Turkey Trot

This ground-up bolted slab route ascends the blank southeast face of the main dome. Mediocre slabbing in a secluded setting, and an epic summit.

Pitch 1 (5.9, 100', 10 bolts): Climb the technicolor slab passing a friction crux at the 6th bolt. Two-bolt chain anchor at the lip of the Picnic Ledge.

Pitch 2 (5.2, 70', 4 bolts): Climb straight up the easy slab to a two-bolt chain anchor just below the summit stack.

Scramble (4th class) up and left onto the awesome summit. Dig the 360° view, sign the logbook, then reverse this scramble on the way down.

Descent: Rappel the route with one 60m rope.

Approach: about 30-45 minutes. Park at Turkey Creek Trailhead (high-clearance AWD vehicle recommended but not necessary). Hike up the main trail about 0.2 miles to a major junction where the official cairned Turkey Creek Trail goes right and an unofficial (but equally well developed) un-cairned trail branches off left. Take the left trail (at this point you will be hiking directly toward Turkey Dome for a bit) and follow it for a few hundred yards. As you enter a low area with many little washes, leave the trail and head left up a broad slickrock wash. A few hundred yards upstream, just past a fallen juniper that almost blocks the wash, look for a side trail that branches off right. This well developed trail brings you up and around to the base of the east side of the massif. Pick up a cairned side-trail through the limestone band and contour around to the large flat meadow immediately southeast of the spire. Reach the starting ledge by scrambling up and right on 4th-class slabs (path of least resistance). If you encounter a shiny glue-in bolt, you're at the base of the Original Route. Walk 30 feet right along the ledge to find the line of camouflaged bolts for Turkey Trot.