Zane Grey, Wild Horse Mesa, and the Kaiparowits Plateau

Abstract

Zane Grey was obsessed with climbing Wild Horse Mesa in southern Utah from the mo-ment he first saw its imposing Straight Cliffs from the Glass Mountains in 1913. He described the sight on his first expedition to Rainbow Bridge: “One striking landmark seemed to dominate the scene – Wild Horse Mesa – a stupendous red-walled mountain, frowning, black-fringed and isolated. Insurmounta-ble as it seemed I vowed to climb it some day” (“Trails Over the Glass Mountains,” 1924).