cottonwood [x] wilderness double shot

fossana

Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2018
Messages
855
Feeling sickly but not wanting waste a sunny winter weekend, I decided to do some local backcountry exploration in the adjacent Cottonwood Forest Wilderness and Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness areas.

Day 1. Leeds Peak+
During my
Dick's Canyon ramble back in October, I made a mental note about returning to explore Leeds Peak from the steep (eastern side). I returned on a January Saturday (12 Jan 2019) to check it out.
leedsPeakMap.jpg

To make things more interesting I picked a scrambling line through the lower cliff band instead of approaching from the Silver Rim trail (not shown on the map).
DSC09262.jpg

The route conveniently intersected the Silver Rim trail near the saddle. I followed the old Jeep road down into the basin until I picked up a drainage heading toward Leeds Peak.
DSC09265.jpg DSC09269.jpg DSC09266.jpg DSC09270.jpg

I exited the drainage at a pour-off and looked for a probable route up Leeds Peak. My original plan was to head up the obvious sandstone rib that led directly to the summit, but as I got closer the bottom of the rib it looked steeper than I wanted to attempt on damp sandstone. I decided to leave the south side of the rib for a future trip once the rock had dried, and headed up the rocky slope just to the north.
DSC09279.jpg DSC09285.jpg DSC09288.jpg

The route was uneventful, and soon I was on the summit. There was intermittent snow on the shadier aspects and I ran the summit ridge until almost to the Forest Service road. I encountered a lone cairn, indicating the normal route up this infrequented peak. Just after the last ridge bump I cut to the east paralleling the road in the drainage to avoid the cars and 4x4s on the road above.
DSC09294.jpg DSC09307.jpg DSC09310.jpg DSC09312.jpg DSC09317.jpg
DSC09319.jpg

Once back on the FS road I quickly filled my monthly bag of public lands trash and recyclables (2019 goal) and completed my loop.
DSC09341.jpg


Day 2. Heath Wash Yant Flat Recon
Sunday was windier and colder than forecast, so I wasn't in a hurry to leave the house. In preparation for a future Cottonwood Canyon/Yant Flat/Heath Wash lollipop loop on a warmer day with more daylight my goal was to scout out a Heath Wash exit from Yant Flat.
heathWashMap.jpg

Being a chilly Sunday, the trailhead was fairly quiet. As always the views from the trailhead into Cottonwood Canyon were expansive, but the snow in the Pine Valley Mountains made it even more dramatic.
DSC09346.jpg

Once in the wash proper, the walking was somewhat tedious with the amount of rocks, but the views and damp sand made it less of a slog.
DSC09360.jpg DSC09363.jpg


Soon after the Heath Wash junction the surrounding formations increased in height and the dramatic striped cliffs surrounding Yant Flat (a.k.a. Candy Cliffs) came into view.
DSC09377.jpg DSC09386.jpg DSC09406.jpg DSC09396.jpg


While one or two maybe routes into Yant Flat appeared, the canyon just before the Big Hollow narrows seems like the most obvious choice from the topo and the easiest one to find if coming from Cottonwood Canyon. There were a few minor pour-offs, but the route checked out.
DSC09413.jpg DSC09415.jpg


On the way out I encountered the lone wildflower of the day. The clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped significantly on the way out. All in all, the excursion was not so great for my cold, but satisfying from an exploratory perspective.
DSC09420.jpg DSC09422.jpg DSC09428.jpg
 

Attachments

  • DSC09279.jpg
    DSC09279.jpg
    602 KB · Views: 27
  • DSC09285.jpg
    DSC09285.jpg
    2 MB · Views: 25
  • DSC09288.jpg
    DSC09288.jpg
    2.1 MB · Views: 25
  • DSC09294.jpg
    DSC09294.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 26
  • DSC09307.jpg
    DSC09307.jpg
    429.5 KB · Views: 27
  • DSC09310.jpg
    DSC09310.jpg
    124.4 KB · Views: 28
  • DSC09312.jpg
    DSC09312.jpg
    383.8 KB · Views: 26
  • DSC09317.jpg
    DSC09317.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 26
  • DSC09319.jpg
    DSC09319.jpg
    2.2 MB · Views: 24
  • DSC09385.jpg
    DSC09385.jpg
    2 MB · Views: 25
Very nice!

Thanks for collecting trash and keeping our world pretty!
 
Great pics! Thanks for sharing. Look forward to seeing YF up close in March.
 
Nice to see somebody else doing Heath Wash. I have done it from the bottom (like you) and from the top (the access road from Leeds). I can Never forget the route from the bottom that first time. I felt I spent the entire day walking on bowling balls. Rubber legs don't come close to describing it. But the opportunity to explore the base of, what you call Candy Cliffs, (I call it The YAnt......you have to get quite nasal on the "A"...ha) was priceless. I even hiked all the way to the dirt road in Cottonwood Wash. I felt The Yant deserved exploring from the bottom also.

Here is one of my photo's of Heath Wash. I get wobbly looking at it.
IMG_5918.JPG
 
Last edited:
Hello! We are planning a trip to the St. George area and stumbled upon Yant Flat area. Visually, it reminded us of White Pocket (although red/orange instead of white). The route we downloaded takes off from Road 031 (directly across from 903) and heads due south for about 3 miles. It's an out-and-back. Question...Is the route I've just described in the "tedious" wash you mentioned in your trip report?

Many thanks!
 
Hello! We are planning a trip to the St. George area and stumbled upon Yant Flat area. Visually, it reminded us of White Pocket (although red/orange instead of white). The route we downloaded takes off from Road 031 (directly across from 903) and heads due south for about 3 miles. It's an out-and-back. Question...Is the route I've just described in the "tedious" wash you mentioned in your trip report?

Many thanks!

I took the long way from the bottom. The upper trailhead route is mostly old jeep road, not a streambed, shorter, and much easier going.
 
Thanks a bunch for the reply! Any "must do" hikes (especially anything with ruins and rock art) in the St. George-ish area?

Cheers,

Steph
 
Nice to see somebody else doing Heath Wash. I have done it from the bottom (like you) and from the top (the access road from Leeds). I can Never forget the route from the bottom that first time. I felt I spent the entire day walking on bowling balls. Rubber legs don't come close to describing it. But the opportunity to explore the base of, what you call Candy Cliffs, (I call it The YAnt......you have to get quite nasal on the "A"...ha) was priceless. I even hiked all the way to the dirt road in Cottonwood Wash. I felt The Yant deserved exploring from the bottom also.

At least we earned our views.
 
Very cool -- I've always wanted to explore that area up around Dicks Canyon.

Several of the steep slopes farther down Heath also connect up to Yant via somewhat indirect routes. There's also one that I've done up from the Cottonwood side of the junction which might be the easiest. Definitely some crazy-steep exposed slickrock up on those cliffs!
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
fossana Dick's Canyon Ramble (Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness, UT) Hiking & Camping 3
Janice Cottonwood Fluff in Canyon Country General Discussion 4
dhertbag Camping at Cottonwood Cove - Coyote Buttes South Trip Planning 11
NorthwestWanderer Backpacking Oregon's Cottonwood Canyon : Lost Corral Trail Backpacking 1
J Death Valley NP. Marble-Cottonwood (side slot) lollipop loop Nov 17-19,2019 Backpacking 10
Michael Skutumpah, Cottonwood Rd. Trip Planning 0
George_Washington_Hayduke Twilight Canyon- Cottonwood Gulch- Llewellyn Gulch- 8 Days Backpacking/Packrafting Backpacking 15
swmalone Willow Creek to Little Cottonwood Creek Loop Trail Hiking & Camping 0
D Coyote Buttes South Paw Hole or Cottonwood Cove (or both) Trip Planning 3
regehr hiker injured and rescued in Little Cottonwood General Discussion 3
Dave Fees coming for Big, Little Cottonwood Canyons General Discussion 0
J Glen Canyon NRA: Reflection, Cottonwood, Llewellyn Canyons Backpack April 25-28,2016 Backpacking 5
Scott Chandler Cottonwood Cove Hiking & Camping 18
Udink Cottonwood Wash to Nate's Canyon Hiking & Camping 3
regehr Hiker death in White Pine, Little Cottonwood General Discussion 0
MtnMatt Looking for a nice waterfall hike in Little Cottonwood Trip Planning 10
MtnMatt Willow Lake Fall Colors in Big Cottonwood Canyon Hiking & Camping 2
Nick Cottonwood Gulch, Escalante Backpacking 4
D Current Condition of Cottonwood Canyon Road Trip Planning 3
Udink Old Woman and Cottonwood Washes Hiking & Camping 5
D Access Recommendations to Cottonwood Cove , South Coyote Buttes Trip Planning 3
Nick Cottonwood Canyon, Grand Staircase Hiking & Camping 6
Tyler Broads Fork - Big Cottonwood Canyon June 2011 Hiking & Camping 0
Tyler Big Cottonwood scenic drive to Sundance (Stewart Falls) Oct. 2006 Hiking & Camping 1
Tyler Little Cottonwood Canyon hiking: Catherine Pass to Grizzly Gulch July 2007 Hiking & Camping 2
Bob Teton Wilderness July 2024 Trip Planning 38
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Thorofare and the Teton Wilderness 08/09/2023 - 08/18/2023 Part Nine / Day Nine + Ten! Backpacking 20
Mikjik86 Backpacking Indian Peaks Wilderness - King Lake - August, 2023 Backpacking 0
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Thorofare and the Teton Wilderness 08/09/2023 - 08/18/2023 Part Eight / Day Eight Backpacking 14
shredhiker Ansel Adams Wilderness October 2023 Backpacking 12
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Thorofare and the Teton Wilderness 08/09/2023 - 08/18/2023 Part Seven / Day Seven Backpacking 13
randakag Rawah Wilderness "Lollipop" Loop - September 2023 Backpacking 7
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Thorofare and the Teton Wilderness 08/09/2023 - 08/18/2023 Part Six / Day Six Backpacking 28
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Thorofare and the Teton Wilderness 08/09/2023 - 08/18/2023 Part Five / Day Five Backpacking 16
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Thorofare and the Teton Wilderness 08/09/2023 - 08/18/2023 Part Four / Day Four Backpacking 15
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Thorofare and the Teton Wilderness 08/09/2023 - 08/18/2023 Part Three / Day Three Backpacking 10
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Thorofare and the Teton Wilderness 08/09/2023 - 08/18/2023 -- Part Two / Day Two Backpacking 6
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Thorofare and the Teton Wilderness 08/09/2023 - 08/18/2023 --Part One / Day One Backpacking 10
TheMountainRabbit Bob Marshall Wilderness - September 2023 Backpacking 8
marquiri Uncompahgre Wilderness Trip Planning 13
TheMountainRabbit Dana Meadows to Twin Lakes via the High Route (Yosemite/Hoover Wilderness) - August 2023 Backpacking 8
TheMountainRabbit Invite Bob Marshall Wilderness, September 2023 Meet Up (Members Only) 0
TheMountainRabbit Silas Canyon (Popo Agie Wilderness) - August 2023 Backpacking 3
C What's a good insurance company for Wilderness Trip Outfitters Trip Planning 1
RockyMntCol Cloud Peak Wilderness Loop Trip Planning 1
TheMountainRabbit Southern Absaroka & Thorofare Mountain (Teton/Washakie Wilderness) - July 2023 Backpacking 23
J Pacific Creek or North Buffalo Fork? Teton Wilderness, Thorofare ,etc. Trip Planning 10
Bob Teton Wilderness Trip Planning 2
shredhiker Eagles Nest Wilderness June 30 2023 Backpacking 7
W Paper map for Teton Wilderness (Younts Peak) Gear 4

Similar threads

Back
Top