After a great morning hike of
Black Butte, we continued on in our quest to summit Peak 9304. So what's so "outstanding" about Peak 9304 . . . not much . . . but the views from the top are unmatched and may be only paralleled by the formations that can be seen in Bryce Canyon National Park! Thanks to Tom and his Can-Am, we were able to make it within a mile of the summit, and albeit there were times of fighting some old smaller deadfall, this was a pleasant afternoon hike!
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These formations caught our eye, as we made our way towards Peak 9304
(There's even a little window on the left . . . another hike for another day!) |
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Peak 9304 is? . . . Tom's GPS battery just died . . . Kent will have to lead the way
(Now that's a scary thought! He does know how to navigate with a GPS, right?) |
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| We saw several green pine cones on the ground . . . the squirrels have been busy gathering food |
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We have reached the top of Peak 9304 . . .
Great views of the Sunset Cliffs as we look into the Alton Amphitheater |
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| From Peak 9304 we could see Black Butte where we were this morning |
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Time to head back to the Can-Am . . . We took the long way-wrong way, but we made it!
(Looks like Kent needs a little more practice with his GPS!) |
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| Kent wanted to know if this creek had any fish |
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| It might be narrow, but it was deeper than it looks |
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| Yes, there are fish in the creek! |
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| What a surprise to pull out this nice Cutthroat trout |
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We're assuming this spillway was built by the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) . . .
They have been vigorously trying to reintroduce Bonneville Cutthroats into their original habitats . . .
These dams protect the Cutthroats by not allowing other species of trout to swim upstream |
For a short hike that provides outstanding views, you will want to hike out to Peak 9304. We were fortunate to have Tom's Can-Am to get us close, but even if you don't have an ATV at your disposal, this peak could be reached by a 4-mile (r/t) hike from the main road. For a link to Tom's Peakbagger.com post, click
here. This will give you a topo map of the area and a short YouTube video of the views from atop the peak.
