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Thread: Tangent Peak (Hogup Mountains), Utah

  1. #1

    Tangent Peak (Hogup Mountains), Utah

    Tangent Peak (7,047’) – Saturday, August 24, 2013

    After hiking the popular Mt. Nebo, I was ready for something a little less crowded. This day, I definitely succeeded in that quest! Tangent Peak is located in the Hogup Mountains, on the west side of the Great Salt Lake, where the “A” marker is on the map below:



    This trip wasn’t exactly long in the making: I decided on this goal only the evening prior (this sort of last-minute trip-planning is not unusual for me)! I noticed Tangent Peak on the map while scouting the area for a 4WD trip, because the next day’s forecast for the Wasatch and south of I-80 was pretty bad. As in very unstable with thunderstorms and lots of rain expected. Initially I thought it would be interesting to drive around and sight-see, but the goal of a remote peak definitely added to the attraction.

    While doing a little internet searching that evening, I found this trip report: http://www.summitpost.org/tangent-peak-ut/555745

    I printed out their driving instructions and little topo map. The map was handy and I did reference it during the hike. However, I deviated quite a bit from the driving directions. Largely so I could drive on or at least get a close look at more of the old transcontinental railroad route. Since I would be on the road leading to it, I also hoped to (finally) drive down to Hogup Pump Station.

    Coming from Layton, I chose the northern approach, which entailed driving up to Snowville and then west and south on State highways 42 and 30. There’s a marked turnoff from the highway to the old site of Kelton. From there I made my way on various dirt roads to Big Pass, the starting point of the hike.









    Since it was midday by the time I reached Big Pass, I had a snack then got started hiking at about 1:10 PM. The weather to the south and southeast (south of I-80 and out toward Salt Lake City) looked bad, but for the time being it was okay where I was, though quite windy. I didn’t have a thermometer but I’d guess the temperature was only in the 70’s. Here’s a view looking back toward Big Pass; note the dirt road ascending to the ridgeline east of the pass:



    There’s no formal trail or defined route up the mountain, but it’s not hard to figure out the way to go. Much of the time I was following some old wheel tracks up my chosen ridge. There were many old rusty cans lying around, and I even came across a broken old horseshoe:





    There was also lots of animal “guano” all over, but I did not see any wildlife at all. In fact, all day, other than a few jackrabbits around sunset, the only wildlife I saw was a lone antelope near the road earlier in the morning. The hike up was pretty easy, though the final stretch up to the summit is a bit steep:







    I reached the top at 2:45 and was greeted by quite a view. It was hazy to the SW and west due to the wind, and the weather in the distance to the south, SE, and out east toward the Wasatch range looked ugly. But it was still mostly sunny in my part of the world. As far as I could tell, I was the only human for miles in any direction; since leaving the Kelton site that morning, I hadn’t even seen a far-off dust cloud from a vehicle. So yes, this time I had sufficient solitude!

    On the summit I found a register in an old glass jar. The register was placed in May 2004 but there were only 17 names in it! There are two reference marks, but the “Terrace” benchmark itself is missing. There is also quite a bit of wood, wire, and nails from old surveying structures, including a rare intact tripod section. The last time I saw that was on an equally obscure and even more remote high point/benchmark in Death Valley Nat’l Park. While there was plenty to admire in every direction, I liked the the "beach lines" in the shallow basin to the north (last photo in the group below):

















    And here's a 360-degree panorama video from the summit, which starts and ends looking to the southeast:



    I would have loved to hang out all day, but the weather in most directions was deteriorating and it seemed obvious that nearby conditions would soon take a turn for the worse. The wind had become even stronger and was really gusty. So with regret, I packed up and headed down at 3:30. Minutes later, while hiking down the ridge, I looked up toward the summit and decided I’d left about the right time! There were cumulus clouds building up and the formerly blue skies were becoming very cloudy and dark in general.



    By the time I got back to my chariot (at 4:30), the wind was still going strong and the bigger gusts were carrying sand. I had a radio capable of receiving the Nat’l Weather Service channels, and due to my location I was able to pick up the one covering the Salt Lake and Tooele Valleys. Obviously things were nasty out that way with all sorts of advisories and warnings about thunderstorms, hail, possible flooding, etc. Glad I chose an outing father north!

    I took the time to fix a proper lunch and eat it, while things continued to get ugly looking all around me. It seemed lightning was inevitable, so I decided conditions weren’t favorable for heading farther out into the boondocks (i.e. to Hogup Pump Station) or to drive up to the ridge east of Big Pass. So I headed back toward Kelton, following a more direct driving route than I did on the way in.

    As it turned out, as threatening as things looked up there, I never saw any lighting or more than a few drops of rain. So after reaching Kelton, rather than heading straight back to the highway, I opted to drive east, following the old railroad toward the Golden Spike NHS. I’d been to the NHS before but hadn’t traveled east of it except to visit the Spiral Jetty. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see much of the area; due to an attack of drowsiness (my body clock is a mess due to recent shift work) I had to stop for a power nap! So it was dark for nearly all of the drive and I missed the scenery and artifacts, meaning I have a good excuse to go back to the area!

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  3. #2
    Awesome, congrats! You've been kicking butt lately.


  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by accadacca View Post
    Awesome, congrats! You've been kicking butt lately.
    Thanks! I'm just happy to be doing this stuff again: I was waylaid by foot problems for literally a few years. I'm not 100% but at least I'm back on my feet and back in the hills!

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