Toquerville Hill Bike Ride
Toquerville Hill is a prominent peak on a ridgeline to the immediate East of the small community of Toquerville, in Washington County, Utah.
It's under 10 air-miles line of sight from my home, and other than the fire trails, the only development is a series of land mobile & microwave radio relay sites on a flat clearing just S of the peak.
The internet connection allowing me to upload the photos & data actually comes from a 2.4GHz microwave link between my home & a node at Toquerville Hill.
In late April 2011 I bought a 2011 Kawasaki KLR650 motorcycle designed for both street & trail use, specifically to allow me relatively easy (meaning: not hiking or stealing a helicopter) access to the many interesting landmarks such as this one near my home. Over the following month, I purchased several hundred dollars worth of emergency supplies to fill the hard-case saddlebags, in-case I ever get injured/stranded in a remote area.
One Saturday afternoon I returned home from a long day of pistol shooting & safety supervising at an outdoor range & decided that instead of the natural course -- staying home & being LAZY for the rest of the day, I'd go on an adventure on the motorcycle. With only about 3 hours of daylight left, I opted to head to Toquerville Hill, one of the nearest landmarks I was curious about (in terms of natural scenery, as well as the radio sites). It was about a 9 mile drive on the roads, and then about a 5 mile ride up the rugged, rocky path to the radio compounds.
It'd make for a nice day-long hike, otherwise you need a rugged 4WD vehicle. You might be able to do it in a 2WD vehicle if it has relatively high ground clearance, off-road tires (with at least one spare) and you don't mind it getting beaten-up. Don't try it when the ground is wet, or rain is anticipated, and be prepared for sustained high-winds when you make it to the top.
These photos are in chronological order. I didn't take any until I reached the radio sites near the peak, then took some of it, and took some on my way back down.
It's under 10 air-miles line of sight from my home, and other than the fire trails, the only development is a series of land mobile & microwave radio relay sites on a flat clearing just S of the peak.
The internet connection allowing me to upload the photos & data actually comes from a 2.4GHz microwave link between my home & a node at Toquerville Hill.
In late April 2011 I bought a 2011 Kawasaki KLR650 motorcycle designed for both street & trail use, specifically to allow me relatively easy (meaning: not hiking or stealing a helicopter) access to the many interesting landmarks such as this one near my home. Over the following month, I purchased several hundred dollars worth of emergency supplies to fill the hard-case saddlebags, in-case I ever get injured/stranded in a remote area.
One Saturday afternoon I returned home from a long day of pistol shooting & safety supervising at an outdoor range & decided that instead of the natural course -- staying home & being LAZY for the rest of the day, I'd go on an adventure on the motorcycle. With only about 3 hours of daylight left, I opted to head to Toquerville Hill, one of the nearest landmarks I was curious about (in terms of natural scenery, as well as the radio sites). It was about a 9 mile drive on the roads, and then about a 5 mile ride up the rugged, rocky path to the radio compounds.
It'd make for a nice day-long hike, otherwise you need a rugged 4WD vehicle. You might be able to do it in a 2WD vehicle if it has relatively high ground clearance, off-road tires (with at least one spare) and you don't mind it getting beaten-up. Don't try it when the ground is wet, or rain is anticipated, and be prepared for sustained high-winds when you make it to the top.
These photos are in chronological order. I didn't take any until I reached the radio sites near the peak, then took some of it, and took some on my way back down.
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