TR : Deseret Peak 7-12-08

[Mtnman1830]

The ride in is cool, with two sections of 'narrows'. We started from the South Creek trailhead.



But Let's get on the trail.



Deseret Peak is the highpoint of Tooele County and its 11,031' peak sits in the Stansbury Range.

The trail starts out mild, this time of year the flora is nearly choking out the trail.



After the river crossing, the trail kinda fades away for a bit, but there is a sign pointing the way.



Following the trail, we came to a breathtaking amplitheater, each of us picking out spots where we would like to build a cabin.

Then the trail steepens. Going up to the pass is pretty steep, but when you crest the ridge, it is amazing.



We hung out here, taking in the view, and watching other hikers come up the trail.

This is the valley we ascended



The view west



Looking south with Shphilby on the edge of the amplitheater.



Then we decided to make the final push toward the summit. It layed just three coulairs and 1/2 mile beyond.



Deseret Peak is not only a county highpoint, but also a ultra-prominent peak. Nothing compares... for miles.

The Final Ascention.




The celebratory ice cream sandwitch.



Altitude effects people different ways...



Immediatley after taking this picture, Shphilby knocked his Garmin 60CSX off the cliff. Can you see it?



The Peak is nested upon some pretty impressive cliffs, so even if we could see it, how safe would it be to retrieve it? But, it never hurts to look. I went on the other side of the chute with my binos, but it was a no-go.



We hung around the peak for quite a while, eating lunch and visiting with other hikers coming up. Soon, with more than a dozen sharing our space, we decided to head down. We didn't backtrack, but the page on SummitPost described a loop that didn't add much more time, and we would see more scenery.



The hike was just over 8 miles, and was wonderful. I think that it was one of the easier highpoints to bag.

14/26 done for me. What will I do when I am finished?

[accadacca]

Coolness. What was all that heavy breathing about?

The short video clips between the pictures makes for a nice TR format.

[sparker1]

Enjoyable TR. Keep up the good work.

[mroy]

Deseret Peak is by far my favorite county high point.

[James_B_Wads2000]

Thanks for the TR Mtnman1830, I have added it to the Utah High Pointing Index .


James

[mroy]

Deseret Peak is by far my favorite county high point.

Yeah but you have only done about five of them.

James

Come on James, it's more like nine. I'll get around to the rest of them someday. For real.... Seriously though, Ibapah is on my short list. Maybe even get around to it before snow flies.

[Mtnman1830]

Another video, taken by another person the same time we were up there.

I am in front of the camera, instead of behind it.

[rwpontius]

Nice TR. Thanks Mtn. Man. It has been a few years since I did Deseret, maybe I should try again this fall.
RP

[Dean]

Way to go Mtnman, Deseret is an outstanding hike. Of all the Utah county highpoints, it ranks #2 in my top five.
1. Ibapah
2. Deseret
3. Nebo
4. Kings
5. Delano

Nice pics and TR. I had a friend who lost his GPS in a similar way, it really
bites when something like that happens.