No-Name Neck.

  Since the first time I saw it in the early 70s I have admired a certain volcanic neck in SouthEast Utah.  They are scattered all over the country- usually lurking on some distant, inaccessible horizon line as you drive the paved road across the country.  I'd tried to find access to this one before, first on satellite maps and then in person.  On this trip, I had a little more confidence, having seen a tire track beside it on Google.  Leaving Shiprock I headed up and started trying to pick my way in.  

  Google maps, map quest, Garmin, all famous for NOT showing roads that do exist and showing roads that don't.  I went up and down the highway trying to find a gate.  Finally, with a printed photo and map in had, I went out a scetchy route that got worse and worse and finally dwindled to an occasional tire mark and lots of guessing.  I was very concerned with driving my street tires and 4-runner into some place I couldn't get out of.  Lots of parking and walking ahead to scout, then driving farther, parking and walking again.  I had to tiptoe down a steep finger into a valley that didn't really show on any terrain map.  Wash-outs, mud holes, slickrock, sand.  I finally broke out on a decent road as I circumnavigated the thing.  I had several more dead ends, trying tracks in the sagebrush...then all of a sudden I found the way in.  Very subtle.

  As I was looking at this view a Golden Eagle flew in and landed on a nest site on the neck.  This rugged silhouette is not visible from the paved road.

Then there it was.  The track got better as I got closer.  This is the SW side.  

View from the East.  I didn't know there was a keyhole until I was at this angle.

East face.

After a little pocking around I picked my way up the talus slope.  You can climb inside the old neck...with a little careful footwork.  I climbed over and checked bones under the eagle nest, then went up through the keyhole.  There was a desiccated male Great Horned Owl in a crevice.  Looks like raptors nest everywhere.

View out.  You can climb in from the East side through the keyhole, but not from the West.  

A distinctive dike to the West.

Keyhole looking East.

Rugged and steep inside and littered with bones tossed by the Eagles and Owls that nest there.

East side.

East side.

Northeast view. The track goes around it to a nice private place to park and sleep.  There's an amphitheater formation on the SW and West side.