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personalhiking (Utah’s peaks ** )

Hiking Utah’s peaks — Hiking adventures


I have enjoyed hiking during most of my adult life.  My son, James, and my nephew, Greg Gillespie, also enjoy hiking.  Years ago we set a goal to climb the tallest peak in each of Utah’s 29 counties.  Of all the 50 United States, Utah has the highest average county-peak height.  We knew it would be a daunting task, but we have been working at achieving the goal for many years.  Three peaks are shared by two adjoining counties, so only 26 peaks need to be climbed.  Following is a list of my progress on achieving the goal.  I have also listed other peaks that I have climbed.  I completed this quest on Saturday, October 24, 2020, as I summitted Mount Caldwell in Wasatch County!

Using the information from the hiking guide book that I used to achieve this hiking goal, I calculated that the vertical elevation gain of the 26 hikes combined equals 61,761 vertical feet, or 11.7 miles.  That elevation gain is equivalent to climbing the Empire State Building 43 times!  I should mention that James, my son, and I added many additional feet of gain by parking much lower down the roads to add more gain for the peaks that had little or no vertical gain.  We did that on at least 10 of the 26 peaks,  so I estimate that we climbed the Empire State Building distance close to 50 times!

I want to add one more interesting bit of information about my hiking.  I have climbed to the block “Y” on the mountain east of the Brigham Young University campus hundreds of times, as a way to keep my hiking muscles in shape.  I have tried to hike the “Y” at least once a week for many years, weather permitting.  I always parked my truck down in the neighborhoods below the trailhead in order to add elevation gain to my hikes.  The elevation at which I would park my truck was 4,630 feet above sea level.  The elevation of the sign at the top of the block “Y” is 6,224 feet above sea level.  Thus, the elevation gain of my weekly hike was 1,594 feet, or about 1,600 feet.  The height of the Empire State Building, from sidewalk to the top floor, is 1,250 feet.  Hence, my hike up the “Y” Mountain was equivaled to climbing the stairs of the Empire State Building once completely, and then doing another fourth of the stairs again.

Alphabetical listing of the county peaks:

         Peak name                  County          Date climbed    Peak height in feet
01. American Fork Twin Peaks       Salt Lake          09/2001            11,489    
02. Andy Nelson Peak               Kane               11/2017            10,027
03. Bluebell Knoll                 Wayne              09/2019            11,328
04. Brian Head Peak                Iron               09/2011            11,307
05. Bridger Peak                   Rich               08/2020             9,255
06. Bull Mountain                  Box Elder          10/2020             9,934
07. Delano Peak                    Beaver, Piute      07/2010            12,169
08. Deseret Peak                   Tooele             10/2000            11,031
09. East Mountain                  Emery              09/2020            10,743
10. Eccentric Peak                 Daggett, Uintah    08/2012            12,276
11. Fish Lake Hightop              Sevier             06/2002            11,633
12. Gilbert Peak                   Summit             08/2010            13,442
13. Ibapah Peak                    Juab               09/2002            12,087
14. Kings Peak                     Duchesne           08/1994            13,528
15. Mine Camp Peak                 Millard            08/2017            10,222
16. Monument Peak                  Carbon             09/2020            10,452
17. Mount Cardwell                 Wasatch            10/2020            10,743
18. Mount Ellen                    Garfield           09/2019            11,522
19. Mount Nebo                     Utah               07/1997            11,928
20. Mount Peale                    San Juan           07/2012            12,721
21. Mount Waas                     Grand              07/2012            12,331
22. Naomi Peak                     Cache              08/2020             9,979
23. Signal Peak                    Washington         06/2009            10,365
24. South Tent Mountain            Sanpete            08/2019            11,285
25. Thurston Peak                  Davis, Morgan      07/2010             9,706
26. Willard Peak                   Weber              09/2018             9,763

Chronologic listing of the county peak hikes:

     Peak name                      County          Date climbed      Height in feet   Elevation gain
01. Kings Peak                     Duchesne           08/1994            13,528          4,128 feet   
02. Mount Nebo                     Utah               07/1997            11,928          5,427 feet  (climbed twice)
03. Deseret Peak                   Tooele             10/2000            11,031          3,900 feet
04. American Fork Twin Peaks       Salt Lake          09/2001            11,489          3,346 feet
05. Fish Lake Hightop              Sevier             06/2002            11,633          3,000 feet
06. Ibapah Peak                    Juab               09/2002            12,087          7,000 feet
07. Signal Peak                    Washington         06/2009            10,365          4,500 feet
08. Delano Peak                    Beaver, Piute      07/2010            12,169          2,500 feet
09. Thurston Peak                  Davis, Morgan      07/2010             9,706          2,000 feet
10. Gilbert Peak                   Summit             08/2010            13,442          4,000 feet
11. Brian Head Peak                Iron               09/2011            11,307          1,500 feet
12. Mount Peale                    San Juan           07/2012            12,721          2,500 feet
13. Mount Waas                     Grand              07/2012            12,331          4,000 feet 
14. Eccentric Peak                 Daggett, Uintah    08/2012            12,276          2,000 feet
15. Mine Camp Peak                 Millard            08/2017            10,222          
16. Andy Nelson Peak               Kane               11/2017            10,027 
17. Willard Peak                   Weber              09/2018             9,763
18. South Tent Mountain            Sanpete            08/2019            11,285 
19. Bluebell Knoll                 Wayne              09/2019            11,328 
20. Mount Ellen                    Garfield           09/2019            11,522
21. Naomi Peak                     Cache              08/2020             9,979
22. Bridger Peak                   Rich               08/2020             9,255 
23. East Mountain                  Emery              09/2020            10,743
24. Monument Peak                  Carbon             09/2020            10,452 
25. Bull Mountain                  Box Elder          10/2020             9,934 
26. Mount Cardwell                 Wasatch            10/2020            10,743 

Other peaks that I have climbed:
       Peak name           Date climbed       Height in feet    Elevation gain
01. Mount Timpanogos         06/1990              11,750          4,489 feet   (climbed it 6 times)
02. Mount Raymond            07/1991              10,241          3,841 feet
03. Lowe Peak                07/1992              10,583          3,100 feet           
04. Spanish Fork Peak        09/1999              10,192          4,580 feet
05. Provo Peak               10/1999              11,068          3,908 feet
06. Shingle Mill Peak        11/1999              10,690          3,530 feet   (climbed it 9 times)
07. Lightning Peak           11/1999              10,056          4,136 feet
08. Liberty Peak             06/2000              10,801          3,641 feet
09. Cascade Mountain         06/2000              10,908          5,468 feet
10. Twin Sisters  CO)        06/2000              11,426          2,501 feet
11. Flat Top Mountain (CO)   06/2000              12,324          2,869 feet
12. Hallett Peak (CO)        06/2000              12,713          3,258 feet
13. Box Elder Peak           08/2001              11,101          4,000 feet
14. Flat Top Mountain (UT)   07/2002              10,620          3,000 feet 
15. Lewiston Peak            07/2002              10,411          3,000 feet 
16. Wheeler Peak (NV)        09/2002              13,063          3,000 feet
17. Spread Eagle Peak        08/2006              12,426          2,500 feet
18. Mount Agassiz            08/2006              12,640          2,500 feet 
19. Mount Belknap            07/2010              12,137          2,500 feet
20. Santaquin Peak           09/2011              10,685          3,000 feet
21. Lone Peak                08/2012              11,253          5,500 feet
22. Ben Lomond Peak          09/2018               9,716          

Steepness of the county peaks:

Using the elevation gained, the length of the hike, and the tangent formula, I have calculated
the average angle of ascent for each of the county peaks in Utah.  I have listed them by 
steepness and alphabetically:

Steepness:
01. East Mountain            --  17.0 degrees
02. Deseret Peak             --  11.9 degrees
03. Mount Peale              --  11.1 degrees
04. Mount Nebo               --  10.5 degrees
05. Mount Waas               --  10.5 degrees
06. Gilbert Peak             --   9.9 degrees
07. American Fork Twin Peaks --   9.3 degrees
08. Ibapah Mountain          --   9.1 degrees
09. Bull Mountain            --   8.6 degrees
10. Eccentric Peak           --   7.6 degrees
11. Mine Camp Peak           --   6.8 degrees
12. Bridger Peak             --   6.7 degrees
13. Fish Lake Hightop        --   6.4 degrees
14. Signal Mountain          --   5.8 degrees
15. Mount Ellen              --   5.6 degrees
16. South Tent Mountain      --   5.5 degrees
17. Andy Nelson Peak         --   5.4 degrees
18. Naomi Peak               --   5.3 degrees
19. Bluebell Knoll           --   5.2 degrees
20. Delano Peak              --   4.6 degrees
21. Willard Peak             --   4.1 degrees
22. Kings Peak               --   3.0 degrees
23. Thurston Peak            --   1.2 degrees
24. Caldwell Peak            --   1.1 degrees
25. Brianhead Peak           --   0.0 degrees
26. Monument Peak            --   0.0 degrees

Alphabetical:
01. American Fork Twin Peaks --   9.3 degrees
02. Andy Nelson Peak         --   5.4 degrees
03. Bluebell Knoll           --   5.2 degrees
04. Brianhead Peak           --   0.0 degrees
05. Bridger Peak             --   6.7 degrees
06. Bull Mountain            --   8.6 degrees
07. Caldwell Peak            --   1.1 degrees
08. Delano Peak              --   4.6 degrees
09. Deseret Peak             --  11.9 degrees
10. East Mountain            --  17.0 degrees
11. Eccentric Peak           --   7.6 degrees
12. Fish Lake Hightop        --   6.4 degrees
13. Gilbert Peak             --   9.9 degrees
14. Ibapah Mountain          --   9.1 degrees
15. Kings Peak               --   3.0 degrees
16. Monument Peak            --   0.0 degrees
17. Mount Ellen              --   5.6 degrees
18. Mount Nebo               --  10.5 degrees
19. Mount Peale              --  11.1 degrees
20. Mount Waas               --  10.5 degrees
21. Mine Camp Peak           --   6.8 degrees
22. Naomi Peak               --   5.3 degrees
23. Signal Mountain          --   5.8 degrees
24. South Tent Mountain      --   5.5 degrees
25. Thurston Peak            --   1.2 degrees
26. Willard Peak             --   4.1 degrees


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