Lone Peak Cirque Dispersed

Dear Diary,

I have climbed many a mountains in my time, but none make me want to kms more than lone peak- with zero sleep and in chacos, starting at 1 AM instead of 6 AM as originally planned, we were having a grand ole’ time until about 2:30 AM when my head lamp died and then my gal pal and I got lost. For the next three hours, we bush whacked over three ridges. While we were lost, we struggled between feeling extreme determination to concur this mountain and myriad amount of suicidal thoughts. My watch also died on the way down. I do not recommend hiking this after spending 10 hours in a car driving back from San Diego and eating Mexican food. 10/10 worst hike ever.

Arguably the best mountain day hike on the Wasatch, getting to the top of Lone Peak (and back) is punishing. But, as they say, “it hurts so good!” The views, the variety of terrain, and the fact that it’s slightly technical but not too bad, makes this trek a winner. We ascended the Cherry Canyon logging trail due to the road closure that prevented us from reaching the Jacob’s Ladder trail. The hike was pretty brutal from the start and stayed steep nearly the entire way. You get a slight reprieve of flat ground at about the half-way point for about a half mile before restarting the steep. Once you get to the rock fields below the first set of cliffs, the cairns become a bit misleading so bring a gps or AllTrails app. We found ourselves off the trail a couple times up high and had to do some scrambling to get back on the line. The top section is the steepest but not overly technical. The final push across the knife edge is a little sketchy due to the drops on either side but the views will distract you from your fear ;) We summited in late September and it took us 10 hours round trip with breaks. An item to emphasize: You will need more water than you think. We each burned through 4 liters and ran out about a 1/4 of the way down. I would suggest 6 liters at a minimum per person. We clocked 17.8 miles and 6900 feet in elevation gain. We smiled through our tears. It was wonderful!

Lone peak via Jacobs Ladder is one of the most rewarding hikes I’ve ever done, with amazing views of the peak almost the whole way and a great experience up in the cirque. The views from the peak are unmatched. That being said, this is probably the hardest hike I’ve ever done. I am an averagely experienced hiker, and I would definitely recommend doing lots of shorter hikes/leg workouts before attempting this trail. Make sure you start at the Peak View Trailhead, this trail will take you to Lone Rock and then to Jacob’s Ladder (there are other routes to access the peak, like the cherry canyon logging trail, these instruction only apply to those who want to go up the Jacob’s Ladder route. AllTrails has outdated info on this trailhead, which is why I go into detail). Once you pass Lone Rock (about 2 miles past trailhead), you begin to climb the “ladder”. This section of trail is essentially a straight up climb of the mountain for 2 miles. It is brutal going up, and harder going down due to loose rock and dirt. After passing Enniss Peak, there is about .5 miles of flat trail where you go through a beautiful meadow. There are a lot of great campsites up here. After you pass the meadow, the trail mostly consists of following cairns until the peak. Once you get into the Cirque, head to the left side following the cairns and you have to scramble your way to the top. The last 1.5 miles to the peak are very challenging as well, just take your time and be safe close to the edges. The peak is not as scary to sit on as you would think, there were 7 of us up there at once and no one was in danger of falling. Just be smart and stay away from the edges as there are 600 ft cliffs on 3 sides. I started at around 4:45 a.m. and got back to the trailhead at around 3:15 p.m. so definitely plan around 10-12 hours for this hike. There is not a lot of tree cover on the majority of this hike, so I would HIGHLY recommend starting early to avoid the afternoon heat/sun on your way back down.

My favorite Utah hike. I like going up via Cherry Canyon Logging Trail better than Jacob’s Ladder. Either way the initial ascent is grueling. Cherry Canyon is also more convenient bc you can park at Orson Smith park and begin, whereas you’ll need to drive a somewhat nasty dirt road to get to the Jacob’s Ladder trailhead.

One cool thing about the Cherry Canyon ascent is you might run into paragliders who like to hike the first 3-4k vertical feet of that trail to a point where they launch and then glide down just above the ridge.

Once you’ve completed the initial ascent of either Jacob’s ladder or cherry canyon the two trails nearly converge near Ennis Peak. From there a ridge divides the routes as you head towards the top. Cherry Canyon takes the north side of the ridge, and Jacob’s Ladder takes the south side.

The two trails converge again at the base of the cirque that you have to traverse to get to the top of Lone Peak. This is where you’ll need to do some scrambling with exposure. Not for the faint of heart, but also very rewarding.

My personal preference is to take Cherry Canyon all the way to the top, then come back on Jacob’s Ladder and jump back over to Cherry near Ennis Peak. The terrain diversity this method offers is so pleasing. The Jacob’s Ladder route has boulder fields, mountain meadows, and views of Mt Timpanogas and Utah Valley that I adore.

There are some points on the trail where you can simultaneously see Utah Valley, SL Valley, West Desert, and even the Great SL. Best views of any trail in Utah.

If you go by late May, early June, you can expect to find water sources, but you’ll probably also still run into snow at the top. Late summer you’ll want to make sure to pack all the water you need.

One last note, if you take Jacob’s Ladder, be prepared for large portions where the only way to recognize the trail is to follow the cairns.