the Wah Bench Mark
We are looking north and discussing Otto De Groff's one day 18-mile, 14 hr hike across this ridge . . .
Amazing! Click here to read his report |
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Ezy is hoping for a bite of Pork Loin with Grey Poupon
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| Fir and spruce trees grow on the west facing slopes of the ridge |
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| An interesting rock we saw on our descent |
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Allison took this picture three weeks ago while standing on top of Peak 9066,
it provides a good view of today's hike and the mines of Pine Grove Valley |
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Kent is standing below the remnants of the Tasso Mine loading chute
where Lead, Silver, Zinc, Copper & Gold passed through |
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| Only a few buildings remain at Pine Grove |
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| Revenue Mine storage building that was used for holding the mine's explosives |
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| Pine Grove Springs flows through this pretty valley |
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| Standing the test of time |
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Wah Wah means "good clear water" and Pine Grove Springs lived up to that name!
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This seemed like a tough hike for us! (Only 5.5 miles R/T, but took us 5 hrs) If we had made the trek in early Spring or late Fall, when the temperatures are cooler, it might have been a different story. The views (especially from the top) were incredible and made one want to explore the ridge farther north. If you'd like a topo map and GPS tracks of our hike, you can click on Otto De Groff's post listed above.
Just a couple of final thoughts. We came in on the old Revenue Mine road from the east . . . this was a slow and narrow 4WD road that had incurred additional damage from the heavy monsoon season. We went out on the west side, which also had some monsoon damage from the summit to the Revenue Mine (although not nearly as bad as the east side). Also, Allison ran into a rattlesnake at the 9,300 ft mark on our descent (she heard the rattle, saw the snake and froze . . . then left the area with only a memory, no time for a picture!)
