It was a nice Spring day today, and we wanted to take the Pugs and get out for a while. Jesse hadn't yet been to the Deseret Peak Wilderness area, so even though I knew the upper trails would still be snowed in, I decided to take us all out to the area for a nice easy day hike. The dirt road that leads up to the Deseret Peak trailhead is gated off during the winter months, but the road itself actually makes a nice hike, as it is gradually sloping and easily navigable, and is a 4 mile (one way) hike to the trailhead. Along the way are nice streams, a ranger stations (closed in the winter) and great views. The Pugs had a great time and so did we.
Educational Moment: Deseret Peak Wilderness is located in the Stansbury Mountains of Tooele County, near the towns of Tooele and Grantsville, not far from the Great Salt Lake. This semi-arid wilderness is part of the Great Basin ecosystem. It contains rugged terrain and high peaks that include Deseret Peak itself at 11,030 feet, and many steep-walled canyons shadowed by rocky outcroppings. Despite being in the middle of "classic" desert, in the Stansbury Mountains (with barren Skull Valley to the west) there are some springs and intermittent creeks. Much of the higher country is alpine, with open basins and barren rocky ridges. From December through May, most of the high country is covered in snow. Fir and aspen are commonly found growing in patches at higher elevations. Juniper, mountain brush, sagebrush, and grass cover much of the lower territory.
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