Wizard Island (actually peak 9938) has been on Kent’s mind
ever since we failed three weeks ago to reach this isolated cinder cone. He has been planning different routes,
putting waypoints in his GPS and having fun assembling a summit register. He didn’t think there would be very many
people (if any) who had made this hike and he wanted to make sure those few who
did could log their successful trek.
So, on the last day of summer, with a 50/50 chance of
thunderstorms in the area, but feeling fairly optimistic about our chances of
making it to the top, we set out. A big
“thanks” to Tom who made good on his promise to help us complete the hike. What
a friend . . . we can’t think of another person we’d rather have along with us!
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There it is . . . Wizard Island!
Will today be the day we make it to the top?? |
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Kent decided we should take a summit register with us, just in case we are the first ones to reach the top We had fun shopping at Deseret Industries for suitable containers that would withstand the elements
Tom & Kent are voting for their favorite . . . we brought both along and will decide on top! |
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| After battling the deadfall through the first section of forest, Wizard Island comes into view |
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| Turkey Tail mushrooms growing on a decaying tree |
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Let the fun begin!
(Looking back over the chunky field of lava to the aspens we just passed through) |
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This is our second attempt . . .
Kent studied Google Earth and noticed a slight rift with grassy areas and decided this would be our route |
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Believe it or not, the lava wasn't as bad as it looks . . . yes, it was tiring,
but when you put one foot in front of the other and keep going you'll get there!
(As Tom said, "You can actually get a rhythm going and pick a path through this stuff ") |
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Can you see Kent working his way through the furthest grassy area?
(Click on the picture for an enlarged view) |
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| A columbine, growing in a pocket, out in the lava field |
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| We are nearing the "shore" of Wizard Island! |
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Looking back toward Hancock Peak and the aspens where we began our hike
(It was about .6 of a mile to cross the lava field and took us about an hour) |
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| A fire pit . . . someone has been here fairly recently! You've got to be kidding! |
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| The forest was littered with deadfall |
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| Aah . . . the summit is up ahead! |
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We are on top!
Looking south, in the general direction of Navajo Lake |
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Even though we came across the fire pit, it was still hard to believe that someone left a geocache on the summit!
We added our blog card to the register, hoping others might contact us and let us know of their success
(Only about five people have been here since 2020) |
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| ShackTi1 you beat us to the top! Nice job on the geocache |
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He included a map that shows why we chose to call this cinder cone Wizard Island . . .
It reminds us of Wizard Island at Crater Lake NP . . . only rather than being surrounded by water it's lava |
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| We headed back on the east side trying to circle the entire island's rim |
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| This arborglyph appears to be from 1905 or 1965, most likely from Peruvian sheep herders |
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We were totally surprised when we came across deer tracks and a scrub . . .
How on earth did those mule deer get out here?! |
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| A colorful Turkey Tail mushroom |
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Time to do some more "walking on water" as we head back into "lake" portion of the lava field
(Kind of sad knowing we'll probably never be back to this magical place) |
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| Rain water from last nights storm |
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Back on terra firma . . . but this last half mile is almost as tough as the lava field
The deadfall was dreadful at times . . . it was like getting on a horse over and over |
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The end is in sight . . . the road is just inside the aspen tree line
(We finally cut back to the lava field and boulder hopped the last quarter mile to our truck) |
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Here's our route to Wizard Island . . . we overlaid our GPS tracks onto Google Earth
Pretty cool, huh!
(Click on the picture for an enlarged view) |
For us, this was one of those hikes, that as you reflect
back on the day, you just feel good about!
It’s encouraging to know that we can still do physically challenging
hikes like this. Time is quickly
creeping up on us and we know our days are limited for adventures such as this
one (all of us are in our mid-60’s). We
were certainly tired and worn out when we got back to our truck, but we
wouldn’t have traded the experience for the world.
This hike was about four-miles round trip and took us
approximately five hours. Total
elevation gain was only about 600 feet, but as you can imagine it was slow
going over the lava and deadfall. If
you’re interested in making this trek, yourself, you can find a GPS track and
topo map of our hike, by clicking here.
Thanks to Tom and his Peakbagger.com post for making this available.
