July in Phoenix is brutal. We call it penance for having such great weather the rest of the year. We remedy our July situation by trying to escape the region as often as possible. I taught my usual hectic summer schedule at ASU in June just so I’d have July off, and be able to go on trips with my wife Beth, and maybe a jaunt on my own. This year we had a great opportunity to visit the Hawaiian Islands with my mom and siblings; this we did from July 1st through the 10th. Later in the month we would fly back to Virginia for our yearly get-together with Beth’s family. So in between our vacations, I decided to take a vacation of my own, a four-day journey up to Utah for a batch of county highpoints that have been on my short list forever.

I left at 4 a.m. early in the morning of July 15th. When I went outside the heat was still stifling; our thermometer outside read 98 degrees – at 4 a.m.! I was only too happy to get out of this thermal nightmare for a few days. I planned for today to be the big driving day, figuring at least 500 miles to get into the heart of central Utah. Conservatively I just wanted to be close to my objectives, and hoped for the best. Ironically, although Utah is just north of Arizona, it’s not the easiest state to drive to – there are just three main highways connecting Arizona and Utah (not counting the little bit of Interstate-15). Then, once you get into Utah, the highways all bend east or west to avoid the vast, undeveloped and roadless south-central sector of Utah, which is home to the famous cliffs, canyons and ranges that are easy on the eyes but nightmares for roadbuilders. So off I went. Actually, things went well and I never had too much traffic, and made good time. I went from Phoenix to Flagstaff to Page to Kanab to Panguitch, all along Interstate-17 and US-89, then some Utah routes from Circleville to Loa via Koosharem. Never heard of these places? Look them up! Not many people out this way, but scenery to last a lifetime.

I was in Loa, the Wayne County seat, by 1 p.m., a nine-hour driving journey covering about 560 miles. The weather was stable, warm and clear. Wayne County’s highpoint is called Bluebell Knoll, a small hill on top of Boulder Top Mountain, which itself is a part of the larger Aquarius Plateau, which runs northeast-southwest in Wayne and Garfield Counties. A decent forest road works its way up Boulder Top and very close to the knoll, leaving just a short hike in open meadow for the highpoint. I had been here in 2002, intending to visit the highpoint, but the Forest Service closes a gate short of the plateau from November 15th through June 15th; I was there in early June. I asked if it was okay to hike from the gate and they said that was fine, but ultimately, I decided to give the peak a miss as the whole mountain was engulfed in a mean-looking set of storm clouds. This time, however, I had great weather.

So in I went. I followed the directions in High In Utah and drove south out of Loa into the community of Bicknell, then following a series of local paved and BLM dirt roads before meeting up with the Dixie National Forest Road. The roads were gravel and pretty good, except for some annoying washboarding. About 20 total miles later, the road makes a final steep push up to the plateau’s top, then bumps and grinds its way another three miles to Bluebell Knoll. I parked at a junction to the southeast of the knoll.

The hike went very quickly and easily; I didn’t even change out of my Teva sandals. In about 10 minutes I had walked the quarter-mile and 150 feet of gain to the broad top, where I found a cairn, post and big rock nearby, plus a register. The views were very nice, including a nice view of Raft Lake to the northeast. I spent a few minutes on top, then walked back to my truck, where I brought out the camp chair and had a nice lunch; I was in no hurry. Soon, though, I got moving.

The drive down went well, and I decided to follow a different road out, directly back to Loa and avoiding Bicknell and some road construction along the way. In Loa I stopped at the food mart, where my cell phone pooped out on me, and the pay phone was not working either (I wanted to call my wife), so the nice ladies in the market let use the store’s phone. That was sweet! So, in return, I’ll put in a good word for the Loa Food Mart. Stop in, say hi, and get your supplies there.

The Sevier County highpoint, Fishlake Hightop, is just a few miles up the road, northwest out of Loa. I drove some good gravel roads and found a nice camp space, setting myself up for a hike of that peak the next morning.