The Wickiup is a fairly well-known landmark in the San Rafael Swell (it's visible from I-70), but I don't think many people have actually been to it. I had a couple of great experiences earlier this year hiking to the Wickiup. My first trip was in January, and I hiked all the way from I-70, roughly six miles round trip. I started fairly early in the morning, and the hike up wasn't bad. My goal was to climb to the top of the Wickiup to find a lonely geocache, but there are very few ways to make it all the way up. After trying one particular approach and failing (due to mud and snow and the steepness of the hill), I was already too tired to even try another--all that hiking from I-70 had done me in. The hike back to the car was pretty bad--the frozen mud had melted under the winter sun, and I was sinking pretty badly.
I waited two months before trying again, this time with my Mazda Navajo to get me within easier hiking distance. I parked about a half-mile away, and after trying a few different approaches, I finally found one that led me to the top. I was hoping to get first-to-find on the geocache up there (it had been sitting for nearly two years with zero finds), but somebody had beat me by two days!
Early spring and late fall are probably the best times to try this hike (like most things in the Swell)--wait 'til the mud is gone, but the temperatures aren't too high. I've done a lot of long, difficult hikes just to find a single geocache, but this one is my most memorable and satisfying.
