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Why do I love backpacking? It certainly isn’t the hauling a heavy bag through brush, the dehydration, the pain, the restless nights, and generally sub par food but the views always make it worth it.

MooseJaw supplied me with a Petzl NAO+ and a pair of Fjall Raven hiking pants to explore a little known and beautiful area near Zion National Park.

Southern Utah is full of brutal hikes that end with insane views that look like they don’t exist almost as if they are illusions or hallucinations caused by the burning sun. We took a trail less traveled. As in there was a trail for a mile or so then the trail faded away and we traveled through rough terrain covered in cactus and scrub oaks of the high desert.

We criss crossed out of washes and cliffs to our destination which was a white sandstone formation that backdrops to Zion. Incredible. 

Part of the reason I like trips like this is the opportunity for unique photos. Sure it’s easy to get photos off trail heads and paved paths in parks but real art comes through suffering but in that suffering is fulfillment and good times. Times you can’t get from your car.

On top we saw no one. We had a camp that was ours and silent. At night we heard an owl calling under the nearly full moon. Gorgeous.

We awoke to a sunrise that blasted heat on to us from a cool night. We hiked out and back to the trail head the same way we came. Exhausted we sat down next to the jeep sucking down water and eating chips.

The wilderness is brutal. Maybe that’s what I like about it. The fact that it breaks me down and gives me something that I can’t find in front of a computer or with my wallet.

The day before we decided to summit Signal Peak, a 10,300 ft summit outside of the red rock desert of St. George, Utah we had ran muddy but warm trails on the nearby Gooseberry Mesa.

When people think of Southern Utah they imagine the red rock deserts and hot summers generally ignoring the high desert and mountain peaks towering through the iron colored sand. But, we have some great mountains here giving us a good variety of play time in the winter and a refuge from the blistering summer heat.

The way up to the trail head starting in a rain storm that quickly turned to snow and covered the dirt road. We stopped about a half mile from the official trail once the snow became too much for the 4WD.

We started our attempt to summit the peak with snow falling lightly around us. The snow fell softly as we crunched our way up the snow pack following the trail as best we could. Awarded with beautiful views we continued on up the steep slopes mountain. The higher we got the steeper the slopes became and softer the snow got. Our progress slowed and we eventually had to call it a day after 2,000 feet of vert and reaching 8,000 feet and short of our goal.

Ambitious? Ya, maybe a little but we had a great day and the Yukon Charlie’s snowshoes and poles worked great until our legs gave out from exhaustion.