The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking, trekking, and climbing the world

Hiking Southwest Utah, Part 2

As my time winds down in Utah and my focus shifts to the numerous overseas trips this summer, I’d like to share some more photos from hiking the past two years in this amazing place. I think they speak more eloquently than words about what draws me to keep returning here. Except for two, all photos were all taken in Washington County, the Southwestern most county in Utah.

BLM-managed lands

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administers one of every ten acres in the United States. The local field office in St. George manages public lands in Washington County in the “Three Corners” area where the Utah, Arizona, and Nevada meet. The southern region of the Great Basin, and the northern part of the Mojave Desert merge here at Utah’s lowest elevation of 2,000 feet above sea level. The field office includes two national conservation areas and 15 wilderness areas, to totaling approximately 630,000 acres of public land located at the convergence of three different ecoregions: the Mojave Desert, Great Basin, and Colorado Plateau.

Dwarf Bearclaw Poppy (Arctomecon humilis) and pollinator, St. George Utah. There exists only a handful of sites of this endangered poppy species
The Vagabond Hiker in a Cole Spring slot canyon, near Gunlock Reservoir northwest of St. George. A hidden gem amongst pinyon-juniper scrub-land.
Early morning vista from the West Cinder Knoll trail, Hurricane Utah, part of the Red Cliffs Reserve
Colorado Four O’clock (Mirabilis multiflora), West Cinder Knoll Trail
Helping with the removal of graffiti on a petroglyph panel, Canaan Mountain Wilderness. This wilderness, adjacent to the southern boundary of Zion National Park, consists of nearly 45,000 acres.
The Vagabond Hiker above the Eagle Crags trail, Canaan Mountain Wilderness
Quail Creek in the Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness. This is a very popular hike/scramble in the area.
A field of Filaree (stork’s-bill), Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness. The snow-covered Pine Valley Mountains provide a backdrop. I spent many days this past spring in Cottonwood Canyon as a Wilderness Steward, picking up litter, making sure signage is in good condition, removing graffiti, etc.
Another view of the Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness, which consists of nearly 12,000 acres.
Likely a Prairie Prickly-pear cactus blooming, Red Cliffs National Conservation Area
The Virgin River, Hurricane. A five minute walk from my most recent AirBnb house, this is the first season I have ever seen such a sustained high flow.
Confluence Park, LaVerkin, with another view of the Virgin River. LaVerkin is the next town to the north of Hurricane. (This and the preceding photo were on locally owned park land).
A slot canyon in Mineral Gulch, east of Zion (Kane County). Autumn light in the slots makes it a great time to hike.
Mineral Gulch in the autumn. One of the other hikers on a hike I led took this fantastic photo.
Snow Canyon State Park and the Pine Valley Mountains, from the Red Mountain Wilderness. The high point of the Pine Valley Mountains, Signal Peak, is about 10,400 ft in elevation.

Snow Canyon State Park

The previous photo provides a good segue to our premier state park in Washington County. Several other state parks center around reservoirs in the county, but Snow Canyon (its name derives from two Mormon pioneers who helped settle the area in the 1860s) is the most popular, and to me by a long way the most spectacular.

Some Outback Hiking Club members on Snow Canyon’s great sandstone.
The Vagabond Hiker on Island in the Sky, Snow Canyon State Park. Note the park road in the extreme lower left. Island is a short but challenging scramble route for which one needs a canyoneering (!) permit.
Climbing the chimney crux, Island in the Sky. I lead about one hike per month with Outback, which has been around for more than 30 years.
Climbing a flake on the Diedre Peak loop, Snow Canyon
Quail Creek State Park Reservoir with Pine Valley Mountains in the background. This reservoir is less than a mile as the crow flies from my AirBnb home in Hurricane. The Pine Valley Mountains rarely have this much snow on the south side, especially in March.

Zion National Park

In a sense, perhaps I saved the best until last! Zion National Park in Washington and Kane Counties, Utah, was the second most popular National Park in 2021, with more than 5 million visitors, a number that has doubled in little more than a decade. It consists of more than 145,000 acres and ranges in elevation from 3670 feet in Coal Pits Wash to 8720 feet on Horse Ranch Mountain. The great majority of visitors stay in the Main Canyon, using a shuttle bus system to explore that spectacular area.

However, Zion is much more than the Main Canyon. All of these photos were taken on hikes I did in other, less frequented (and in some cases rarely visited) areas of the park.

Gregory Butte (left) and Timbertop from Mt. Langston. Kolob Arch, one of the largest in the world, is below and to the right of Gregory Butte. It is difficult to see in this photo as there is no daylight behind it. Mt. Langston with its Ponderosa Pine forest summit dome, is one of the most remote in Zion, and rarely climbed.
A hiker in The Narrows, Zion NP. A friend got a permit and organized a Narrows top-down day hike last spring. High snowfall and the subsequent spring runoff has closed this iconic 15 mile canyon hike this year. (Technically, the lower portion of the Narrows is in the Main Canyon).
View of the East (right side) and West (left side) Temples, Zion. A friend and I scrambled three peaks known as the Triplets last autumn on the East Side of Zion, from where this photo was taken.
A vista South from a high ridge on the East Side. The peaks in the middle are the Triplets.
One of the main attractions of the East Side of Zion is all the sandstone. Our horseshoe hike here took in miles of this fun slick-rock.
Jolley Gulch waterfall. Another East Side hike I did recently, from the East Entrance to the plateau overlooking the main canyon, 18 miles out and back. This waterfall is usually no more than a trickle.
The Big Bend of the Virgin River, viewed from the Cableworks on the plateau one half mile vertically above the Main Canyon. The Cableworks were used last century to lower timber for construction in the park. The renowned Angel’s Landing can be seen directly above the bend, rising about 1/2 way up to the plateau to the west.
Trail Canyon icicles, Cougar Mountain. Cougar Mountain rises from the Southwest Desert sector of Zion, and though very prominent to the East when driving along the southern portion of Kolob Reservoir Road, it is a long, complex hike and climb to the summit, rarely attempted.
Sweet Arch, Cougar Mountain. This diminutive (perhaps 5′ tall) free-standing arch near the summit is sweet indeed.
The Guardian Angels, seen from East Northgate Peak in the Kolob Terrace sector of Zion. North Guardian is closer, with South Guardian appearing from behind it. North Guardian Angel is a relatively short hike from the trailhead, but involves steep slickrock friction climbing. Although probably less than one mile separates these peaks, several hours of intense hiking and scrambling through amazingly complex topography are required to summit the isolated South Guardian Angel. I’ve only managed it once, despite several attempts.
A tufted evening primrose (Oenothera caespitosa), taken on a hike up South Guardian Angel.

And one final photo, from my condo in St. George two years ago. . .

Sunset from my balcony, February 2021 (zoom).

Where to next?

My main summer trekking trips have all been planned. Details of timing can be seen using the Calendar Tab above right. I will be returning to the Lago Garda area of northern Italy for 5 weeks in late May through most of June. The following 3 months I will be based in southeast England, not far from Heathrow Airport. A small AirBnb (what else?) annexe (casita), located within walking distance to both Windsor Great Park and Runnymede (where the Magna Carta was signed a while ago) will provide me some down time between my monthly trekking and culture trips:

July: Armenia and Georgia. Trekking, hiking, and culture will feature equally in these ancient Caucasus countries, formerly part of the Soviet Union, situated between the Black and Caspian Seas.

August: K2 Base-camp trek, Pakistan. Long on my bucket list, fingers crossed the febrile political situation calms down a bit for this epic trek.

September: Tajikistan & Uzbekistan. Two of the ‘stans I have yet to visit. Five days trekking around some amazing lakes in the Fann Mountains (part of the Pamirs) of Tajikistan will be followed by a week touring the ancient silk road cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva in Uzbekistan.

Several shorter (long weekend type) trips this summer, some still in the planning stages, should provide some photos for additional short blog posts.

Enjoy your summer hiking, wherever you may be,

The Vagabond Hiker

Hiking Southwest Utah and Beyond, Part 1

Southern Nevada and the Arizona Strip

Although I have published a number of blogs from my travels around the US, despite spending about 10 months in St George, Utah in the past two years, I have been remiss in describing any of my hikes in this wonderful part of the country. This post is the first of two that will attempt to remedy that omission.

Driving North from Las Vegas to St George Utah on Interstate 15, one observes a number of desert peaks and ranges in southern Nevada before entering the dramatic Virgin River Gorge in Arizona, part of a narrow belt of land in Mojave County Arizona completely cut off from the rest of the state by the Grand Canyon.

Nevada

Autumn morning light, Charleston Peak, Spring Mountains Nevada. North of Las Vegas, Charleston Peak (11,918 ft) is the highest peak in southern Nevada and the 8th most prominent mountain in the lower 48. Amazingly, it was actually possible to do the 19 mile loop hike to the summit in a very long day from St George.
A gnarled Bristlecone Pine on Charleston Peak. Some of these hardy trees are several thousand years old. Amazing survivors!
Lynda down-climbing on Muddy Peak, the most interesting – though not the highest – of the Muddy Mountains east of Las Vegas. A long 4WD drive from the highway made it even more special.
A creamsicle sandstone formation in Hidden Valley, at the base of Muddy Peak.
Moapa Peak, to the north of I15 in Nevada, is the second highest peak of the Mormon Mountains. Here is some interesting Class 3 climbing enroute to the summit.
The Vagabond Hiker hanging on the knife-edge summit ridge of Moapa Peak. There is about 1000 ft of air under my heels. A desert classic that I am leading once again this coming week.
On Davidson Peak summit, the Little Mormon Mountains, Nevada. This climb, though not particularly difficult, was much more interesting than I had assumed.
Gold Butte National Monument is an amazing place Southwest of Mesquite, Nevada. Here is an especially complex eroded sandstone formation.
Some Joshua Trees in Gold Butte. They are actually succulents, not trees.
The Newspaper Rock petroglyph, Gold Butte. The monument is an archeological showcase of the native Paiute culture.

Arizona

Virgin River Gorge from the summit of Shadow Mountain, at the southern entrance to the Gorge. Glorious!
View of Virgin River Gorge from Peak 4302 in the Beaver Dam Wilderness, on the north side of the Gorge. Note the swollen, muddy river from all the rain this past winter.
Posing with a milk-vetch, Beaver Dam Wilderness
Taking a picture from Cedar Pocket Ridge in the Gorge
Peak 5060 from the south, off of Cedar Pockets Rd. Note the Joshua Tree in bloom. As far as I knew, this peak, high point of the Beaver Dam Mountains in Arizona, had never been climbed from this side, so I had to try. . .
An interesting rock “face” on Peak 5060. My attempt summitting from the south was without success.
The Shiprock formation in the Gorge. Scrambling to the top made an otherwise easy hike along the Gorge much more exciting.
20230419_094334_Western Redbud_Blackrock Canyon
Western Redbud, Blackrock Canyon at the north end of Virgin River Gorge. Despite the difficult lighting, one can appreciate the beauty of these flowering trees in such an arid landscape.
View southwest from Mt Dellenbaugh, just to the north of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Talk about remote: it’s 70 miles’ drive from a paved road. Three members of John Wesley Powell’s 1869 expedition exited from the Canyon here and were never seen again.

The final part of this two-part blog post should be ready in the next week or two, given time between upcoming hiking and backpack trips.

The Vagabond Hiker

Guanacaste (Costa Rica) Walks and Wildlife

As my last visit to Costa Rica was more than 16 years ago and I never made it to this northwestern province in any event, I thought it was not before time that I returned to this stable democracy in Central America. My brother Clifford and his wife visited for much of the time. A three bedroom AirBnb house near Liberia airport was a good base for exploring the province.

A few longer hikes, combined with some leisurely nature walks and swimming in the warm Pacific Ocean proved a delightful respite from the North American winter.

Rincon de la Vieja National Park was the number one reason I visited Guanacaste. We hiked here on two different days. This photo and several that follow were taken on the leisurely Fumarolic Mud Pots loop trail.
Volcan Rincon de la Vieja in the mist
Impressive ficus roots
A seasonal waterfall on the Mud Pots loop
A juvenile Black Spiny-tailed Iguana along the trail
Passion flower (Passiflora menispermifolia) with a leaf-footed bug. This walk was a great opportunity to try out my new Olympus Tough TG-6 camera that replaced my recently-deceased Leica (see previous post).
White-throated magpie jay (Calocitta formosa). About my only decent photo of a bird in Costa Rica!
Indian head flower (Aphelandra scabra) with ants
Looking up
A more rigorous hike by far in Rincon de la Vieja was to the Escondito and Cangreja waterfalls. Here is a vista from near Escondito, the higher and more challenging portion of the hike.
Escondito waterfall. I had it to myself.
Cangreja (Blue Lagoon) waterfall, the far more popular destination. View the video full screen (the little button on the lower right)
Panorama of Playa Ocatal, one of the two beaches I visited. This one had some decent snorkeling at the west end (left side here). Playa Panama was better for swimming and only a 15 minutes drive from our AirBnb.
The Santa Rosa National Park hacienda. The road down to the coast was closed, so we settled for the Nature Trail hike and viewpoint walk from the hacienda.
Monk’s cap (Malvaviscus arboreus). Santa Rosa protects a large portion of the endangered tropical dry forest ecosystem in Costa Rica.
Panorama from Santa Rosa’s monument view point east towards three volcanoes.
A stately oak in Santa Rosa NP, a former cattle ranch.
I saw this scarlet creeper (Ipomoea hederifolia) in Diria National Park, where I did an otherwise boring hike primarily along a jeep track.
Two-toed sloths hanging around in Diamonte Eco Park. The next several photos are from here of fauna I couldn’t hope to find in the wild. . .
Crocs and friends
A pair of Jaguars, king of the New World cats
A Blue Morpho at Diamonte. We saw many of these butterflies at Rincon de la Vieja, but getting a good photo of one with its wings open was nigh on impossible.
Breeding male green iguana at Diamonte trying to impress a female. I never knew they could get this color. View the video full screen.
A coastal vista at Las Catalinas. I did a several mile loop hike out to Punta Guachipelines. It turns out the area is privately owned and I should have bought a day pass. Oops!
Making vegetarian empanadas with Clifford and Valerie at Tio Leo’s. We did a coffee/orchard tour which included much more than simply coffee! It was conveniently located just down the road from our AirBnb west of Liberia airport.
Turquoise-browed Motmot. No, this is Notnot my photo. Despite numerous attempts, the best I could do was miserable. Many mornings I enjoyed watching him from my balcony sitting out for the dawn chorus with my first cup of coffee and binoculars. Wonderful!

I am back in the States, hiking in the Palm Springs, California area and planning my upcoming European summer. I’ll be spending five weeks at an amazing apartment overlooking (a distant) Lake Garda and then basing myself near Windsor Great Park in England from late June until the end of September. From there I am planning several trips to Europe and beyond.

Later this spring, once my plans have gelled, I’ll post a travel schedule. Until then I’m taking a few months off from this blog. . . but not from hiking!

Get out and enjoy nature,

The Vagabond Hiker

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