Hiking Deseret Peak
Taken from a journal entry on August 2, 2018 when I lived in SLC.
Deseret Peak (11,031') is the highpoint of Tooele county, and the highest summit of the Stansbury Mountains. The 8.5 mile, 3600' loop is my new favorite hike to date.
I fell asleep around 6:00pm the night before after a long week working two jobs, so when I woke up at 2:30am on August 1st, I just figured I’d go for a sunrise hike. I have 50+ hikes saved in Google Maps that I want to do, so I chose Deseret Peak because of its eastern-facing prominence and because it’s not very often I have the extra time for the 2-hour round trip drive.
I was on the trail by 4:45am, using my headlamp to see in the dark forest section. The spooky part was not the bright white light against all the fallen dead trees, but how completely silent the forest was. No animals, no wind or running water, just me and my shoes on the trail. After the first mile I rose above the forest into the flower meadows, and by 5:00am I could see just enough by moonlight of the full / waning gibbous moon to turn off my light.
The valley was getting steeper, but switchbacks are my best friend. I encountered several deer at the higher elevations before gaining the saddle around 6:30am. With the first rays of the sun peaking over the Wasatch front and Oquirrh Mountains, I had been constantly distracted by the scene unfolding behind me. Once atop the saddle, I realized I would miss the sunset at the peak but it was fine because I was just happy to be living life in the mountains early on a Wednesday morning.
One of my favorite parts of a hike are the first moments you make it to a ridge crest and see the other side too. It was breathtaking, in part because I was now on the northern windward side of Deseret Peak. Here it was about 40 degrees Fahrenheit with windchill compared to the 60 degrees in the valley below. Looking up I could see a false summit and knew I was close to the peak.
More switchbacks on the backside of the mountain, and my summit time for this photo was 7:15am. The sky was quite hazy due to the west coast wildfires and Salt Lake’s geographical propensity to trap much of it here. But still beautiful nevertheless. I didn’t spend too much time at the top because it was so cold and I was hoping I might have enough time to bag at least the first peak to the left, behind me in this photo.
The beta suggested I take the South Willow Creek trail up and descend down the Pockets Fork, Dry Lake Fork trail. I’m very glad I did because the views just got more amazing. Sadly this photo was the last one of the trip because my memory card was full on my phone.
Knowing I would be stoked to hike this again any time soon, I decided to play it safe and skip bagging the South & North Willow peaks until next time. I had to get back to Salt Lake for an 11:30am shift at Backcountry, but it meant I had enough time to mosey my way back down to the car.
Everything was incredibly vivid in the morning sunlight, and would’ve made for some really awesome photos. Instead I was happy imprinting the pictures in my memory.
Oh and I finally encountered humans for the first and only time that day about 15 minutes before I arrived back at the trailhead at 9:30am. This lady and her dad were equally surprised to see me coming back down the trail so early, and couldn’t believe that I had summited the peak by myself long before they even got started haha.
First moonlight hike was sick, my gear performed well, and saw some really amazing mountains.
The last thing I want to add is a discovery I made about why I like hiking so much. For some people, it’s for the solitude or for being surrounded by natural beauty. For others it’s the exercise, or the sense of accomplishment. I experience all of those of course, but the main thing for me, is that my inner demons are quiet when I’m hiking. Especially solo, you are responsible for your own safety and physical well-being when you’re up in the mountains away from everything else. You won’t make it to the top unless you are nice to yourself, giving yourself the confidence and encouragement to keep going. That is the opposite of my depression, where I am my own biggest critic and often feel paralyzed by doubt. So yeah. That’s why I love the outdoors!
