Hiking City Creek Peak was Plan B. Until the night before I had never heard of it. Upon realizing that the road to my scheduled hike could be closed due to recent forest fires, I thought it wise to come up with an alternate plan. I quickly consulted Google Maps and found a nearby peak that appeared doable. I checked the topography to be sure there was a route that wouldn't require any class 4 climbs, and then checked the satellite image to be sure it wasn't choked in thick forest.
My Plan A was to drive over the night before and the next morning park near the Deer Trail Mine and hike up to Mount Brigham. I arrived just before dusk, and even though the road near the mine was open, it appeared to be a work area and I just didn't feel comfortable leaving my vehicle in a work zone all day long. With very little light left in the sky, I drove fifteen miles south to my Plan B location.
I took road 153 a few miles west of Junction, Utah and parked near a creek at the City Creek Recreation Area. I was the only one there. By now it was dark and I could faintly catch the glimmer of a picnic table. The rushing water of the creek was hypnotizing.
I sat down at the table in the dark and ate the other half of my Subway sandwich. Then I spent time taking pictures of the stars before finally going to sleep in the back of my Trailblazer.
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| First obstacle. City Creek Peak not yet seen. |
When morning came, I was excited to finally see what I was in for.
I drove a couple miles up a dirt road to a sagebrush flat that included a few roaming cattle. I was astonished by what I saw. The mountain from this angle was a series of sheer cliffs that appeared impassable. The beauty was stunning, but to climb it would be another story. Perhaps that was not the hill I was to climb. The topo map showed the incline as steep, but doable. I would soon find out.
I parked the Trailblazer on the side of the dirt road and began walking up a rougher 4x4 road. After a mile and a half I veered off the road and began hiking up the mountainside. There was no trail, but the incline wasn't a thigh-burner yet. Bushwhacking wasn't too bad either.
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| Looking down to where I started. |
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| A very steep climb up. |
But the further up the hill I got, the steeper it became. Before I knew it I had to rest my legs every few minutes. It so happened that my trek up the mountainside was just north of the sheer cliffs I had previously seen. At one point I came out to a viewpoint that looked out over the cliffs and across the sagebrush flat where I had earlier been. It was here I saw a lone driver in a pickup truck in the distance near where I had parked. He was the only other person I saw that day, probably a bow hunter.
Near the top of this hillside I came in contact with one of these sheer rocky outcrops. I maneuvered around it, sometimes climbing on all fours. By this time I was near 9,900 feet in elevation. I was near the ridge and hoped that once I got on the ridge the vegetation would clear out and I would have a smooth hike to the summit.
Ou contraire!
The final ascent to the ridge was even steeper than it was before, with some places being quite treacherous. At least it wasn't too rocky, but it was still difficult to move across the slope without sliding.
When I finally got to the ridge, it was even more choked with trees and bushes than anything I had yet encountered. I thought I might now be able to see the peak. That didn't happen either. A deep canyon now fell precipitously to my left. This was the gorge where I had camped the night before, with City Creek at the bottom.
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| View toward Circleville Mountain. |
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| Looking back toward the ridge I had hiked up. |
By this time I had been hiking four hours and had traveled a very difficult three and a half miles. I was well over the 10,000 feet mark. Trees remained thick, but now and then I caught a glimpse of the peak. I wondered how many people had traveled this route. My guess was virtually nobody unless they were either hunting or stupid. On the other side of City Creek Peak was a road and I'll bet that nearly every alpinist to ever summit this peak has come from that side.
At last the deep canyon to my left came to an end and I was able to drop a couple hundred feet and climb up the other side toward the peak. I now made my way above tree line, which was nice, but the slope became so steep that my thighs burned. For the next half mile I climbed 650 feet in elevation. I endured.
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| A rare glimpse of City Creek Peak. |
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| The final pitch to City Creek Peak. |
The final section was an easy class 3 rock climb. It felt much easier than everything before it because now I could pull myself up with the aid of my arms. At last I made it to the summit of City Creek Peak, elevation 11,156 feet. It took me 5 hours and 34 minutes.
The view from the peak was wonderful. It was great to finally be above treeline and to have a unique view of the Tushars. The big peaks I could see were Baldy, Little Shelly Baldy, Holly and Mount Brigham. Delano was blocked by Holly. Puffar Lake was relatively close, but mostly obscured by trees and hills. Circleville Mountain was the dominant feature in the south. Looking further down I could see portions of Piute Reservoir and the town of Circleville.
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| Panorama taken at the summit of City Creek Peak. |
The wind blew voraciously here on top. I had to take off my ball cap and put a rock over it so it wouldn't blow away. I quickly ate a sandwich and took some pictures. Time was of the essence and I knew I was only half done. I needed to make it down before dark.
But for now I savored my final minutes on the peak. I didn't see any mountain goats, although I knew they had been here recently because I saw a patch of white fur and cloven footprints where they had bedded down. Some 3,000 feet away I saw the dirt road that someone could use to access the peak from the top. I was fortunate that there were no major fires this day and skies were clear.
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| View of the Tushars from the summit of City Creek Peak. |
City Creek Peak
Miles from car (one way): 4.5
Elevation gain: 3,356 feet
Final elevation: 11,156 feet
On the way up I took note of an alternate route that, at least from what I could see, had fewer trees and was more direct. I decided to roll the dice and take this route down.
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