Stansbury Mountains: Utah
June 3-5, 2007
Nicole and I spent a week in Utah visiting with friends and family. Near the end of our stay, we went camping with Ben and Barbara in the seldom-visited Stansbury Mountains (north of the great Salt Lake and west of the Oquirrhs). The peak is over 11,000 ft and the campground was around 8,000 ft in a mixed forest of pine and aspen. There was not much snow left thanks to a dry winter and a warm spring... although this would change drastically the day after we headed back to Salt Lake. We hiked up to South Willow Lake (~9,100 ft) our second day there. Although the lake was kind of small and murky for a mountain lake, the views and scenery was excellent. A good alternative to the more crowded Wasatch if what you seek is solitude. As I mentioned before, a storm blew in the day after we left the mountains. Several inches of snow fell above ~5,500 ft while a chilly, 40 degree rain fell in Salt Lake. The trip was fun and Nicole and I really enjoyed the time we spent camping Ben and Barbara.
The rocky cliffs of the Deseret Peak complex.
Deseret Peak through the Aspens.
Aspens.
Close-up of an Aspen trunk.
The high country of the Stansbury Mountains and Deseret Peak.
Happy Hikers: Nicole leads, followed by Barbara & Ben.
Happy dog: Noel pulls Nicole up the hill.
Nicole, Noel, Barbara, and Ben negotiate the steep switchbacks. Notice who's hauling up all the gear... that's Ben, our designated Sherpa!
South Willow Lake is located at the base of that huge cliff in the distance.
The gang hikes on into an amphitheater of rock.
Tiny South Willow Lake.
The trail skirts the shallow shores of South Willow Lake.
The trail takes us back to the Upper Narrows campground... and dinner!
Cumulus clouds drift over Deseret Peak.
The beautiful Stansbury Mountains.