Utah Archives – GlassMountains Trip Reports

Deseret Peak, Stansbury Mountains, Utah

September 24, 2015 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

In early September I spent a week hiking several Utah prominence peaks and sampling Utah mountain ranges I had not yet visited. This exploration included Mount Peale in the La Sal Mountains near Moab, Abajo Peak in the Abajo Mountains near Monticello, Mount Ellen in the remote Henry Mountains, and Mount Nebo in the Southern Wasatch. The last prominence peak I visited in this exploration of Utah was Deseret Peak in the Stansbury Mountains just south of the Great Salt Lake. Deseret Peak has 5812 feet of prominence and 11031 feet of elevation making it the highest peak in the Stansburys and the fourth most prominent peak in Utah.

The Stansbury Mountains from near Grantsville, Utah. Deseret Peak is left of center on the horizon.

I had planned to visit Mount Timpanogos in the Wasatch, but I understood I would have little chance to find a campsite near the trailhead I planned to use for “Timp” due to Labor Day crowds. So I passed on Timp and headed west.

Mount Nebo, Southern Wasatch Mountains, Utah

September 24, 2015 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

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 hiking Mount Peale in the La Sal Mountains near Moab, Abajo Peak in the Abajo Mountains near Monticello, and Mount Ellen in the remote Henry Mountains. After visiting the Henry Mountains I took a rest day and next visited the Wasatch Range of Utah. My goal this time was Mount Nebo, with 5488 feet of prominence and 11,928 feet of elevation, making it the highest peak in the Wasatch.

Mount Nebo from the Nebo Scenic Byway. Mount Nebo is just left of center in sunlight.

I drove onto the Nebo Scenic Byway from the south. There were many campers in campgrounds and dispersed campsites along the Byway and the Nebo Bench Trailhead parking was nearly full. It was a windy afternoon and evening with forecasts of stronger winds overnight. I eventually found a primitive but scenic campsite on a ridge about two miles from the Nebo Bench Trailhead and spent the afternoon relaxing in the shelter of my jeep.

Mount Ellen, Henry Mountains, Utah

September 24, 2015 by Paul McClellan Leave a Comment

I approached the Henry Mountains with some apprehension. Mount Ellen has 5842 feet of prominence and 11522 feet of elevation, but I was not concerned about the summit route – I expected it to be a quite straightforward ridge walk. Instead, I was concerned with the remoteness of the range, the long drive on dirt and rock roads, and the possible isolation from help if I had mechanical issues. I had good directions from summitpost.org but after topping off fuel in Hanksville I stopped at the local BLM Office to learn what more I could about the route and road conditions. The BLM staff assured me that the western approach road was in good shape and the easiest on tires. I left word with Linda that if I did not check back in with her in two days that she might call the BLM office to request they check on me.

A view of the Henry Mountains from the western approach road a few miles east of Sandy Ranch Junction

I found the western approach road and began the drive in. In the photo above the trailhead at Bull Creek Pass lies in the notch on the ridge line near the center of the photo. Mount Ellen, the high point of the Henry Mountains, is the broad summit left of that notch. The pointy peak to the left of Mount Ellen is Mount Ellen Peak. The trailhead lies 24 road miles from the junction. That afternoon I was driving in 19 miles to the McMillan Spring Campground to find a campsite.

Abajo Peak, Abajo Mountains, Utah

September 23, 2015 by Paul McClellan 1 Comment

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 and Abajo Peak from near 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.