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TRIPS and TRAILS

YELLOW KNOLLS TRAIL---RED CLIFFS DESERT RESERVE

The Yellow Knolls Trail, located in the Broken Mesa area of Red Cliffs Desert Reserve is 1.9 miles one way or 3.8 miles round trip and is most often accessed from the Yellow Knolls Trailhead located off the upper-middle portion of the Cottonwood Road. The trail is relatively easy and well marked for most of its length.

Yellow Knolls Trail

Cottonwood Road heading north

The Yellow Knolls Trail ends at the junction with the High Point Trail. A loop is possible with the High Point and Black Gulch trails for about a 6 mile loop hike

north

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Yellow Knolls Trail from the trailhead on Cottonwood Road.

Yellow Knolls Trail at the intersection of the High Point Trail.

The trail starts at the Yellow Knolls trailhead on Cottonwood Road parking area and begins with this step-over onto a double track trail with views of the unusual Yellow Knolls formation from the trailhead.

The trail drops off through a grassy area into a valley below the Yellow Knolls

Single track trail leads through the pass for the first encounter with sculptured, slickrock formations.

A few small standing pools are visible as the trail continues through lava rock formations coming out of the pass.

Spectacular white rock formations exist for over half a mile of trail.

I spotted this cross in the rocks along side a rocky wash beside the trail. Got a really good feeling from it.

The cross again with  a little more perspective on the rocks. It would be really easy to miss if you were not looking at the surroundings during the hike.

The same rock face with a couple bird nests embedded into the holes. Never saw a bird so don't know who lives here.

Nearing the end of the trail right before it intersects with the High Point Trail.

I found a good spot to spend the night, but not a very comfortable one. I spent the entire night just trying to stay warm enough to get a few hours sleep, but seemed like I spent more time awake and shivering than I did sleeping.

When the sun finally started to show itself the next morning, I did nothing but thank God for the light and the fact that I had made it thru another cold night of shivering and trying to stay warm. I decided that day that I was not going to go anywhere. I was going to sit there and wait for any sign of people or maybe the sound of a chopper. Besides, I was too beat up and exhausted from bushwhacking and not getting any sleep. Finally around 10am that morning, I hear the faint sound of a chopper. Getting louder by the second, I knew they were out there for a reason and was hoping that reason was me.. Growing louder and getting closer, I see him coming over the ridge behind me and almost lost it with joy. I jumped up, grabbed my red bandana and started waving it hoping that they would spot me down below. They flew right over me and kept on going. Hopes were shattered just for a few seconds until I see them make a U turn and fly back to my location. When they got to me, they stopped and hovered above for a couple minutes, and then flew away. Not knowing what was going to happen next or what their plans were, I tried to relax and stay calm until the 2nd stage of the rescue took place. It was about 4 hours later that I heard someone yelling in the distance. They had finally arrived at my location. I yelled back again and again. They had come to my rescue :) 

I find out later the story behind the rescue effort and the chopper coming and going. As they were hovering above me , they were getting a GPS track on my location. They then flew back to the trailhead and put together a hiking team to hike up to my location. I can't thank WCSAR for their expertise and their concern about the condition I was in when they found me.      

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. It was an experience that I will never forget and one that I hope I never have to go thru again

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