Logan Utah Hiking Questions/Proposed Hike/Trip Report

Got some trip suggestions at another National Park, or know of a great place in the middle of no where? Share them here, plan your trips, and hook up with other individuals on the forum.

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hooky
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Logan Utah Hiking Questions/Proposed Hike/Trip Report

Post by hooky »

In a couple of weeks, I'm going to find myself in Logan, UT for a mid day meeting. As flights home are kind of screwy, it presents an opportunity for me to do an overnight hike and then back to Salt lake City the next afternoon and fly back the following evening.

Has anyone been to that area and have suggestions? Lots of rugged territory, but I've never done more that ogle it from the valley floor. Any help is appreciated.


Edited the title to reflect thread contents
Last edited by hooky on Wed Jul 23, 2014 4:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Logan Utah Hiking Questions

Post by hooky »

For anyone interested, the plan is to do the Tony Grove area. Monday night will be spent at a White Pine Trail campsite, which should give some great wildflower pictures. Tuesday morning will find me headed to Naomi's Peak, the tallest peak in the Bear River Range. Sunrise at 6:10am, so I should be able to do the 4 miles from campsite to peak and 3.3 back to the trailhead in 8 hours, so I can still make my 5:30pm flight in Salt Lake City. This should give me time to linger on the peak and take pictures. It looks like I'm gaining around 2100 ft on the way up from the campsite.

http://logancanyonhiking.com/grove.htm
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Re: Logan Utah Hiking Questions/Proposed Hike

Post by frdm02 »

Enjoy! I love Utah. I know it should go without saying but make sure and give yourself extra time and water due to the elevation. I am always shocked how much faster I tire when out in the mountains vs home in WI
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Re: Logan Utah Hiking Questions/Proposed Hike

Post by hooky »

No doubt in my mind that it's going to smoke me, but I can't pass up the opportunity.
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Re: Logan Utah Hiking Questions/Proposed Hike

Post by hooky »

My plans got changed up at the last minute. I thought I'd be wrapped up at 3 pm, but we ended up going to dinner that night. I rallied and got a hotel room at the last minute, so I didn't get to do an overnight. I ended up driving to the Tony Grove campground at O-dark hundred and making a day out of just hitting Naomi's Peak.

Google Map of the Area

I hit the road around 4:15 and drove up to the trailhead. By the time I registered and got underway, the eastern horizon above the mountains was beginning to glow a soft blue and temp was 47F. The trail is 3.3 miles and picks up ~2K feet in elevation to top out at just a couple dozen feet shy of 10,000 feet. It's the highest peak in the Bear River Range and the view was awesome.

I've seen the hike listed as both moderate and strenuous by different sources with guidance to allow up to 4 hours to reach the peak and to assume you would see crowds. I was a little worried about making the peak and getting back to the car in time to make the 2.5 hour drive back to the Salt Lake City airport for a 5:30 flight, so I hiked the first 20 minutes or so with my headlamp on. I was wondering how smart that was as every noise I heard in the dim morning light was a cat that was about to ambush me. :D As it turns out, even a fat guy like me could do the round trip in under 4 hours. I hit the top in 2 hours and 10 minutes.

The trail starts out with a lot of lush vegetation with a packed dirt trail and as it climbs, it becomes barren with gravel crunching under your feet. At the peak, I spent about 90 minutes just hanging out and taking pictures. I ate a couple of granola bars and some beef jerky, then drank the rest of my water as the wind started to pick up. My back was still wet and I was starting to get cold, so I decided to get off the peak and poke around some more along the top.

After another hour, I headed back down. I hadn't taken pictures on the way up, so I spent a lot of time taking pictures on the way back. My wife loves wildflowers, so I obliged her with a bunch of pictures. I stopped and filled up my bottles with water from one of the seeps I had passed. There were still some patches of snow above 9K, but my guess is within 2-3 weeks, there will be no more water on the trail.

Here are a few pics and more can be seen HERE

2 Views from the top.

Image

Image

A view of Naomi from a lesser peak.

Image
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Re: Logan Utah Hiking Questions/Proposed Hike/Trip Report

Post by frdm02 »

Glad to hear that you managed to hit the trail even if the overnight didn't work out.

Great photos thanks for sharing
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Re: Logan Utah Hiking Questions/Proposed Hike

Post by Midwest Ed »

hooky wrote:. . . . more can be seen HERE
The photobucket account is private.
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Re: Logan Utah Hiking Questions/Proposed Hike/Trip Report

Post by hooky »

It should be viewable now.
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Re: Logan Utah Hiking Questions/Proposed Hike/Trip Report

Post by Midwest Ed »

Very nice. Looks like a good time of year to visit.
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Re: Logan Utah Hiking Questions/Proposed Hike/Trip Report

Post by hooky »

Thanks, Ed. I stopped in at the Logan District Ranger Office before heading home to thank the lady who answered some questions over the phone. They told me there is about a 3-4 week window starting in July where the snow is mostly gone, flowers are in bloom and there is water. I timed it right out of sheer luck.
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