Delano Peak

With temperatures well over 100 degrees in St. G we headed for the much cooler Tushar Mountains. The original plan was to hike Mount Belknap but the road was closed jus above Poison Creek (does anyone know why this is or if that is normal where would one start if wanting to hike Belknap?) We were fortunate to sneek up on the mountain goat herds and at one point were at most 20 yards from them. In fact not knowing how they act towards humans we were a little nervous at one point as one of them walked toward us! All in all an amazing day with spectacular views from the top!

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Wow, man, totally sweet photos! I read on ATVUtah.com that the road is closed still because of snow and downed trees on the road past Poison Creek. Normally you can drive a few miles farther north before starting the hike to Belknap.

Excellent pics! :2thumbs:

The forest service is very protective of the road. They keep the poison spring gate closed until the road is free from snow over the pass.(and then some)
Nice photo's,I like getting into the goats and photographing. Always nice views from Delano.

Thanks for the nice TR with outstanding pictures. I love going up in that area, hope it opens up soon.

Win

Very nice photos. Never been up that way and need to fo sho. How long is this from St. George?

From Hurricane 1 1/2 hours to Beaver, then maybe 1/2 hour from there. Its really crazy most people, including myself before last year, would never know that such a green, lush area exists so near St. George. It is like a miniature Uintas. Lots of lakes, rivers, creeks, etc. I imagine driving through the area in the Fall would be spectacular!!

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Originally Posted by mattandersao

It is like a miniature Uintas. Lots of lakes, rivers, creeks, etc.

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There's even a Mirror Lake! :roflol:

But really, looks sweet. Too far from SLC for me though. :cry1:

Wow - gorgeous goat shots. Looks like a great trip! :2thumbs:

I have hiked Delano in the past and saw the goats. They typically stay half a football field away which makes it difficult to get good photos of them. This time we had the wind in our favor and a ravine/wash type thing, that we were able to sneak up pretty close to them. The crazy part was they eventually did see us but we were laying down and apparently they didnt feel threatened by us. One even approached us to within 20-30 feet. It was groovy! :afro:

My brother is on the trails crew up there. I will see if I can get him to post any info. he has on snow and expected opening date of the gate.

The road is closed due to 4 foot deep snow drifts. With the late winter we had, the gate will remained closed until the snow is gone or is removed. It isn’t uncommon for the gate to be closed until the end of July. I went past the Poison Creek gate about a week ago on the ATVs the drifts are all gone until you get up top by Bullion Pass, and the Bullion Bathroom. There are two big drifts left about 100 yards long and 4 ft deep. The last I heard they were sending a trail cat up there to remove the deep snow drifts and cleaning up the rocks that the winter avalanches have left. I wouldn't expect it open until after the 24th of July. On a different note to hike Mt. Belknap I would start just north of the Bullion bathroom. There you can park on the left hand side of the road and walk up a ridge and it puts you just below the peak. I would wait until the road is opened or else you are adding 3-5 more miles to your hike. The Forest Service Keeps the gates closed to protect the road and to keep the costs of maintaining them down. They open them as soon as they can. We spend our free time up there too, so we don’t keep them closed longer than we have too (like everyone thinks). I’ve spent many days up there shoveling snow just to make the public happy.

Here's a link to some pictures from a Fall day in the Tushars and down past Kent's lake, 2008. Timing was perfect, last year we missed it by a bit.

http://winpics.fototime.com/Fall%20C...lake%20N.F.%20

Win