There is something extraordinary about an early morning trip—empty gas stations, fresh and hot breakfast burritos. I'm feeling much better today after getting my second vaccine shot for shingles on Thursday, which had me running a mild fever with a headache all day Friday. The headache is gone, and I'm looking forward to some peak-bagging in the warm spring weather. Of course, I'll need to drive a couple of hours south to get to the warm spring weather, but it is the beauty of living in Southern Utah; a few hours in any direction can deliver outstanding results.
I'm heading back to Gold Butte National Monument. On my first trip, I took the quad and ended up driving mostly on asphalt. On this trip, I'm taking the Fj and plan on hiking Juanita Benchmark, then finish driving the asphalt road to Whitney Pocket.
Juanita Benchmark Ridgelines
The sun is up, and the sky is clear as I park the Fj in the wash at the base of Juanita Benchmark. The road is the boundary, so technically, I am outside of Gold Butte National Monument, which is a good thing as I spot several pieces of agate that I want to take home for Linda to look over. These trips are as much about finding good rocks for Linda to work in her Jewelry business as it is about me climbing mountain peaks. Hopefully, the agate is of good quality because it is plentiful in this location.
Ridgeline view
I follow a series of ridges toward Juanita Benchmark's summit, keeping as near the center of the ridgeline as possible. The mountain drops off steeply on both sides, but the ridgeline provides a relatively straight shot to the top. Juanita Benchmark possesses an elongated summit peak with a high point at the far north end. Unfortunately, I am climbing the southern face of the ridge. Rocky cliff bands run up the western facade, and although not massive in size, the rocky outcroppings create a nuisance of rock along the summit ridge.
Juanita Benchmark summit with good view of rocky bands
I pick my way through the rock bands, trying to stay close to the ridge when necessary, but it is slow going. In my research of Juanita Benchmark, I was surprised to find only three individuals had summited the peak (ListofJohn website). In contrast, the mountain's neighboring summit, Little Virgin Peak, had 18 people reach the summit. The summit cairn contains a large stick that has been wired in four directions to allow the post to stand up straight. The shaft and cairn sit directly on top of the geological survey marker. I would not have built the cairn on the survey marker, as I usually like to get a picture of the tag, but there is an excellent summit register, and I note that I am the first to sign in 2021, the latest signature being November 3, 2019.
Weird summit cairn structure of Juanita Benchmark
The summit views are spectacular, and a blue hint from lake Mead shines in the sun to the south. The peaks within my range of vision are all the same, grassy brown with rocky summits. Hiking the same mountain type will get dull over time, but it will get hot soon, and I'll have to find peaks at a higher elevation, but I'm excited to have found this location as dozens of ranked peaks are relatively close together. With camping, ATV riding, petroglyphs, sinkholes, and the Virgin River, this will make a wonderful winter playground when the skiing is slow.
Summit view south along summit ridge with Lake Mead in background