In July, we hiked to
Black Benchmark, on the Paunsaugunt Plateau, with our friend Tom. We instantly fell in love with this area and especially enjoyed the Sunset Cliffs that are located on the west side of the plateau. As the "crow flies" they are only about ten-miles away from the Paunsaugunt's more famous east side cliffs, also known as Bryce Canyon National Park. However, the Sunset Cliffs do not receive the visitation and crowds that the Park does . . . mainly due to a series of dirt roads and little signage that would alert one to this most wonderful side of the Plateau. So, on another gorgeous Fall Friday, we set off to find Water Benchmark.
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| Arriving at the trailhead we noticed this "happy tree" . . . it looks like a dog |
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The Grandview Trail has trailheads that begin at various points along the Paunsaugunt OHV Trail . . .
Just look for these signs and you'll find some "grand views" |
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Within minutes, sections of the Sunset Cliffs came into view . . .
The trail follows along the rim, weaving in and out of various coves, that hold these beautiful formations |
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Our destination is Water Benchmark, so we turned east and headed off trail . . .
Straight up through the manzanita shrubs! |
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Up on top we spotted wire left by the surveyors . . .
Our first clue that the benchmark should be nearby |
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| Water Benchmark was placed here in 1964 |
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| Water Benchmark (9335 ft elevation) |
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What is Kent doing?
He's trying to find one of the Reference Markers . . . there's suppose to be a triangular blaze, on the stump,
that has a copper nail and washer mounted inside of it . . .
Turns out the blaze had weathered away and the reference markers were missing, as well . . .
60 years will take a toll on anyone! |
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Here's an example of what he was looking for
(We found this one, last year, when we located Cottam Benchmark) |
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It didn't surprise us to see Bristlecone pines growing along the edge of the cliffs . . .
They like higher elevations and harsh conditions |
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Bristlecone pine cone . . .
If you look closely you can see a few bristles on the scales |
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Kent noticed this window/bridge in the formations. Can you see it?
(It's in the lower middle section of the photo) |
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| We were surprised to find this survey marker |
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1942 . . .
Apparently, even a world war won't stop land surveyors from doing their work! |
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| Looking south, along the Sunset Cliffs . . . what a view! |
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| The entire day we saw no one else . . . the place was ours! |
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Heading back . . .
The Peak up ahead is where Water Benchmark was located |
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| Our last view of the cliffs . . . until next time! |
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| On the drive out we stopped to fish |
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We were both shocked when Kent pulled out this Cutthroat trout!
It was 18-20 inches long and meaty . . . don't worry Kent released him back to the creek |
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| Pretty fall foliage that has gone to seed |
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| What a beautiful stream! Doesn't get much better than this! |
Other than no crowds (in fact, we didn't see another person or vehicle for the entire day), we really like that this side of the Plateau is not within the Park boundaries . . . it is administrated by the Forest Service. While we aren't against the National Parks (they're just extremely crowded and thus the need for protection of these unique natural resources), it certainly is nice to hike and fish with very few restrictions on where one can go!
Our hike was about 2.5 miles r/t with only about 300 ft of elevation gain. The next time you are driving through Hatch and look off to the east and see the Sunset Cliffs, think about spending some extra time exploring this quiet and beautiful area!
