Deadman Point, Haystack Mountain, and Mount Tukuhnikivatz

Udink

Still right here.
Joined
Jan 17, 2012
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I've been recreating in the high country most weekends this summer, but a longing for the redrock canyon country has been growing. I had planned a short trip to the desert the previous weekend, but I've spent the last month and a half looking for just the right truck to purchase and the opportunity arose on Friday to do just that, sidelining my trip. This past weekend, I expanded my plan for a short desert trip into a longer journey involving some peak bagging in the La Sal Mountains. After work on Friday I packed up the Jeep and drove toward Moab, turning off north of town and aiming for Deadman Point. Blue skies with white, puffy clouds gave way to storm clouds, and the road became rougher as I neared its end. From the end of one branch of the road, I hiked a quarter of a mile to the rim of Labyrinth Canyon. Across the Green River I could see the mouth of Horseshoe Canyon. The wind howled along the rim of the canyon and I cut my hike short, returning to the Jeep and driving to the end of the road at the far west end of Deadman Point. Here I also hiked a short distance to the canyon rim and peered once again into the canyon of the Green River before returning to my vehicle. It rained lightly and I made some dinner and drank some beer, then settled into the Jeep for some reading before going to sleep early.


Summer storm clouds movin' in on Deadman Point
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Driving into the storm
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Large cairn on a rocky knoll above Labyrinth Canyon
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Mouth of Horseshoe Canyon
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Rock formation on the rim of Labyrinth Canyon
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Gnarly, old, dead juniper
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Potholes
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Green River
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Colonnade Arch on the opposite rim of Labyrinth Canyon
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Epic IPA
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Book Cliffs near Green River
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I was awake by 6AM on Saturday and within half an hour I'd already drank some coffee and was on the road. I wanted to get into the La Sals and hike Haystack Mountain before any afternoon storms came. However, I couldn't resist stopping at a prominent rock formation near the road that looked like it ought to have some rock art and/or inscriptions carved into it. I did find a couple of inscriptions, one perplexing but possibly from 1895. With stops, including fuel in Moab, it took 3.5 hours to reach the "trailhead" for Haystack Mountain north of Geyser Pass.


Sunrise on Saturday
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Sun on the cliffs of Labyrinth Canyon
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La Sals on the horizon
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Old Coors beer can found in a cairn
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Porfirio Feresquez 1/14/1939
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1?66 1895
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Lots of canvas but no works of art
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Mount Mellenthin
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Climbing from Geyser Pass toward Haystack Mountain
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Haystack is probably one of the lesser-hiked named summits in the La Sals, but there's still a decent trail leading to the saddle between Haystack Mountain and Burro Ridge. From the saddle I hiked another four-tenths of a mile off-trail, mostly through talus, to the summit. Climbing the talus was tedious, but the rocks were larger and fairly well-consolidated, and with careful foot placement I was able to make it up and back down without any slips. The views from the top were typical of any of the La Sal peaks: stunning vistas of the desert and nearby peaks in all directions. The entire hike was a little over 2.5 miles with 850' elevation gain/loss, and only took about three hours.


Trail through the trees
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Haystack Mountain
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One muddy shoe after slipping into a bog
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Faint but easy trail
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Daisies
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Wildflowers in the saddle between Haystack and Burro Ridge
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Base of the talus leading up Haystack Mountain
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Colorado Columbine
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Talus and a slight view to the north
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Summit ridge of Haystack Mountain
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Mann's Peak and Mount Tomasaki from Haystack Mountain
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Castle Valley
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Henry Mountains 90 miles away
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Trail back to the Jeep
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After returning to my vehicle I circled around Mount Mellenthin and Mount Peale, ending up at La Sal Pass for the rest of the evening. I camped at a spot near the trailhead for Mount Tukuhnikivatz, which I planned on hiking the next morning. My early start this day left me with several hours to kill before bedtime. The mosquitoes were very bothersome so I just holed up inside the Jeep, reading and listening to music. Shortly after 6AM I was awake, and so were the mosquitoes! I drove from my camp spot to a more open area and hurriedly made coffee, which I downed with some donuts while driving to where I wanted to start hiking. I parked at the end of a road northeast of the usual Tuk trailhead, which saves well over a mile of hiking and a little bit of elevation gain/loss over the normal route.


Old Man's Beard on a dead tree
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Deer near Chicken Creek
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Scratchin' that itch
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Tuk and Peale
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Camp spot at La Sal Pass
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La Sal Pass sunrise
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Coffee and donuts for the drive
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At a little after 7:00 I was hiking, with a little bit of off-trail climbing before joining up with the Mount Tukuhnikivatz trail. The trail, constructed in 2015, has a fairly easy grade and switches back-and-forth up the mountain some 30-odd times. The trail ends where it reaches the ridge east of the summit, at which point it's a scramble up the talus the rest of the way. The talus on Tuk was looser than that on Haystack and made for slow-going. I had been the first person on the trail in the morning, but while climbing through the talus I was passed up by two hikers who made the summit just before me. I spent about 35 minutes on the summit enjoying the views and the 4G Verizon signal. :) Hiking back down I passed four more hikers. A little before noon I was already back at the Jeep and enjoying my favorite post-hike snack, a Spicy Hot V8 and some kettle cooked salt and vinegar chips.


Starting point for the hike to Mount Tukuhnikivatz
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On the trail with Tuk just barely visible
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Lone Cone in the San Miguel Mountains of Colorado, 65 miles distant
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The start of the switchbacks up the mountain
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USGLO section corner marker, originally stamped for use in the 1920s but not used until 1934
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Sleeping Ute Mountain, 85 miles away in Colorado
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Mount Tukuhnikivatz looming over the trail
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Final climb up Tuk
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Nearing the top
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Northern and middle La Sals
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Moab Valley
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Castleton Tower
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The ridge connecting Tuk and Peale
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My vehicle parked 3/4-mile away and 1,500' below
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Razor Fang ridge between Tuk and Peale
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Beautiful final hike back to the Jeep
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Photo Gallery: Deadman Point, Haystack Mountain, and Mount Tukuhnikivatz
GPS Track and Photo Waypoints:
[ Google Earth KMZ ] [ Gmap4 Satellite ] [ Gmap4 Topo ]
 
Very cool! Isn't it ironic that we get so passionate about LNT now days, or should be, but then you find old trash left behind like that old Coors can, and we think,"How cool! What an interesting find..."? I guess some people are right when they say that if you leave your trash behind, it'll look really cool to someone in 50-100 years.

I guess now that I've hiked the highest peak in the Uintas (a couple times now) and the highest peak in Utah's 3rd highest range, the Tushars...I need to make time to go down to the LaSals myself sometime and at least bag the high peak there, so I can say I've hiked the highest point in all three of Utah's highest ranges.

Thanks for sharing. Great photos!
 
Very cool! Isn't it ironic that we get so passionate about LNT now days, or should be, but then you find old trash left behind like that old Coors can, and we think,"How cool! What an interesting find..."? I guess some people are right when they say that if you leave your trash behind, it'll look really cool to someone in 50-100 years.

I guess now that I've hiked the highest peak in the Uintas (a couple times now) and the highest peak in Utah's 3rd highest range, the Tushars...I need to make time to go down to the LaSals myself sometime and at least bag the high peak there, so I can say I've hiked the highest point in all three of Utah's highest ranges.

Thanks for sharing. Great photos!
I'd put the Deep Creeks in the same category as the Uintas/La Sals/Tushars. The Deep Creeks have a couple peaks above 12k.
 
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