Deseret Peak Wilderness, Utah: Thursday, November 20, 2008

The Winter snows were coming late this year (so I've been told), and I decided to try and squeeze in one more hike before it's all done for the Winter (except for winter hiking, but those are other posts).  Having heard great things about the Stansbury Mountain range (about 35 minutes west of Salt Lake City, in the Great Basin Desert), I decided to drive out there and give it a try.

I wasn't sure what to expect, since the drive to the Stansburys is through high desert (nothing but sage, scrub, and sand), but I was quite pleasantly surprised when I got to the Deseret Peak Wilderness (and the Deseret Peak trailhead).  Straddling the Stansbury Mountains, the Deseret Peak Wilderness rises to its highest point of 11,031 feet on Deseret Peak. The trail climbs through a forest of aspen for about three-fourths mile before crossing a year-round stream and, shortly thereafter, reaches a fork. The left fork heads south towards the peak. The right fork leads to Willow Lakes. In the next mile and a half, the trail climbs almost 2,000 feet, crossing several meadows with the sheer 1,500 foot southwest face of Deseret Peak appearing above.  

Due to the short days, there wasn't time to peakbag (a term for reaching the summit) and returning, but I did have a nice hike.  I've been back several times with Jesse and the dogs, and eventually (see subsequent post) I did reach the summit (with my dog Brandis).  Hope you enjoy the pix.

Educational Moment:  Deseret is not a misspelling for Desert -- Deseret is a word in an ancient tongue that the Mormons believe means "honeybee".  In fact, Mormon settlers named their territory the State of Deseret.  Because of the Mormon's early belief in polygamous marriage and their self-exile from the rest of country, eastern politicians were wary of those "unpredictable" citizens. Early Mormon pioneers formed a political government which functioned as the State of Deseret between 1849-70, but their petitions for statehood were denied. In 1850, an "outside" form of government was imposed on the area by federal officials.  A governor was sent to the new territory, called Utah (after the local Ute Indian tribe), to oversee law and order.  It took almost fifty years for lawmakers to admit Utah as an official member of the union. During that time Mormon leaders officially outlawed polygamy. In the autumn of 1895 a constitution was approved, which included granting women the right to vote (one of the first such concessions in the nation).  Several months later, on January 4, 1896, Utah was admitted as the 45th state in the union.  Isn't learning fun?  :)

http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock/151580/deseret-peak.html

http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/Deseret_0000.asp 

http://www.micksmtn.20m.com/deseret.html