In early September I spent a week hiking several Utah prominence peaks and sampling Utah mountain ranges I had not yet visited. I began by summitting Mount Peale in the La Sal Mountains near Moab. The next peak on my list was Abajo Peak in the Abajo Mountains located in the Manti-La Sal National Forest just west of Monticello, Utah.
South Peak (left) and Abajo Peak (right) from near Monticello, Utah
On the afternoon of September 2 I drove to Monticello, Utah, and checked in with the US Forest Service to verify that roadside camping was permitted and to check on the pronunciation of Abajo (Ah-BA-ho). Linda and I had last passed through Monticello in August 2012 on our way to Monte Verde National Park for bicycling but I don’t recollect paying much attention to nearby Abajo Peak at that time. Still, Abajo Peak has 4550 feet of prominence and 11360 feet of elevation and is one of the 100 most prominent peaks of the 48 Contiguous US States.
From Monticello I found the access road which becomes the Abajo summit road and followed it upward through sage fields, then aspen and spruce forests, looking for a pleasant campsite for the evening. I passed some possibilities in the forest, but thought the summit ridge might provide more scenic views.
The summit of Abajo Peak from my camp beside the summit road
I continued higher and found a parking spot off the road on the ridge between South Peak and Abajo Peak behind a berm providing protection from the wind gusts. I enjoyed relaxing in my camp chair and viewing the great views of eastern Utah while cooking and eating dinner with a good IPA. The evening was windy and the ground poor for anchoring my tent so I squeezed into the back of my jeep for the night. During the night several pickups passed and in the morning I found two ATVs parked next to my jeep.
A view of the La Sal Mountains to the north from the summit of Abajo Peak
After breakfast the next morning, September 3, I made a short road hike to the summit, meeting several hunters scouting for wildlife in anticipation of hunting season. I enjoyed the views of Eastern Utah. I first looked north towards the La Sal Mountains where I had been the previous day. It was satisfying to have finally visited the La Sals and hiked Mount Peale after so many years of anticipation.
On my descent back to my jeep I savored the views west towards the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. The Henry Mountains were also somewhere out to the west and my next goal was to visit that range to hike Mount Ellen. The Henry Mountains are remote and I planned to visit the BLM Office in Hanksville to learn as much as I could before heading in to them.
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