Castle Rock

Kent has had Castle Rock on his "to do" list ever since he first saw it from the top of Yellow Rock nearly two years ago.  He spent a fair amount of time trying to research routes for this interesting looking rock, but found there was little information (until recently - see below) and only a few accounts from people who had actually scaled its heights.  However, all those who made it to the top said it was possible to complete without the use of ropes.  Well, today was the day we were about to find out for ourselves if this hike was possible for a couple of 60+ "senior citizens."  We're happy to report that our amazing outing was successful!

The view of Castle Rock, from atop Yellow Rock, that got Kent intrigued with this hike
(Yes, this is the side you will ascend the sandstone ramp from!)

We parked along the Cottonwood Wash Road and headed for this canyon . . .
In front of us (in the shadows) is the ridge you must scramble up and then descend in order to bypass a dry fall in the main canyon . . . this proved to be the most difficult part of the hike!

It's a cold morning . . . Cottonwood Creek was flowing beneath a layer of ice

It was steep & slick from the get-go
(Don't miss the lone cairn indicating where you should ascend out of the main canyon) 

Within minutes, Lola decided that this was not the hike for her and she headed down
(Both dogs were nervous on the slickrock because they couldn't find traction with their nails)
Kent gave Tom a walkie-talkie so we could keep in touch while we went our separate ways  

Up on the ridge we had a good view of what was to come . . . it was rather intimidating!
(Yes, there were serious doubts that this was possible!)

As we descended the ridge, and made our way to the canyon floor,
we could see a window high up on the rocks above us

Here we are coming out of the canyon wash and beginning the sandstone ramp to the top . . . 
Maybe, just maybe, this is going to be possible!

We didn't expect to see so much color!
(This shot gives you a good idea of the steepness of the hike . . . nothing much worse than this)

Interesting fins and moss!

Another angle of the steepness . . .
This section, of beautiful swirls, can be navigated around by going slightly north

Heading for the castle rocks of Castle Rock

To our east, we could see Mollies Nipples which we hiked in 2020 . . .
This is another great hike in the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument (GSENM)

We were surprised, as we neared the top, to come upon this cirque/bowl with so much vegetation

Wind & water continue to change the sandstone

So many different shapes, layers and delicate fins

Once on top, you could easily spend half a day exploring all the formations

It's a perfect day to be hiking Castle Rock!
(Does this guy look satisfied, or what?!)

Looking south toward Yellow Rock

Kent decided that Allison should have her picture in this post, too!  

It's hard to leave this incredible area, but it's time for us to start back down 

A sample of the many striations in the sandstone

Coming down was surprisingly easy . . . it didn't take too long to descend

Some sections were steeper than others and at times we had to scoot our way down . . .
 Thankfully, we didn't wear any holes in our pants!  

On our final descent of the sandstone ramp that will take us to the canyon floor 

Back in the wash
(Watching for the cairn that will signal us to begin the climb out and back up the ridge)

One last look as we make our final push to the ridgetop . . .
The most difficult part of this hike is the beginning and the end . . .
Don't let it deter you, Castle Rock is totally worth the effort!

This was one of those hikes, that once it was completed, and we reflected back on it, we wished we had been able to share with our friend Tom - it just felt incomplete without him being there.  He's done so much to help us accomplish our goals, by repeating hikes he has already done, that we would like to formally extend an invitation to redo this hike with him!

If you're interested in doing Castle Rock for yourself, click here for Peakbagger Alex Obbard's entry - it is spot on!  His post (from 2021) includes downloadable GPS tracks (which we used) and a topo map for this 4-mile (r/t) hike.  For more information, you might be interested in Michael Kelsey's book "Hiking and Exploring the Paria River."

Wright Benchmark

It seems like we've been on a benchmark binge for the last month - so, we decided to keep the streak alive by going after Wright Benchmark.  (Hopefully, most of you aren't saying, "Ugh, here we go again!")  What made this recovery a little different is that we started with locating the azimuth and then working "backwards" to find the benchmark.  Azimuth's tend to be harder to find because they don't have GPS coordinates - only a degree that indicates their direction from the benchmark - they are often accompanied with a written description of their location.  As it so happened, we parked within a 150 feet of where we thought the Wright azimuth might be.  Once we found it, locating the benchmark was a "piece of cake!"

The 1965 NGS (National Geodetic Survey) description said we would find the Wright azimuth on a small mesa just behind a cabin.  Not much left of the cabin after nearly 60 years!

The NGS recovery description was spot on!
We know the azimuth points towards the benchmark and we have GPS coordinates for its location
In the distance, you can see a white arrow pointing to where we should find the benchmark

There were colorful rocks everywhere . . . sure looks like good arrowhead material!

After an easy one-mile hike, we found the benchmark on a small knoll . . . just where we thought it would be!
We are looking northwest towards the Pine Valley Mountains

The white arrow points back to where we found the azimuth . . .
Again, the NGS description was right on . . .
It said the azimuth could be found due east of the benchmark

 Wright BM was placed here in 1953
(Both reference markers were present, as well)

Not quite an iron concretion, but there were several interesting nodules protruding from the limestone

We came upon this old road, that hadn't been used in years, as we neared the benchmark . . . 
Now it's time to return to the azimuth, and our truck, by retracing our steps

Once we pass through this gate, we'll almost be back to the main dirt road and on our way home
(We were on top of those red cliffs, just a few weeks ago, when we located Mesa Benchmark)

Hopefully, we haven't bored you to tears with our benchmark posts - and, now, our azimuth lessons!  We have found searching for benchmarks gives us an "excuse" to get out and explore new places that we wouldn't normally visit - something we have learned from our friend Tom.  As he likes to say, "it adds another layer to our hiking."  If you'd like to find the Wright BM & azimuth, see the hyperlink, up above, for directions.  Altogether, the hike was about 2.25 miles and took a couple of hours.

Butte Benchmark

Last week, as we were enjoying the views from atop Little Black Mountain, Tom mentioned that this unnamed mountain looked intriguing.  We had thought that, too, as we often observe it when we travel I-15 to St. George.  When we got home and did some research, on this nondescript mountain, we were pleased to find it had Butte Benchmark on its top (Makes you wonder why they didn't just call this Butte Mountain rather than leaving it unnamed?).  All of a sudden it seemed that Butte Mountain was a little more important than we had given it credit for and quickly formulated a plan to go recover the benchmark.   As you can see from the pictures below, the hike not only offered us amazing views of Arizona & Utah, but a recovered 1953 benchmark!

Using the Temple Trail road, we traveled south from Hurricane for approximately eighteen miles
Once we reached Black Rock Canyon, the road took a turn for the worse and we chose to stop and begin our hike from the northeast side.  

Looking northwest toward the Pine Valley Mountains . . .
We are standing in Arizona about eight miles south of the Utah state line 

Kent & Tom discussed where we will begin our ascent . . .
We ended up going pretty much up the center of the mountain

Whew . . . it was a little more steep than it looked from down below! 

We could all take life lessons from Lola . . . 
At 12 years of age, she continues to put one paw in front of the other, no matter the obstacles that lie ahead!

We're almost there or at least we think we are!
Once we reached the rocky top, up ahead, we still had two more bumps to ascend . . .
When we arrived at the benchmark, we were at 5,104 ft . . . almost an 1,800 ft ascent!

Butte Benchmark was easy to locate, along with its two reference markers

Butte BM was placed here in 1953  

We all agreed that the scenery on this hike was spectacular in every direction
The sides of this lava covered mesa, to our west, have eroded to expose some Bryce like formations

Looking south we could see Mount Trumbull in the distance
(It's actually the bump in the middle of the horizon, not the one, off by itself, to the right)

What a beautiful afternoon!
(Late fall through early spring make for an ideal time to hike this area . . .
The summers are too hot and there is practically no shade)

We could see St. George, which was no surprise . . . 
Last week Kent noticed he could see Butte Mountain from Utah Tech University, while he was at work

On our descent, we enjoyed the spectacular views of the Hurricane Cliffs off to our east
(The Hurricane Cliffs are a geographic feature formed by the Hurricane fault . . .
This fault stretches about 150 miles from north of Cedar City to the Grand Canyon)

Almost back to our trucks!
Now we no longer will have to "wonder what's on top" of Butte Mountain, when we travel to St. George . . .
We've been to the top and the views and hike were well worth the effort!

Our friend, Tom, made a short video with his GoPro and we've included it here so you could get a better (different) perspective as to what our hike entailed:

If you'd like more information about this hike, please visit Tom's Peakbagger.com post for a topo map and downloadable GPS tracks, by clicking here.  Round trip, this hike ended up being about 4.5 miles and took us around four hours to complete.