Lone Peak
Encyclopedia
Lone Peak, a mountain peak southeast of Salt Lake City, Utah
, is the center of the Lone Peak Wilderness
Area, which was established in 1978. At 11253 feet (3,429.9 m) elevation, it is one of the taller peaks in the Wasatch Range
along the Wasatch Front and tends to be a favorite hike. Lone Peak consists almost entirely of quartz monzonite
(a granitoid, or granite
-like) rock of the 30.5 million year old Little Cottonwood Stock. Quartzite
and limestone
are also found in distal locations on the mountain. Lone Peak is the 87th highest named mountain in Utah
.
It is possible to reach the summit
in one long day, but rock climbers often camp at the base of the summit and non-climbers often camp lower on the Jacob's Ladder Trail. There are a few streams that dry up before summer, so water must be carried in. There is reputedly a spring that runs year-round.
The Jacob's Ladder Trailhead is just up the road. The Jacob's Ladder Trail overlaps the Draper Ridge Trail for the last 2/3 of the way to the peak.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, is the center of the Lone Peak Wilderness
Lone Peak Wilderness
The Lone Peak Wilderness is a wilderness area located within the Uinta and the Wasatch-Cache National Forest in the U.S. state of Utah.The Lone Peak Wilderness was established in 1978 as part of the Endangered American Wilderness Act and was the only designated wilderness area in Utah until the...
Area, which was established in 1978. At 11253 feet (3,429.9 m) elevation, it is one of the taller peaks in the Wasatch Range
Wasatch Range
The Wasatch Range is a mountain range that stretches approximately from the Utah-Idaho border, south through central Utah in the western United States. It is generally considered the western edge of the greater Rocky Mountains, and the eastern edge of the Great Basin region...
along the Wasatch Front and tends to be a favorite hike. Lone Peak consists almost entirely of quartz monzonite
Quartz monzonite
Quartz monzonite is an intrusive igneous rock that has an approximately equal proportion of orthoclase and plagioclase feldspars. The plagioclase is typically intermediate to sodic in composition, andesine to oligoclase. Quartz is present in significant amounts. Biotite and/or hornblende...
(a granitoid, or granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
-like) rock of the 30.5 million year old Little Cottonwood Stock. Quartzite
Quartzite
Quartzite is a hard metamorphic rock which was originally sandstone. Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. Pure quartzite is usually white to gray, though quartzites often occur in various shades of pink...
and limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
are also found in distal locations on the mountain. Lone Peak is the 87th highest named mountain in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
.
Hiking/Backpacking
| Lone Peak Hiking/Backpacking Details | |
|---|---|
| Summit: | 11,253 feet (3,429.9 meters) |
| Estimated Starting Elevation: | 5,200 feet |
| Average Total Distance: | 9 miles round-trip |
| Time Needed: | 1–2 days |
| Rating: | Difficult |
Summit (topography)
In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation...
in one long day, but rock climbers often camp at the base of the summit and non-climbers often camp lower on the Jacob's Ladder Trail. There are a few streams that dry up before summer, so water must be carried in. There is reputedly a spring that runs year-round.
Jacobs Ladder Trail
The trail head, located at 40°29′39"N 111°48′59"W, is marked with a sign. It is located near a large turnout on the right side of the road and three 4-wheel drive tracks climbing the road bank on the north side of the road. In 2007, the turnout was accompanied by a wooden fence leading to the starting point of the trail.Draper Ridge Trail
The Draper Ridge Trail is currently inactive. The trail is in a deteriorated condition, as the top of the trail is very exposed to weather. Towards the bottom, thick undergrowth prevents passage.The Jacob's Ladder Trailhead is just up the road. The Jacob's Ladder Trail overlaps the Draper Ridge Trail for the last 2/3 of the way to the peak.
Cherry Canyon Logging Trail
Important features of this trail are that it has a year-round spring(cold springs) located at 40°30′58"N 111°47′35"W and a small cabin in a meadow. The route gains altitude in the beginning, going through a steep scrub oak section. After a few hours of hiking, things change as the trail levels off and veers north into the trees crossing the water of cold springs in bear canyon. The trail climbs out of the drainage on the north side into a new drainage, but stays generally below the ridge line. The trail eventually opens into a meadow with a small cabin in the large pine trees. The trail continues up above the cabin to the southeast and crosses over to the south into another drainage at a low point on the ridge. The southeast top of the new drainage meets up with the main granite drainage running roughly north-south which leads to the Lone Peak Cirque via stacked rock cairns. An alternate route is to roughly follow the stream bed up the drainage until the top of the ridge that runs roughly north-south above a granite drainage is reached.Outlaw Cabin
The Outlaw Cabin, located at 40°31′12"N 111°46′53"W on the southwest side of a meadow, was constructed in the summer of 1960 by the Allen Brothers and Alan Summerhays. Construction was completed in 1967 prior to the area being designated as a wilderness area. The cabin has three cots, a pot belly stove, cabinets, and two small windows. It is built from trees downed in the area and the roof is lined with plastic and dirt/grass for insulation. All the materials besides the trees were hauled to the location by horseback. The cabin is partially hidden by large trees. In October 1997, a Draper family was caught in a blinding snow storm and took shelter in the cabin until they were rescued. There is a journal in the cabin that visitors can add their stories to.Deaths on Lone Peak
- December 15, 1936 - Seven died when a Western Air Express Boeing 247Boeing 247The Boeing Model 247 was an early United States airliner, considered the first such aircraft to fully incorporate advances such as all-metal semi-monocoque construction, a fully cantilevered wing and retractable landing gear...
crashed just below Hardy Ridge on Lone Peak. The major parts of the aircraft were hurled over the ridge and fell over a thousand feet into a basin below. - July 25, 2002 - Two hikers were struck by lightning near the summit of Lone Peak while they were trying to seek shelter.
Devils Brigade (film)
- The section of the attack on a nazi stronghold was filmed on the lower part of this peak's mountain, the peak is called lone peak but the actual mountain is "Mount Jordan".
