POCKET MESA
An Easy-To-Miss Little Peak:
Located less than a mile northeast of the Wildcat Trailhead, Pocket Mesa is a prominent peak formation in the Kolob Terrace landscape, but it is mostly overlooked and ignored by hikers who are intent on heading to the more famous Subway route or the Northgate Peaks Trail. A visit to the summit of Pocket Mesa involves a few hours of off-trail hiking, navigating through thick manzanita and gambel oak underbrush, and a short Class 2/3 scramble to the top of the mesa. The view from the summit offers good teaser views of various landmarks in the distance, including the Guardian Angels and the Northgate Peaks.
| Rating: Fairly strenuous rock scrambling |
| Access: Wildcat Canyon Trailhead (15.5 miles up the Kolob Terrace Road from the town of Virgin) |
| Time Required: 2-4 hours |
| Length: 1.8 miles (one-way) to the summit of Pocket Mesa |
| Elevation Change: 580-ft ascent from the base to summit of Pocket Mesa |
| Seasons: Spring through fall. Access road to trailhead is not plowed in winter. |
WARNING: This is an off-trail scrambling route that requires good navigation skills in remote territory. This route is not recommended for casual tourists with no wilderness or climbing experience.
The Hike up Pocket Mesa:
Starting from the Wildcat Trailhead, hike the trail for roughly half a mile or so and then head north to get a better view of the majestic White Cliff formations of Pocket Mesa. There is no one correct route to take here; it can be an enjoyable experience to wander around the base of the formation as well as explore up the center of the pocket. But if your goal is the summit, your best bet is to head clockwise to the north side of the peak. While the scenery is pleasant, you will have to navigate around and through thick groves of manzanita and gambel oak, gaining elevation along the way.
Once at the north-northwest corner of Pocket Mesa, you should be able to spot a Class 2/3 ramp heading diagonally up to the right. This should be a short and reasonable scramble for most and soon enough, you will be standing on top of the brushy, hilly mesa. Follow a trail-of-use south along the western edge to come to a nice viewpoint looking down at the bare front portion of Pocket Mesa with the beautiful Great West Canyon scenery far in the distance.
Ideas for Variations:
- The east side of Pocket Mesa also offers some pretty good views, but many truly aggravating patches of manzanita and thick gambel oak will discourage travel across the top of the mesa. (Ask me how I know.) Casual explorers will be happy to stop with the views from the less vegetated west side.
- While the easiest hiker's route to the top is on the north side, it does look possible to do a spicier Class 3/4 scramble right up the front nose of the west side. Once you can get to the false summit (marked by a small oval on the topo map), you can easily make your way all the way to the top.
- As an alternative to starting at the Wildcat Trailhead, you could start this one at one of the roadside parking spots further up the Kolob Terrace Road. While this will save you some time getting to the summit, you do miss out on the lovely views from the base of Pocket Mesa on the south side.
