Mt. Kinesava

My legs weren't as dead as expected the morning after my adventures on Lost Peak and Company, so I decided to get outside once again to see some more sights and sounds. Laying in bed, my mind wandered around, trying to figure out what I was gonna do. I started thinking about the drive through Springdale on the way into the park, remembering the various peaks rising on opposite sides of the valley. One peak, the magnificent Mt. Kinesava, held particular interest to me, so I figured that I might as well give it a try. I'd known about this peak for a while, having read various trip reports on it in the past, living vicariously through those who had braved its summit. Whelp, it was my turn to climb it now, so I quickly brushed up on those old reports, grabbed my pack, and then set off for the Chinle Trailhead, the skies overcast, the parking lot vacant.

I started hiking at 8:40am, not as early as I would've liked but the weather was supposed to be gorgeous so it didn't really matter. Walking along, the trail wound its way through a private neighborhood, slowly gaining elevation, heading closer and closer to the national park boundary. After one final road crossing the trail continued straight, the expensive-looking houses receding in the background, the massive cliffs guarding the summit of Mt. Kinesava rising in the distance. 

I wasn't sure when to leave the trail, so I followed it all the way to the park boundary, crossing the gate and beginning my wanderings through open country. I headed towards a small ridge in the distance; sometimes I'd see footprints, sometimes a faint use trail, but then they would disappear and I'd be back to wandering, creating my own path through the desert. Weaving around sage and sand, I finally made it to the ridge, picking up a use trail and following it to the top. Once at the top I followed the path until it disappeared yet again, now heading towards a second steep ridge rising in the distance.

Desert wandering

Heading up the 2nd steep ridge

This 2nd ridge was MUCH steeper than the first. There was a well-marked use trail on it, the route as obvious as a seven-lane highway. Just had to go up; most of it steep, loose, sandy, crumbly. I took a quick breather about halfway up, the views already amazing. The sky was still overcast, the weather still nice and cool, the breeze still strong enough to wick away my sweat. Yep. The day was shaping to be a good one. All I had to do was keep going. So I did.

Once at the top of the ridge the use-trail disappeared yet again, which meant it was back to the usual desert wandering. Maybe I'm just really bad at following use trails. I don't know. Sometimes it would be there, sometimes I'd see a cairn or two, but for the most part I was just sloggin' it through rocks and sand. I headed towards the base of the cliffs, aiming for a line of trees that marked the start of the climb. Up and up, I gained another small ridge, the route to the top marked with several cairns. I was finally able to stick to a use path, following it all the way to the base of the cliffs. A quick water and snack break later and I was up and away, happy to finally be done with the long slog through the desert.

Start of the climb

The use path through the cliffs was excellent; very obvious where to go. I followed it for a bit before encountering the first of a few class 3 obstacles. A fun scramble later and I was back on the trail, heading upward through a weakness in the cliffs. So far, the exposure hadn't been bad at all; just a jolly ol' walk through rocks and trees. 

And then I came upon the famous "catwalk" that some folks had mentioned in their trip reports. A somewhat narrow ledge hugging the side of a cliff with a good 50ft drop on one side; sounds bad but it wasn't nearly as scary as some people made it seem in their reports. I followed the trail, downclimbed to the catwalk, walked across it, and then continued on my merry way. No biggie, no sweat. 

Class 3 obstacle

Soon after traversing "the catwalk," I encountered the crux of the route: a short, unexposed class 4 obstacle that required a wee bit of brain power to overcome. I had heard that most people "stem" up the obstacle but I don't know what that means so I improvised and somehow got up the thing. After that, I continued following the cairns, walking up a steep, loose, sandy path all the way to the class 3 exit crack.

Headin' up...

Exit crack

The exit crack was not marked, but it presented the only logical way forward because if you kept going up you'd soon run into a steep cliff. So climbed up the crack, noticing a cairn at the top. This would be useful on the way back; finding the right point to enter the weakness in the cliffs would be critical for a successful descent. I moved through some brush, Mt. Kinesava's pointy white summit finally coming into view. Ahh yes. Almost there!

Mt. Kinesava

Headin' up...

I followed a use trail away from the exit crack, wandering between two gnarly trees. These would serve as important landmarks for my return. As I wandered through the sage, heading towards the base of Mt. Kinesava, I'd turn around every now and then to burn the location of those two trees into my mind. Thems were my exit trees. Couldn't forget 'em. 

Soon I was at the base of Mt. Kinesava, which meant it was time for the final push to the summit. I tended to stay to the right, avoiding some steep, scary terrain in the middle. Plus I'd run across the occasional cairn, so I must've been doing something right. A steep, fairly loose and crumbly scramble later and I had finally made it to the top. 

Northeast

Southeast

South

West

Northwest

The views did not disappoint. I dropped my pack, took a swig of water, and enjoyed my time, gazing upon the stupendous scenery that stretched out before me. To the northeast rose the magnificent West Temple, the route to its summit looking scary, crumbly, and no fun at all. Moving east I could see much of the main Zion Canyon, as well as a smattering of peaks on the opposite rim. Down below lay the town of Springdale, the buildings tiny, the cars microscopic. 

Continuing southward revealed the highpoint of Cowboy Ridge, a much more adventurous way to gain the summit of Kinesava that involves much more exposed scrambling and a few instances of vertical rock climbing. Off to the west sprawled more desert, more sand and rock, the tiny town of Virgin blending into the surrounding country, Hurricane and St. George nowhere to be seen. I'm sure it would be a different story at night, but in the daytime, with my untrained nearsighted vision, it was quite tricky to distinguish these towns in the vast expanse of beige and red and green.

And finally, off to the northwest, rose the various peaks and pinnacles of the Zion backcountry, the terrain so rugged and preposterous it scared me just to look at it. So I drank some water, inhaled some calories, took wayyy too many pictures. These were some of the best views I'd ever seen; the climb was totally worth it. But I couldn't stay forever. Had to climb back down eventually. Had to go to the store, buy some groceries, do some laundry, stuff like that. So I reluctantly said my goodbyes to the summit, took in the views one last time, and then carefully made my way back down.

Before heading back to the exit crack I decided to do a little more exploring, wandering around in search of some petroglyphs some folks had mentioned in their trip reports. They were pretty easy to find, but I ain't gonna say exactly where. Despite hundreds of years of exposure to the elements, they still looked pretty good, depicting a scene that I could never truly understand. It seems like the difficult approach just to see these petroglyphs has spared them from damage and defacement. That being said, if you ever decide to make the trek yourself, please treat this site with respect. Like I mentioned in my previous post: behave as if you were in a museum. No touchy touchy! 

After seeing the petroglyphs, I decided to climb up to the highpoint of Cowboy Ridge. There was no reason for this; perhaps I could make the argument that I wanted to climb it in order to gain a different perspective of Kinesava and the West Temple, but the truth is I am quite stupid and simply climbed it for the sake of climbing it. A short, easy scramble later and I was on the flat summit, the views pretty good but nowhere near as amazing as those on Kinesava. There were, however, these strange, brownish, rectangular rocks scattered around the summit, a sight that tickled my curiosity. Since I'm no geologist, I had no idea what these rocks were, how they got there or why they were even there in the first place. I picked one up, sat it down, it made a clinking noise, my caveman brain was satisfied, and then I walked away, heading towards my two exit trees. 

Cowboy Ridge highpoint

Kinesava and West Temple from Cowboy Ridge HP

Pretty good views

I walked past the trees, saw the cairn, climbed down the exit crack, and then began the fun descent. For whatever reason, it was a lot easier navigation-wise on the way down than on the way up. I carefully made my way down the loose, sandy stuff, following cairns I didn't notice earlier that morning. Soon I was on top of the class 4 obstacle; I shimmied down that thing lickety-split, easy peasy, lemon mcsqueezy. And then it was on to the catwalk, and after that, a meandering descent on a well-worn use trail back to the base of the cliffs. I made a wrong turn at one point, having to back track a little bit in order to stay on route. But other than that it was easy going, and soon I was off the cliffs and back in the rocks and sand, trudging my way through the desert towards the Chinle trail. 

Headin' back...

Looking down the class 4 obstacle

Back to wandering...

The sun had finally made its appearance, breaking through the overcast skies, making everything just a tad more warm. Good thing it was all downhill; climbing up steep, loose, sandy stuff in the heat is no fun at all. I managed to do a better job following the use trail on the way back, sparing me from excessive desert wandering. I made sure to note various landmarks near the use trail in case I should ever repeat this trek again in the future. Gotta be efficient next time, you know?

Down, down, down, I eventually made it to the flatlands, now wandering through sagebrush and dirt and sand towards the park boundary. I entered a wash, followed it for a ways, ducked under the barbed wire fence marking the park boundary, climbed out of the wash, wandered around a little more, found the Chinle Trail, and then followed it the rest of the way back to the car. The whole endeavor took just over 5 hours, but it felt much longer. I sat in the car, rolled the windows down, thinking of nothing in particular, my mind filled with the usual hazy, peaceful effervesce that forms after doing something difficult yet satisfying. I drove off, riding back into town, Kinesava growing smaller in my rearview mirror. Man, what a mountain. One of the best I've ever had the privilege to visit.