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FR009 Pinto Crest s(u)

This is a good dirt road to a small community, surrounded by low mountains. These are covered with a extensive pinyon juniper forest, which comes as a surprise for this dessert area. There is some traffic on this road. But it is not a washboard surface. There are 3 separate high points along the way. They are separated by more than 300 but less than 500ft of climbing. I can see no other sideroads that would permit a 500ft approach height to approach these points separately. So I am only counting this as one summit. The highest one seems to be the first one, by a minute amount. The map accuracy is barely enough to come to that conclusion. It is all just a matter of feet. While on the road, the southern most high point feels the highest with the best views.

1.START-END WEST:jct Bench Rd - Ut56, New Castle
2.profile turns left onto Pinto Rd
3.TOP: first high point, 6610ft
4.second high point, 6600ft
5.Pinto
6.third high point, 6520ft
7.START-END WEST:profile turns left onto Ut18
8.START-END WEST ALT: Central


Approaches

From North. Just to the west of the Ut56 summit, west of Cedar City, a signed gravel road turnoff leads onto Pinto Road. The profile includes the western approach to that point on Ut56 from New Castle. These low, flowing pine covered hills are foothills to the Pine Valley Mountains, which form an impressive escarpment, when viewed from the other side, Saint George. The first high and highest point on the road is reached quickly on a flank of Stoddard Mtn (8378ft), easily the most recognizable landmark in these hills.



From South. (described downwards) On the next decent, the road passes an old historic home from the iron mining period in this area, and then climbs to the first intermediate high point. All of the three highpoints have nice views of the road stringing through the hills.The town Pinto is after the second high point, probably just a few feet lower. The town Pinto is a major collection of dirt road crossings, signifying its importance in history. Today it is a collection of vacation homes and a parking lot of large travel trailers.

During the final decent to Grass Valley Rd, the crest of the Pine Valley Mountains appears as a surprising sharp ridge in the background of a sea of wave like rounded hills. While my dayride below turns right here to return over a summit on Ut18, the profile below turns left, to Enterprise, direction Escalante dessert, in order to maximize the elevation gain.

cLiCk on image , arrows , or thumbnails to advance slideshow

Dayride with this point as highest summit

PARTIALLY PAVED / UNPAVED

( < Ut`130 Cedar City - Minersville Summit | Ut56  Cedar City - New Castle Summit > )

FR009 Pinto Crest s(u) , Ut18 Central - Pine Valley s(u) : Old Ironton Road, a few miles from junction with Ut56 < Old Ironton Rd north > Ut56 east > FR009 Pinto Road south > FR009 Pinto Crest s(u) > FR009 south > Ut18 north > Ut28 Central - Pine Valley s(u) > Enterprise with sightseeing detour > Bench Rd north with two small detours, including an out and back on Ut18 > New Castle > Ut56 east > back to starting point on Old Ironton Rd:57.4miles with 3700ft of climbing in 5.11hrs (garmin etrex30 m3:22.5.7).


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