Kimble and Turner Peak

[Udink]

August 30-31, 2019

On my 43rd birthday, Chris and I returned to the Henry Mountains to search for some pictographs, with plans to hike Kimble and Turner Peak the following day. This would be my third attempt at finding the Hollow Boulder Panel (here you can see the ill-fated-first and second attempts). I'm happy to report that the third time was a charm! We hiked to four different boulders on this trip without any luck. On the fourth boulder I noticed some potholes that could hold water on top, and I climbed up to get a better look at them. From that slightly higher vantage point I spotted a couple of nearby boulders that I hadn't even noticed in Google Earth. We headed in that direction and the first boulder we encountered was hollowed out underneath and held the pictographs we were after! It was a fairly unusual spot to find rock art--there were other nearby sheltered places closer to the nearest water.


Looks like a section corner, but it's not on a section corner

Cans and cactus

Hollow Boulder Panel

Snake holder and a few other figures

Center part of the Hollow Boulder Panel

Tiny animal figure

Strange pictographs

Small bird-like animal

We hiked around a little more and found some pit houses closer to the creek. They appeared to have been excavated by archaeologists, judging from some other pit houses that I've seen which were professionally excavated. As the sun set we headed higher into the Henry Mountains, stopping to check out an old Ford F-600 along the way. We found a spot to camp just north of the county line and enjoyed a night around the camp fire with decent cell service.


Bull Creek

Buried rock slabs

Potsherds

Pit house with Bull Mountain in the distance

Bull Mountain

Chris in an old Ford F-600 dump truck

Horseshoes welded to the dump bed

Bull Creek camp

We were awake before 7AM on Saturday morning, and headed up toward Bull Creek Pass to begin the day's hike. Along the way we spotted a deer with a massive tumor on its face, entirely encompassing one eye, but it appeared to be getting around just fine. Closer to the pass there were several large bucks grazing. We parked at Bull Creek Pass and began our hike up South Summit Ridge. The views to the west were incredible in the morning light. The first bit of climbing was steep through brush and trees, but eventually the terrain leveled out and the vegetation thinned out.


Early morning sun on Horseshoe Ridge

Deer with a huge tumor on its head

Big buck near Bull Creek Pass

View down Bull Creek from the pass

View over Capitol Wash toward the Ant Hill

North Summit Ridge and the trail to Mount Ellen Peak

Steep climb up the South Summit Ridge

View toward Capitol Reef

Still some steep climbing

As we neared the highest point on the South Summit Ridge we saw a hiker ahead of us. Along the way there were a couple of what I would assume to be summit shelters, slight depressions surrounded by piles of rock. At the high point was a radio tower used by the Emery County Sheriff's Office, even though it's in Garfield County.


Hiker and radio tower

Summit shelters on South Summit Ridge

Final climb to the high point

Mr. Shadow!

"Road" through the talus

Radio tower on South Summit Ridge

A warning to vandels in Garfield County

South Summit Ridge and Kimble and Turner Peak (left)

Hiking down the ridge

From the high point we descended a steep ridge, followed by several ups and downs as we approached Kimble and Turner Peak. We caught up with the the hiker we'd seen earlier and stopped to chat with him. He was a member of the Ekker family who runs cattle all over southeastern Utah, and was scouting for bison. His family also owns mining claims in Bromide Basin just to the east of where we were standing. The conversation turned to rock art and I got some details from him on some panels in the Dirty Devil River area that I'd eventually visit a couple of months later. While standing there he pointed out a bison herd on the ridge south of us--it was the first bison I'd ever seen in person.


Bromide Basin

Mine workings in Bromide Basin

Bison

Mining claim chewed up by rodents

Bison

Kimble and Turner Peak

Bison

After saying goodbye to Mr. Ekker Chris and I made the final climb to Kimble and Turner Peak, reaching it a little before noon. After a short lunch break there we reversed course and hiked back to Bull Creek Pass, but this time we bypassed a couple of the taller peaks to avoid gaining unnecessary elevation. We made it back at the Jeep before 2PM and headed back to Price, where we had a barbecue/birthday party that evening and then set out on another adventure the next day...


Last steep climb toward Kimble and Turner Peak

Mount Hillers (left) and Mount Pennell

Kimble and Turner Peak

Hiking back up the South Summit Ridge

South Summit Ridge

Side-hilling below South Summit Ridge

Bison on Burned Ridge

Photo Gallery: Kimble and Turner Peak
GPS Track and Photo Waypoints: Google Earth KMZ

 

[Curt]

You had a close up from the Hollow Boulder Panel of some thing that looks like a dachshund - except that it appears to have horns. I saw something like that at the Harvest Scene in the Maze. I thought that strange animal must have been unique to the Harvest Scene, but now I see something like it here. Interesting that there was a bird-like figure here. There's lots of them at the Harvest Scene. Got any ideas on what the long bodied model might be?

Thanks for the report. Enjoyed reading it and looking at the pictures. BTW, Happy Birthday!

 

[Jackson]

Awesome report! What a cool area, you get mountains, bison, and pictographs all in one. The old dump truck was cool too, especially with how good of a condition it appears to be in.

And I laughed out loud about the "vandelism" sign.

 

[Udink]

Got any ideas on what the long bodied model might be?

I wish I knew. There seems to be quite a few of them in Barrier Canyon Style rock art. Here's another one (I only have this very poor quality photo of it) but its backside has flaked off so we can't see what the tail looked like:

 

[regehr]

love it!

 

[Stephanie B]

Thanks for the report, Dennis. Great find and great perseverance!

 

[Udink]

love it!

You're responsible for me finding those pit houses--about five years ago you sent me a KMZ file with waypoints you'd snagged from somebody's anthropology masters thesis. There are a few more pit houses in the area, at least one of which doesn't appear to have been excavated judging from the satellite imagery.

 

[Miya]

Wonderful, Happy VERY belated Bday!
The shot of Bull Mountain is astounding. The shot of the deer with a tumor almost made me cry haha I am such a puss.
Thank a for sharing. Looks like a great adventure!

 

[Kullaberg63]

The county sign shop needs to hire an honor student from Huntington High.

 

[regehr]

You're responsible for me finding those pit houses--about five years ago you sent me a KMZ file with waypoints you'd snagged from somebody's anthropology masters thesis. There are a few more pit houses in the area, at least one of which doesn't appear to have been excavated judging from the satellite imagery.

Awesome! I had totally forgotten about this!