Monitor and Merrimac buttes are two neighboring formations sitting at the edge of a plateau, overlooking Sevenmile Canyon, which is northwest of Moab. In this WikiMapia aerial view, the buttes are at upper center, above Sevenmile Canyon, and Moab is out of view to the southeast. Through the canyon runs SR 313, the route to Dead Horse Point State Park.

I first saw this landscape as I drove to Dead Horse Point State Park during a pitifully short (half-day!) visit to the Moab area. The terrain between the highway and the buttes called to me, so I vowed to return to explore it on foot. A view from the road, aided by binoculars, revealed that most of the terrain leading up to the buttes was hikable. However, some parts of the route were hidden from view, creating the "unknown factor" that makes trips interesting. As it turned out, the hike was generally easy.

I parked at a small, unmarked turn-out where the wash goes under the highway in a culvert, descended to the wash, then zigzagged up through the rock shelves to the buttes.

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