Mount Nebo and North Peak (#'s 17 & 18)

Driving toward Nephi on I-15—and visible from anywhere in the valley—is a monster of a mountain, crowned by Mount Nebo. For years now I have longed to hike its beautiful flanks and see for myself the view from on top.

Early Mormon pioneers named it Mount Nebo, “Sentinel of God.” In the Bible, Mount Nebo was the place where Moses ascended before his death and viewed the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 34:1-6). Perhaps this is why the pioneers gave it the name they did. Rising as a watchman on the very southern edge of the Wasatch Range, Mount Nebo, it could be said, was a gatekeeper to the Promised Land of the early Latter Day Saints.

North Peak.

I finally found my opportunity to hike this elusive peak. Dave and I drove up the night before and stayed at a motel in Nephi. When morning came, we awoke to a sky dense with smoke from wildfires in Idaho and Oregon. We worried about it affecting our lungs, as well as the view from the top.

Technically, Mount Nebo has three different peaks: North, Middle and South. For many years until the 1970's, it was believed that South Mount Nebo was the highest. That peak is usually accessed by a trail near Salt Creek and Bear Canyon Campground. But then it was discovered that North Mount Nebo was the tallest and suddenly everyone wanted to hike it instead. Luckily for us, the trail to access North Mount Nebo is located much higher in elevation, off the Nebo Loop Road at 9,254 feet.—(And to be sure, don't confuse North Mount Nebo with North Peak, which is located just north of North Mount Nebo!)

As for Dave and I, we set out to climb North Mount Nebo and then North Peak if we had any energy left. We parked at the trailhead, a quarter-mile off the Nebo Loop Road. The hike begins on a good trail along a ridge with a great view of North Peak and a looking down a very deep canyon which contains the left fork of Salt Creek. Bald Mountain is very prominent to the northwest and one can also see Dry Mountain and Loafer Mountain in the distance.

Bald Mountain.

The trail skirts around the west side of North Peak.  Mount Nebo in distance.

The first couple miles goes gradually uphill, although there are some short downhill sections. The next mile and a half is the first steep section, gaining 1,362 feet. Here the trail takes you to the main ridge that connects all the Nebo peaks, then behind and to the west of North Peak.

None of the trails were marked with signs, although they were easy to follow. The section of trail that skirted North Peak was wide (enough) and safe, but the slope off to our right was steep and precarious. From here we had views down into the valley toward Mona, but with all the smoke and haze it was nothing stellar.

Wolf Pass looking toward false summit of Mount Nebo.

After circumventing North Peak we arrived at Wolf Pass, the saddle between the two peaks. The wind really began to pick up here. We took time to rest and I put on a long-sleeved shirt to take the edge off the cold. From here there was no more easy hiking. The route to Nebo appeared straight up!

We stayed on the trail, which made a series of short zigzags along the main ridge. At times the trail was hard to follow, but there was indeed a trail all the way to the top. This final pitch was without a doubt the most grueling, climbing 1,292 feet in just under a mile. It was all steep with the exception of a small false summit which gave some respite.

I will say that Dave did much better than me. Despite the fact that this was his first major hike of the summer and that he is ten years older, he was able to keep up a pace that outdid me. I was impressed.

It was along this section that we passed our first hikers of the day. I was surprised we didn't pass more as Mount Nebo, I would think, would be a popular hike.

Dave booking it to the summit.

From the false summit, looking toward Nebo.

At last we made it to the summit of Mount Nebo, the highest peak in Utah County and the entire Wasatch Range, elevation 11,923 feet. It felt nice to finally reach a goal I had set years ago.

In spite of the haze, we had decent views all around. To the north we could see North Peak, Bald Mountain, Dry Mountain and Loafer Mountain, but the haze was too thick to distinctly see Mount Timponogos, which is further north. The landscape to our east dropped quickly and deeply—nearly 5,000 feet— into Hell Hole Basin. Beyond that were a series of rolling high hills, indistinguishable to untrained eyes such as ours. Somewhere down there would be Highway 6 running between Spanish Fork and Price. In the far distance I could barely distinguish some bald knobs, which I suspect was the very western flank of the Uintah Mountains.

From the summit looking south toward South Mount Nebo.

From the summit looking west toward Mona.

From the summit looking into Hell Hole Basin.

The broad summit of Mount Nebo.

To our south the Nebo ridgeline continued and I could see South Mount Nebo a mile away. From our vantage point on North Mount Nebo we could not see the town of Nephi, so I assume that the Mount Nebo I alluded to in my opening paragraph that one can see from I-15 is really South Mount Nebo.

As we rested at the top we were met by another group of hikers, all of them young ones. They were very pleasant to talk to and had moved here recently from Michigan and Chicago, although they already had ties to the area. One had just finished serving a church mission in the Philippines.

Our hike to the summit took us 3 hours and 40 minutes. We rested forty minutes on the peak before heading down.

The hike down wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Luckily we had a trail, which helped. We arrived back at the saddle at Wolf Pass where we now headed off-trail toward North Peak.

The slope was grassy and not as steep as I had anticipated. I only had to stop and rest my thighs a couple of times. From saddle to peak it took us 30 minutes to cover .6 miles and climb 526 feet. The detour was well worth it. North Peak had two possible summits and we chose the one we thought was highest, although both of them were pretty similar in elevation.

Descending Mount Nebo, looking toward North Peak.

Dave ascending the grassy slopes of North Peak.

From the summit of North Peak looking back toward Mount Nebo.

Descending on the Nebo Trail.  Bald Mountain in distance.

From the Summit of North Peak it didn't take much descent until we met back up with the main Nebo Trail. Dave led the way and we “booked” it all the way to the car.

Our total hike took us 7 hours 30 minutes, measuring 8.8 miles. It was a good mountain hike with very steep slopes. I was glad we did it, although I will admit that there wasn't a whole lot that stood out as particularly unique. We saw no big game animals such as deer, elk or mountain goats. There wasn't a single pond or lake. The scenery on this hike could have been that of any other steep mountain.

But it was nice to get out with Dave. It was our first outing of the year together (and it's already September). We got to drive up in my wife's Tesla and spend the night in a 1970's motel in Nephi. That alone would have made the trip memorable. But there is still a great deal of satisfaction of climbing the summit of a very tall mountain, especially when that summit is tallest for many miles. ♠


(North) Mount Nebo

Miles from car (one way): 4.4

Elevation gain: 2,669 feet

Final elevation: 11,923 feet


North Peak

Miles from Mount Nebo: 1.5

New elevation gain: 526 feet

Final elevation: 11,157 feet

From the summit of North Peak.