Tokewanna Peak (13,165') attempt - Sept. 25

I had been waiting a while for breaks in both my schedule and the weather so I could give this Uinta thirteener a shot. I thought things had lined up for me on September 24 and 25, and I did look at the forecast, but conditions turned out to be a bit different (worse!) than I expected. I chose Tokewanna as my goal since of all the Uninta thirteeners it’s the most realistic option for a day hike. I used David Rose’s “Utah Thirteeners” book as my guide.

On Thursday I drove to the West Fork Blacks Fork trailhead, arriving there just before dark. I had some concerns about the river crossing, given all the recent rain, but it didn’t seem particularly deep.

Attachment 69868

The road was muddy, particularly after the river crossing, with big mud puddles even in the trailhead parking area. The trailhead is at a locked gate, and the Bear River Smiths Fork Trail intersects the road right behind the gate. I had the place to myself, and quickly settled in for the night, camping as usual by sleeping in the back of my SUV. (Note: the two pics of the trailhead area were actually taken on July 15.)

Attachment 69869

Attachment 69870

Attachment 69871


I was up early and started hiking at 5:00 AM by headlamp. It was chilly but I wouldn’t call it cold. Clearly the road past the gate still sees vehicle traffic; there were deep tracks due to people driving on it while it’s wet. As I walked, all was quiet except the wind and the river. It was well before sunrise, but there was quite a bit of light from the moon, so the nearby ridges and mountains were visible.

Following the road by headlamp was easy, but it unexpectedly led me off into a camping area, which turned out to be the actual end of vehicle travel these days. After a little floundering around I got back on track and soon I was at the second river crossing, the point at which I was to head cross-country.

From here, the guide directs you to walk “upstream on easy terrain near the river’s edge” then head up into a drainage. Sounds great, but this day the meadow between the river and the forest was a muddy bog. The sun wasn’t quite up yet, but I could see outlines of the forested slopes above by moonlight. Thanks to a reflective label on it, at 6:30 I came across a carsonite post marking the wilderness boundary. This boundary runs across the meadow, up the center of the drainage, and over Bob’s Saddle, which was my destination. So it was time to head roughly east and find a route up the forested slopes.

The lower part of the slope was steep, and at first the forest was open but soon deadfall and vegetation forced me to take a somewhat winding path. I overlooked the guidebook’s advice to stay right (south) of the gully and stuck to the north side of it. The ground was rather saturated; in places it was possible to essentially kick steps in the dirt. There were game trails but no sign of human traffic, until I reached a less-steep section of the drainage and came across a fire pit on a flat spot. Here I was at the base of the ridge defining the north side of the drainage, and more or less in the open with the forest to my right.

Attachment 69872

Attachment 69873

Attachment 69874

I continued up and soon reached steeper terrain at the head of the drainage. Here I got a bit off-route, ascending a line that topped out on the ridge north of and above Bob’s Saddle. But after slogging up the steep slope awhile, I realized my mistake and turned in the correct direction, side-hilling across the top of the drainage to the saddle. On my way up this slope, I noticed the first flakes of snow falling. It was only 7:30, and this sleet/snow would continue the rest of the day. I reached the saddle, marked by a small cairn, at 8:20.

From the saddle, I headed south along the windswept ridge. The gusts were remarkable, sometimes hitting me from one direction, then immediately afterward from another. The general weather was remarkable too, and not in a good way. It was becoming cloudy all around, and very light sleet/snow was falling though not accumulating. I pressed on while setting lots of GPS waypoints, to ensure I could find my way back along this broad ridge in case visibility really deteriorated. As noted in the guidebook, it’s long 2.2 miles from the saddle to the summit.

Attachment 69875

Attachment 69876

Attachment 69877

From a distance, this ridge looks like easy terrain but I found even the grassy sections to be rough and rocky. There’s also some boulder-hopping to do, especially around the high points. There was a little snow around from an earlier snowfall, but not enough to be an impediment. As I progressed, the winds (and the gusts) were stronger and a bit more of the sleet/snow was falling. Though I was gradually nearing the summit, it was slowly becoming more obscured. Continuing was becoming a less obvious choice.

Attachment 69878

Attachment 69879

My progress was slow and I felt like I was dragging. By 10:15, I reached a highpoint about 1.5 miles from Bob’s Saddle. (On the USGS quad, it's the highpoint just northwest of the 12,168' highpoint.)

Attachment 69880

However, conditions had continued to slowly deteriorate. The temperature was dropping, as evidenced by the sleet beginning to accumulate on the ground. The summit looked close, but I knew at the pace I was going it would be awhile before I got there. I was beginning to feel like I was getting rather far out on a limb, so finally made the reluctant choice to turn back.

Almost immediately, the sun started peeking out as if tempting me to turn back to the summit. But the overall conditions were not improving and in particular the winds were stronger than ever, so I continued to descend. The gusts made it challenging to safely move down steeper terrain, and descending the high point I was at times reduced to basically scooting down the talus. At one point during this, an empty water bottle in the side pocket of my pack was taken by the wind and blasted away (I had another full bottle in my pack). I didn’t go all the way to Bob’s Saddle but instead veered downhill into the drainage.

Attachment 69881

Attachment 69882

Descending, I had a choice between steep slopes covered with a thin layer of wet snow, or a rocky gully with the same very slick surface conditions. I chose to descend in the gully. This still required plenty of caution as everything was very slippery. My fleece gloves gradually got wet, then soaked. Partly from the wet falling snow, but also due to using my hands for balance on the boulders. Often I would feel a light tug as I pulled my hand away, due to the soggy glove slightly freezing to the boulder’s surface during the brief contact.

Attachment 69883

Attachment 69884

Lower down the gully, open water was flowing and I found it easier to walk down this part as it wasn’t as slippery as the snow. I just hoped the goretex lining in my boots would prove fairly effective. Still lower in the drainage, I was out of the gully and the snow wasn’t sticking (yet). But each step still required care as everything was wet and slippery, including the dead wood all over the place, much of it obscured under grasses.

Attachment 69886

I ended up coming out of the forest farther south than where I entered, meaning I got to walk across even more of the muddy meadow to reach the road. At 2:30 PM I passed the same post I’d encountered eight hours earlier. By now, the road was even muddier than when I came up it. I often walked to one or the other side of it to avoid the worst parts.

Attachment 69887

Attachment 69891

Gradually I started feeling chilly. Even with fairly heavyweight Goretex-style pants and jacket, conditions were so damp it had proved impossible to stay fully dry. I reached the Xterra at 3:30 PM, and immediately got in and cranked it up to get heat as soon as possible.

Driving away was interesting as the conditions proved slick even for 4WD. With all the rain/sleet/snow, the mud was worse than when I'd arrived the day before. The SUV slid around right there in the parking area, and in several spots on the muddy road up to the river crossing.

I was concerned how conditions would be on North Slope Road and Hwy 150, particularly the higher spots. Indeed the snow was sticking to the road until I got part way down the hill to Kamas, and KSL radio chatter indicated it had earlier been snowing on Parley’s Summit.

Attachment 69888

Attachment 69889

Attachment 69890

All in all, not a good day for peakbagging! But clearly I left some unfinished business there. Perhaps there will be another chapter to this story?!

Thanks for posting this, I've been up in that area on ATV several times, I've always wondered what it was like beyond that gate.