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FeedClimbing Lone Peak
A quintessential Utah mountaineering experience
Lone Peak, outside of Draper, Utah, is anything but a “beginner’s hike.” While Kings Peak is the highest peak in Utah (13,528 feet), Lone Peak is one of the highest in the Wasatch (11,253 feet), with a vertical gain of more than 5,000 feet. The path is grueling, both up and back, and if you choose to explore it in the late summer when temps cool down, you’ll find little to no water.
But the views and the precarious scrambling over exposed granite ridges make this hike one of the classics for local mountaineers, and the expansive granite walls in the cirque draw some of the best technical rock climbers in the world. It’s no wonder these pristine 31,165 acres were Utah’s first congressionally designated wilderness area.
The number of routes to the top is dizzying, and without a guide or accurate map-reading skills, the task to get there may seem daunting. But don’t let that stop you. Lone Peak is so popular you’re bound to find someone to help you along the way.
My boyfriend Ryan and I chose the Cherry Canyon Logging Trail (aka Bear Canyon Trail) because of the detailed description and GPS waypoints offered by REI’s John Higgins. Though it can be climbed in a day (albeit a long one for the 10-14 hours round trip, depending on your shape and how much you carry), your average hiker or rock climber will make this an overnight trek if only to milk the adventure along the 12 miles.
Last summer, we twice packed for Lone Peak, and twice the weather skunked us. Clouds can pounce in an instant, and you don’t want to be anywhere near the peak when thunder and lightning dance about. On July 25, 2002, lightning struck and killed a husband and wife trying to seek shelter near the summit. Our third attempt, in mid-August, was welcomed with blue skies.
The peak’s trail begins up the wooden stairs to the left of the bathrooms at Orson Smith Trail Head. The heat climbed toward 90 degrees as we saddled up the dog, Tenaya, and got stepping. It was nearly 11 a.m.
The wide dirt road immediately zigzags up to an aqueduct track. It’s a steady climb from the get-go, with sun exposure at every turn. If you find yourself heading to the right or around the mountain instead of up, you’re headed in the wrong direction. We continued northeast to a junction, crossed over the aqueduct trail and followed the sign to Bonneville Shoreline Trail. After another 500 yards, there’s the sign for Cherry Canyon Logging Trail.
It took us about seven hours to get to the camping area 2,000 feet below the peak. Someone carrying a daypack and without plans to sleep over could make it in half that time. Because of our late-season ascent we had to carry six water bottles each, and even that wasn’t enough.
Lone Peak in the late spring or early summer offers plenty of snowmelt, so you can get by with one or two bottles and a purification system or tablets. By mid-August, though, you’re lucky to find a green puddle to treat. Hence, hiking with our 40-pound packs and extra water slowed us considerably.
As we meant to bag the peak in the morning, we wanted to get as close as possible by nightfall, so we passed up the first campsite. We found the perfect spot on the main drainage (dry) creek coming out of the alpine cirque below the peak. There was flat ground for a tent and tall Douglas firs for protection from the night wind. We knew we made the right choice when Tenaya somehow found the only water source for miles—a small green puddle nestled between two giant granite boulders. We dipped our bottles, dropped in a couple of iodine tablets and pulled the tabs on our self-heating meals.
In the morning, we realized that if we wanted to get back to the car before dark, we had to hurry. We left the dog to guard the tent. It’s an easy route to the summit, but not for a dog or those afraid of heights. There’s a bit of bouldering with good foot and handholds before crossing the cirque floor and making your way onto the larger boulders and rocks that lead to the peak. Follow the main creek bed upwards and work left following cairns. Eventually, you’ll come to an alpine meadow below the peak.
The best way up is to the left of the saddle (the peak will be on your right), along the ridge. Then traverse over to the peak, stepping carefully and deliberately. You don’t want to slip. The last two hundred feet will have you dancing over boulders the size of SmartCars and sidestepping on rocky edges no wider than your shoe. At the top, you are king of the world…until you remember that you want to get home by dark.
After we took our moment to acknowledge the sights of Utah Lake to the south, the Great Salt Lake to the north and everything in between, we chugged our iodine-flavored water, squeezed and wrapped our blistered toes and prepared for the descent.
HOW TO
From Salt Lake City, take I-15 south, exit at 12300 South. Head east on 12300 South to 1300 East. Take a right onto 1300 East to the roundabout. Take the last spur on the roundabout (Pioneer Road). Head east to 2000 East, take a right and park at the Orson Smith Trail Head. The Jacobs Ladder Trail is the shortest (5.5 miles) and fastest route to the summit, but it can also be difficult to find. The Cherry Canyon Logging Trail is recommended.
The trail to Lone Peak begins at the Orson Smith Trailhead, 12601 S. 2000 East. (GPS: (N40 29’ 39”, W111 48’ 59”)
THE HIKE ITSELF
Head up the CCLT to a three-way junction. The junction provides a nice rest spot under some fir and oak trees or atop boulders overlooking Provo. When you’re ready to move, just keep aiming east for the ridge. At the top, you’ll intersect with another trail—the Corner Canyon Trail. This one you can’t miss. This whole section is exposed, so make sure you’ve slapped on sunscreen, and try to avoid thinking too deeply about the cool water in Utah Lake far below. Head northeast on Corner Canyon as it winds up and around, finally leveling off as it traverses through a hillside to open, low tundra and flat granite slabs. At this point, start looking for cairns (trail markers made of rocks) to lead you to some great camping spots, flat enough for sleeping and shaded by trees for extra shelter.
For GPS recommendations contact John Higgins at REI (801-486-2100). For trail conditions call the Salt Lake Ranger District at 801-236-3400.
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