Our initial plan, for Saturday, was to hike and recover the Anderson BM, on the Hurricane Cliffs, north of Toquerville. However, once we started up the 4WD road (which has degraded considerably since we were last on it), we both agreed it wasn't worth tearing up our truck for and turned around. Thankfully, we had a good backup plan (and a good road) that lead us southwest of Apple Valley to Little Creek Mesa where we hoped to locate the Mesa BM. We thoroughly enjoyed the gorgeous Fall afternoon, and the outstanding views, as we hiked atop the mesa rim searching for the Mesa azimuth.
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Surprise, surprise! What do we have here?
When we parked our truck and turned on our GPS it said we had arrived at the 1938 Mesa BM
Well, that was way too easy! Maybe the azimuth would be more challenging?
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So off we went in search of the azimuth
(It's supposed to be .4 of a mile north of the BM and five feet from the rim) |
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Our truck is parked back at the point that also holds the Mesa BM
Quite the views, huh? |
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| Parts of the mesa rim are separating and falling away |
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We walked along the rim, for almost a mile, but never found the azimuth
Our guess is that five feet of the rim has collapsed and the disk is probably at the bottom of the mesa |
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| From here we left the rim and headed north for the high point of Little Creek Mountain |
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| There were huge clumps of claret cup cactus |
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Juniper trees don't bloom or flower, but modified leaves (bracts) appear to 'bloom'
The 'flowers' on this female juniper tree caught our attention! |
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| Arizona Skyrocket was still blooming even after a recent snowfall |
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| Mormon tea is made from boiling the dried branches of the Ephedra nevadensis |
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On the hike out we couldn't help but notice streaks of iron oxide concretions embedded in the sandstone
(Little Creek Mountain HP just turned out to be a numbered point on the mesa rim . . .
Nothing to write home about, but the hike and views made it a worthwhile endeavor!) |
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On the drive home we enjoyed amazing views of Zion
We, truly, live in a beautiful place! |
Although the hike wasn't long (just about four miles r/t), the views from Little Creek Mesa were spectacular and added a nice flair to our outing. If you're interested in enjoying this hike for yourself you can click
here for a topo map (which will help with directions) and GPS tracks from Tom's Peakbagger.com post. Tom had done this hike a couple of years ago. Don't miss out on this fun little jaunt that is so close to town that's it's easily "overlooked!"
