Kolob Terrace exploration: from Hop Valley to North Gate Peaks, May 2019

I often hike after work or school so I can get a few quick miles in. In most cases, I do not bring a camera with me. This time, I decided to hike from Hop Valley trailhead to the Northgate Peaks and back as a nice afternoon hike. It's a bit more than 12 miles but I wasn't sure how long exactly which was fine. Everything longer than 10 miles is a perfect afternoon hike. I just finished my last final exam of the semester and this hike was a great way to celebrate.
I arrived at the trailhead around 1:30 pm and was surprised to find a lot of cars parked. I guess with all the trail closures in the main canyon of Zion all the other trails see more activity as well.
I started the hike, crossed the road shortly after, and went on the trail, which started to cross the nice meadow towards Pine Peak pretty soon.

first glimpse of Pine Valley Peak

A lot of wildflowers leaves were out there, with all the moisture and the snow it will be an amazing wildflower years. Maybe in 2-3 weeks, the first flowers will be out.
I definitely can't wait to be back by then.

Silky Lupine

Pretty soon I reached the first wash crossing. Pine Springs Wash is usually bone dry, I've never seen any water in it at all. Today it was raging. I decided against crossing it with shoes as I usually get blisters when hiking in wet shoes but instead go without shoes. I found a shallower spot a bit upstream and crossed it safely. The water was ice cold and running pretty swiftly.

Shortly after I saw some fresh mountain lion tracks in the damp sand which was pretty awesome.
I would love to see the kitty who made the tracks as well. But I guess that's just wishful thinking. But amazing to know they are out here in the area.

everywhere along the trail, I saw nice patches of wildflowers and it was such a delight to walk the trail.

Desert Phlox

Western Wallflower

The trail went next to Pine Valley Peak and continued through a forested part. I was really nice and the temperatures pleasant, so nothing to complain at all.
I passed my favorite tree on the way, bent and pointing in one direction.

 I wonder what his story is

I'm a tree hugger

Soon after the next wash crossing followed and it was also running swiftly. So same procedure as earlier and I waded across it without my shoes.
So amazing to see all this water out here. The amount of snow in the high elevation is still unbelievable.

The trail intersection with the turn to the Northgate Peaks trail came soon after and I continued hiking towards the Northgate Peaks.
The meadows were full of Bitter Root flowers, it was so pretty.

Showy Lewisia - Bitter Root

Eventually, I reached the viewpoint at Northgate Peaks. It's a perfect spot in late afternoon and sunset, but not in the middle of the day. I had a nice late lunch break and enjoyed the view, it was nice anyway.

North Guardian Angel

I then retraced my steps and hiked back the same way I came. I crossed the wash again and when I reached the trail near the base of Pine Valley Peak I decided to explore the area a bit more. I went off the trail to the left, some bushwhacking followed. It was pretty cool. The best surprise was the remains of an old sawmill, spread out in a meadow.

Since I found the remnants, I had contacted our archeology department in the park and asked about it. They told me that it was old remnants of a sawmill. Definitely a pretty amazing find.
I continued further on, crossed a small wash, and scrambled up a ravine.
I finally reached a Slickrock areal and found a pretty good spot to scramble up the saddle below Pine Valley Peak.

Scrambling up

The view from my high plateau was really nice and I enjoyed the scenery in all directions.

There was an amazing Slickrock field below Pine Valley Peak and I decided to explore a little bit more.
I scrambled back down, went through a shrubby area, and stumbled across a deer carcass in a small meadow.

A few hundred feet after I found the first carcass I found another one. I guess the harsh winter took its toll on the deer population.
It was weird to see all the carcasses out here in the field.
Eventually, I reached the Slickrock area and was delighted by the view.
There were hoodoos, pinnacles, small water-filled ponds.

Pine Valley Peak reflection

Indian Paintbrush

Moqui Marbles everywhere

I walked around and enjoyed it. I definitely have to come back and explore more of the area.

The hike back out was uneventful but the late afternoon light was finally hitting the peaks of Zion and Pine Valley Peak.

After 13.5 miles I was back at the trailhead. It was a great hike and I did not see a single soul.

Exploring along Kolob Terrace Road, Zion National Park

Summertime is a really busy time in Zion National Park and I usually try to avoid visiting the main canyon during this time. A wonderful alternative and less visited is the Kolob Terrace section of the park with many wonderful hikes and options for exploration.
I decided to hang out for an entire day along Kolob Terrace Road and see what treasures I could find.
I started right after sunrise and first went to Cave Valley, a beautiful hidden gem with rock art.
The panels are inside a rock cave within the Navajo Sandstone outcroppings that cover a good portion of the area.

It was pretty cool to see. After the little exploration of the rock art, I scrambled up on the plateau above Cave Valley and was welcomed by a wonderland of Slickrock and Navajo Sandstone. It was absolutely beautiful. The early morning light also helped to enhance the scenery a lot.

The Three Amigoes

I walked around in awe and enjoyed the scenery. Some of the sandstone teepees and hoodoos reminded me of the Vermillion Cliffs area.

Sandstone Teepees

Some recent rains had left some water puddles and the reflections were gorgeous. I walked around every corner and explored the beautiful landscape while looking around the entire section of the area.

Puddle Reflections

I'm admiring the view

Scrambling down was a bit sketchy in some spots as I chose to take a different route. But it totally doable with careful foot placement. I liked this exploration hike a lot. Because we were in the middle of monsoon season, clouds started to build up pretty soon again. Nice, big fluffy clouds. 

I really love to have some clouds.

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Cave Valley Sandstone from below

I stopped at my favorite pullout further up Kolob Terrace Road and visited my favorite Ponderosa Pine tree in the middle of a meadow. From here you'll also have a great view of the Zion Canyon cliffs but just from the backside.

Pine Valley Peak and the lone Ponderosa Pine

My next stop was at a pullout just before the big S-curve and I walked around the Slickrock and explored. The colors and light were just perfect.

At Wildcat trailhead I decided to hike a bit to the surrounding areas. This high plateau area was absolutely beautiful and hikes included from here were the Subway Top Down, Northgate Peaks, Lava Point and the connector trail to Hop Valley. You see, there are many hiking options here in this part of Zion. Some of them require permits but a few can be done as a nice afternoon stroll.

While I was admiring the scenery, a thunderstorm was developing. Huge towering clouds had built and were growing in size. I had to hurry so I could go back to my car before the storm started to explode and I made it just in time. It started to hail, rain and thunder rumbled closeby. I decided to call it a day but made one more stop at my favorite pullout where I shot some nice images while sitting in my car.

Downpour

I loved the localized heavy downpour with the virga and rain shaft coming down. What a great grand finale of a wonderful day. Exploring Kolob Terrace Road is absolutely worth the trip.