Below Burnt Mountain

I love maps because a new hike can be found just by studying the map for long enough. I have a huge map of Zion that I got from the Visitor Center when it was replaced with a newer, updated version. It bounced around in my various residences over the years, but eventually it has found its home in my garage where I pull the car in and out every day going to and from work. Sometimes I stop to study it and on one of those days recently, I discovered that there was this canyon located above Hop Valley that went right to the base of Burnt Mountain. Having never visited there or heard anything about it, I decided that I must go.

When I awoke in the morning, I studied Google Maps also. The satellite view gives such immense detail that I even questioned whether I should attempt the hike. I could already tell that the hike was not only possible, but looked like it wasn't going to be too difficult. After a while of dragging my feet, I decided to go for it. I packed up my backpack and headed out for the Hop Valley Trailhead. I was the first car who arrived there at 9 AM. I started down the trail until I got to the gate. I went through the gate and instead of staying on the trail, I went on a series of roads that were as good as any trail.
The hiking was fairly easy except that the entire way to reach the pass was deep sand. Given that we had not received measurable precipitation in Southern Utah in months, it was very sandy both on the Hop Valley Trail and on the roads. I followed the road as far as it went passing a corral and some water tanks that looked in pretty bad shape. There were no cows around having moved on to greener pastures for the winter. When the road began to die away, there was still a reasonable path that took me to a high point on the pass between these roads and my canyon.

The views were great from up there where I could see all the way into the La Verkin Creek drainage and the peaks of Red Butte and Burnt Mountain. I decided to descend right at the head of the canyon that left from the pass. It turned out to be the right decision. Even though there was a bunch of bushwhacking and route finding to do, the way turned out to be fairly easy with no significantly difficult spots. I got to experience quite a bit of the fall colors as many times my way went right in between these trees with yellows, reds, and oranges. I even found some water in the drainage which was surprising given how dry the weather had been.

Eventually this small drainage met up with the larger drainage.  It continued downstream until getting to a confluence with another drainage coming down from Burnt Mountain with many willows, cottonwoods, and even aspens at the confluence. Now it was continuing up to the base of Burnt Mountain. I could not believe how incredibly wide this drainage was and still incredibly sandy. As I got closer to Burnt Mountain, the drainage became narrower and narrower. There were a few places to climb around, but eventually it all ended at a large pour off of about 30 feet. I struggled to call this the end and instead decided to climb up above to get a view.

The way was steep, but not dangerous. I picked my way through the oaks and manzanita before ending the trip under a large tree where I could sit and enjoy my peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It had taken only 3 hours to arrive at this point. From here I could see to the high cliffs extending above Kolob and also to the top of Burnt Mountain. Given that the summit of Burnt Mountain was a Research Natural Area, considering climbing it is not really an option. But if I did, I could see the route that I would take and while it looked challenging, it looked possible. The only recorded climb is by Courtney Purcell who seemed to have climbed most of the peaks in and around Zion about 10 years ago when writing his book that saw limited time on the shelf.

Well, there was not much left to do, but go back down. Given that it had taken me less time to arrive at this point than I had anticipated, I decided to check out the canyon where my two washes met up to see if possibly there was an easy way down into Hop Valley. I fought my way back down the drainage to the spot where the willows choked the wash. Eventually it opened back up and I followed the wash downstream. There were two places where I had to find my way around pour offs always making sure there was no jumping down given that it was highly likely that I would be climbing back up. My mind always entertains the notion of having found an easier way, but when the canyon eventually came to a narrow spot with a 100 foot pour off, I knew that I had found the end of my journey down this canyon. It presented another opportunity for those canyoneers who wanted to get a first descent. It seems that every time I say that I turn out to be wrong, but on this one there did not seem to be any signs of other humans having been in this drainage before. In fact, it really did not seem like anyone had been in this canyon below Burnt Mountain before. The only signs of other humans being the two balloons that I found. Stop releasing balloons! Gravity still works.

I turned around and went back up with little difficulty. There were many opportunities to find a new way or a new exploration. I went into a few narrow spots to see if I could see any owls. Lots of droppings, but no owls. Instead it was up the same canyon I came down and back to the car. It was smooth sailing the whole way and in fact, when I turned around at the stopping point in the canyon heading into Hop Valley, I predicted what time I would get to my car. I guessed 3:30 which seemed fairly impossible given how far away that I was. Sure enough, though, after putting in many sandy miles, I arrived at the car at 3:26 pm. It was a great trip and I am sure that I will go back to the area to explore other off trail opportunities. The route was not difficult and the views were amazing. It was also incredibly quiet on a weekend when it seemed like everyone and their cousin were descending on Zion and the surrounding area. I had once again discovered another quiet place in Zion.