Trip Report: Car Camp and Hike Notch Peak
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Car Camp and Hike Notch Peak By Frank Bouchard |
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| HIKE | 06/20/2025 | MOD |
| Everyone knows Yosemite's El Capitan, but few have heard of the United States' second tallest vertical cliff face, hidden in the obscure House Range of Utah's West Desert. On Friday, ten club members set out along the Loneliest Highway in America to reach the Tule Valley Hardpan, the cracked bed of a vanished lake. We tucked ourselves into the Ibex climbing crag for the night, surrounded by towering rock walls that seemed like an inviting campsite - until the wind arrived. As night fell, familiar southern Utah gusts roared in and never relented. Some of us were lucky to have warm sleeping setups inside our vehicles, while others endured tents whipping and collapsing on them until dawn. Morning brought no calm, but we packed up and bumped our way down rough roads toward Notch Peak. With everyone piled into the most capable vehicles, we reached the trailhead efficiently, and by then the wind had miraculously died. Under clear skies, we climbed through a rocky canyon and up a steep slope to a breathtaking overlook of the massive cliff, then tackled the final scramble to the summit. Exhausted from the sleepless night, most of us immediately stretched out beside the summit cairn for well-earned naps. One by one, we dared a crawl to the edge for a dizzying view down the 2,250-foot drop. Most of the group opted to camp a second night. The wind lingered but calmed enough for a hot meal and a campfire. The next morning, we packed up and headed home. My car took the long way back - nearly 200 miles of dirt roads - which was slower than the highway but far more rewarding. It gave us a real taste of just how empty and vast Utah's west desert can be. |
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