We were in Las Vegas over Labor Day weekend for a wedding, and decided to spend a night in Zion National Park. Early in the morning, I snuck out to the St. George area to hike up this mesa and get a UT SOTA activation on the books. I parked in the dirt/clay lot just past the edge of the small subdivision at the end of Paiute Drive. The trailhead isn’t marked, but it’s obvious enough once you’re there. Just follow the road past the gate where the pavement ends.
The hike up Shinob Kibe is straightforward. The trail starts as a well-worn path heading up the northern slope, and then turns into some steeper rocky sections. There was nothing particularly technical about this climb, though the shade-free hike would be more strenuous in the sun. My early morning timing helped avoid the worst of desert heat, and it actually started to drizzle on the way down.
Once on top of the mesa, there was an easy walk up the relatively flat summit to reach the high point at 3,290 feet. The views of the St. George area are great, with red rock country stretching out in every direction. There’s a summit register to sign inside an ammo container. There’s also an old concrete FAA navigational arrow that pilots used for the Los Angeles to Salt Lake City route in the 1930s.
I set up my station near the high point. The mesa provides good line-of-sight in all directions for VHF, though I stuck with HF for this activation. Bands were cooperative, and I logged the required four contacts without much trouble on 20m, switching to 40m for three more before having to get going. I like seeing what new group of “locals” I get on 40m! It was fun to get Peter WB6POT on 40m instead of the usual 20m, for example.
This turned out to be a perfect quick activation while I was in Utah, a hike worth doing, but leaves plenty of time for the rest of the day. The round-trip hike took about 40 minutes, with about 600 feet of elevation gain.
- Trailhead: 37.1394, -113.4897 (end of Paiute Drive, Washington, UT)
- Map: [AA3TZ SOTA]
- Route: 1.3 mile RT via Shinob Kibe Trail; ~600 feet of ascent
- POTA: None
Afterwards, we spent the day in Zion National Park, and I was able to work in a leisurely POTA activation among the rocks. Being a valley (and west coast POTA), it took more time than it usually does to rack up enough calls, but it was still a great time!
Tom Zajdel 
The pictures are astounding, thanks! I thought the area looked a little familar. KO6BTY, her two sibs, and I spend a week or three camping around Baker, NV each summer. We frequently stop by St. George to pick up my partner from the airport and then camp across UT. If you ever get a chance, Baker has a spectacular taco truck!
Thank you, the area is magnificent! It’s been probably 2 years since the last time I was west of the Rockies. I did another SOTA hike in Blue Diamond, NV near Vegas, which I’ll be writing up soon. Desert hiking is so beautiful as long as you can avoid the heat.
Good to know about tacos in Baker. I hope to visit the Great Basin someday, so I’ll keep that I mind!
Well that sure is a different landscape than most of the SOTA activations you post here.
Amazing geology on display there.
It was so nice to visit the desert and see something new! It’s been a while since I was out west. Hope to head back to the bay soon!