It's the long Memorial Day weekend coming up, and like in past years, I'll either be looking for a lonely mountain range to climb, or I'll stay at home. Zion National Park expects a 2-hour wait for shuttle buses and a 4-hour wait to access the Angels Landing Trail. No, Thank You.

I decided to split the difference, load the R-pod trailer, ATV, and head for two nights of camping near the Cricket Mountain ATV Trail system. A month ago, I took a day trip to the area, searching for camping sites and hiking trails. I found a beautiful location to park the trailer for a couple of days, surrounded by six impressive peaks to climb and no established hiking trails. Perfect.

Leaving work early, I arrive at my campsite around 5:00 pm. The sky is clear, no wind, and I have not seen another camp set up in the area. I text Linda to let her know I've arrived safely and verify my camping coordinates. Her first question is about bugs, are there any? Our camping experience at Topaz Mountain, staying where many biting bugs existed, doesn't appeal to me. Thankfully no bugs are buzzing around my camp chair. The sunset is beautiful, and I look forward to my climb tomorrow.

It was surprisingly cold last night for this altitude. However, I slept like a rock and awoke much later than expected. While eating breakfast, I pack my gear and load up the ATV for about a 7-mile ride. The road is an exceptionally well-maintained gravel road, and I could have taken the truck. However, I'm not sure where I'll be starting the hike exactly, and the ATV will give me more options if I need to exit onto a side road.

Parking near several large composite rock boulders, I spot a dozen tin cans. The boulders set up a perfect target practice shooting from the road. Among the cans, I note a bottle, and to my surprise, a note is in the bottle! My hopes for a treasure map, dashed when I read about someone's cross-country motorcycle trip and camping in this spot sometime in 2020. Most of the note is faded, which gives me pause regarding the validity of famous "note in the bottle" stories I read as a kid because this note is less than a year old and already faded almost beyond recognition.

The trek up UNP5797 is uneventful as I move from gully to ridgeline. I'm following an existing GPS track I downloaded when I realize I'm on the ridge while the GPS track is in the ravine next to me. I'm not a fan of gully hiking due to the abundant exposed rocks I usually trip over, but I soon realized my mistake when my ridgeline turns left when I need to head right. Cutting high and to the right, I avoid dropping into the ravine and arrive at a high saddle. From this vantage point, I can see another rise in the mountain, exposing the first peak as a false summit. My GPS trackmaker must reach the same conclusion as our trail cuts across the hillside to another saddle before reaching the mountain's summit.

The view from this desert peak is stunning. A large cairn marks the top, but I can't find a summit register. I don't look long because a swarm of nats surrounds the cairn. I don't know why it is, but I've stood on many mountain tops where a multitude of bugs ruins the awe-inspired beauty of reaching the top. I back climb a bit before finding some relief to enjoy a snack and drink of water. I marvel at this desert environment, and other than a train making its way along the valley long track, I don't see another moving thing: no dust trails, no campers. I've come to the right place for some tranquillity.