In early September I spent a week hiking several Utah prominence peaks and sampling Utah mountain ranges I had not yet visited. After climbing Mount Nebo I had planned to visit Mount Timpanogos also in the Wasatch. But Labor Day crowds would give me little chance to find a campsite near the trailhead I planned to use. Instead, I headed west for Deseret Peak in the Stansbury Mountains south of the Great Salt Lake. Deseret Peak is an “ultra prominence peak” with 5812 feet of prominence. With 11031 feet of elevation it the highest peak in the Stansbury Mountains.

On September 7 I drove southwest up the South Willow Canyon to the road’s end at the Loop Campground. I was fortunate to find a parking spot near the trailhead.

I followed the Mill Fork/Deseret Peak trail to the summit. My ascent route led up Mill Fork and its headwall, then traversed up to the summit. There were many other hikers on the trail and the summit, some in large groups. This reinforced my decision to postpone Mount Timpanogos for another time.

The weather was ideal and I enjoyed the views from the summit. Soon I felt compelled to leave with increasing church crowds filling the summit. I had considered completing a loop by descending the Pockets Fork – Dry Lake Fork descent route. The trail in the left of the photo above is the start of that descent route.

With the increasing crowds and the realization I likely would not return to the area for many years if ever, I decided to take that route back to the trailhead. This would provide me more solitude and scenery.

The descent route was slightly longer but descended quickly before dropping into Pockets Fork. In the photo above the route went directly down the steep forested slope in the center of the photo left of the rocky chute. The route meandered a bit as it descended through Dry Lake Fork. But I saw few people until the trail joined the Mill Fork trail shortly before the trailhead.

This hike completed my exploration of Utah prominence peaks and mountain ranges for this year. This exploration was a very successful, interesting, and fun experience. As I left the trailhead and drove west into Nevada and back towards home I thought about the many other peaks and mountain ranges I have yet to sample in the Basin and Range Region of the Western USA.