Second hike up Kessler ... it is a steep one! Nice trail all the way. Only saw 3 other hikers on a Sunday in July while there were masses of people in the parking lot and the trail to Doughnut Falls. Hiked with RDB.
harbor - Oct 2, 2017 12:31 am Date Climbed: Sep 2, 2017
Steeeeeeeep
I'd heard about how steep this was and it didn't disappoint. Ran to doughnut falls after in the dark looking for a lost hiker.
Son Matthew dragged me up in just an hour and a half. Even though there were record high temperatures in the valley (105), we were there early enough and the trail was mostly shaded to protect us from the heat. The grade of the trail is consistently steep, with a couple little mine shafts near the top and some great views of Cottonwood Ridge from the summit. While the higher peaks still had snow, we only had to go over one small crossing at the top of the avalanche path.
SabineInUtah - Oct 10, 2016 2:25 pm Date Climbed: Sep 25, 2016
North Route
Nice hike from the Doughnut Falls TH. Hiked with RDB. Beautiful fall day with unsettled weather, sunlight breaking through dark clouds, and golden aspen leaves. There are two mine shafts along the route that are open, although I wouldn't recommend going in, especially into the higher one that is basically a hole that goes straight down into the rock. Took a little longer than we expected for such a short route, maybe because it is very steep in places.
Nice short, steep hike. I've been here 22 times. I've taken the north route all but twice. In the summer there is always a ton of people headed to donut falls but I almost never run into anyone on the trail to Kessler. Great views of the Cottonwood Ridge.
9/1/15 Via Montreal Hill and south ridge.
12/01/08 Lots of snow. Personal worst time of 3:25 to the summit.
09/30/08 Finally found geocache near summit. (After owner moved it to an easier location and told me exactly where it was.)
08/19/08 Personal best time of 1:08 to the summit.
08/12/08, 07/24/08
10/01/07 Another unsuccessful search for summit geocache.
09/25/07 Unsuccessful search for summit geocache.
08/04/07 Hiked up Argenta trail with Joyce and down north route. Found 2 of MOCKBA's geocaches.
04/27/07, 11/10/05, 07/01/04, 06/26/04, 06/20/04, 06/15/04, 05/20/04, 06/30/03, 09/19/02, 08/10/02, 07/11/00, 10/02/99, around 1990.
Garon Coriz - Jun 22, 2015 1:05 am Date Climbed: Jun 20, 2015
Hot Day
Started later than expected - around 11. The heat was terrible in the lower portions but a nice breeze alleviated some of our discomfort once on the bench. Saw a young bull moose camped out 20 feet off the path. The summit view is one of the best in the Wasatch - all of BCC is visible.
jgreeneruns - Apr 13, 2015 3:30 pm Date Climbed: Nov 8, 2014
First snow hike
Crampons probably would have been helpful, but the summit views were well worth the climb.
McKenna - Dec 22, 2014 12:30 pm Date Climbed: Nov 8, 2014
What's a bit of snow?
Would have been more comfortable with an ice axe, but no biggy. Anders and White Chocolate sang and skipped all the way to the top.
PrinceOfNorway - Nov 10, 2014 12:37 pm Date Climbed: Nov 8, 2014
Soft Snow
We went up the north route. There is now a cairn there since my friend made one. Anyway, the trail was steep and it got snowy in the shade. Higher up the soft snow made the going slippery, but it was warmer than average up there. On top it felt to be 55 degrees F.
There were great views to the south, and I was happy to see plenty of snow up on Hidden Peak and at Snowbird.
tmtn93 - Oct 26, 2014 12:06 pm Date Climbed: Oct 25, 2014
Round trip
Weather was looking good Saturday and not having work meant it was the perfect day to hike. Began this hike at 12:30 pm. hiked up the road to cardiff fork and about a mile past Donut Falls. Luckily we ran into the people that own the land up there and they guided us but we still managed to get lost and went off-trail. I could see the ridge, so we decided to create our own path to the ridge. Saw a moose in the forest. The bushes and the loose rock near the ridge are really annoying, so we decided to head straight up the West Face of Kesslers (very steep scramble). Then, it was transversing over the first bump, another bump and what a surprise, one more bump!! The scramble wasn't difficult but we had to do a lot of route finding. Then I could finally see the true summit and this is where it got tricky. We hit a wall and I've only down two scrambles my whole life (Mt. Olympus and Frary Peak). This nearly 50 foot wall with exposure was really scary and my friend managed to get enough confidence in me to climb it (it's way easier than it looks) but it's steep! There's a lot of nice places to find your footing and once over that, the rest of the scramble is easy (but be careful, you have to go under a bunch of trees, don't try going over the trees). We made it to the summit by 4:00, stayed up until 4:30 (other than the two owners of the land, there was no one else in sight). It got way gusty, so we decided to run down the north side and to my surprise, there was a trail there! Took a quick detour to Donut Falls on the way down and made it to the car by 6:00. Great hike!!! Would definitely do it again in the summer. Outstanding views!! The scramble is way fun!
Climbed up from the Doughnut Falls area and up to Carbonate Pass. No trail up to the pass. Very annoying. Views from the top were great! Scrambling was tricky if you stay directly on the ridge. Probably class 4.
06/11 - Morning solo hike, up and down in less than 3 hours. The trail was absolutely beautiful and full of wildlife! I love walking through fields of wildflowers, even if it causes my allergies to go into hyper-drive.
07/08/12 - Hike with Pauline.
08/03/13 - Hike with Sage.
voxnihili - Jun 17, 2013 12:27 am Date Climbed: Jun 16, 2013
North Route
Tally for the morning: one mountain goat, five moose.
scgrant - Sep 15, 2012 4:46 pm Date Climbed: Oct 22, 2015
Kessler Peak
10/22/2015 Nice hike with my dad.
9/15/2012 I have been meaning to climb this peak for some time. I climbed it from the North Route, and it certainly lived up to the hype. There were endless amounts of people at the trailhead and on the road that was heading to Doughnut Falls but once I got to the trail heading up Kessler I didn't see another person. The views from the top were amazing.
Ryan Borzea - Aug 27, 2012 12:32 am Date Climbed: Jun 17, 2012
Been wanting to do this one for a while. Easy hike with a good trail. Great views from up top
jdw10 - Jul 2, 2012 5:52 pm Date Climbed: Jun 28, 2012
North Route
First ascent of Kessler. Loved the hike and the solitude. Probably going to be one of my new training peaks. I like the fact that it's quick and gets you above 10,000'. I guess I'll head out...
utahjimk - Nov 11, 2011 3:23 pm Date Climbed: Aug 30, 2011
SabineInUtah - Jul 23, 2019 12:33 pm Date Climbed: Jul 20, 2019
2nd Time: Short, but SteepSecond hike up Kessler ... it is a steep one! Nice trail all the way. Only saw 3 other hikers on a Sunday in July while there were masses of people in the parking lot and the trail to Doughnut Falls. Hiked with RDB.
harbor - Oct 2, 2017 12:31 am Date Climbed: Sep 2, 2017
SteeeeeeeepI'd heard about how steep this was and it didn't disappoint. Ran to doughnut falls after in the dark looking for a lost hiker.
Rocky Alps - Jul 7, 2017 5:54 pm Date Climbed: Jul 5, 2017
North RouteSon Matthew dragged me up in just an hour and a half. Even though there were record high temperatures in the valley (105), we were there early enough and the trail was mostly shaded to protect us from the heat. The grade of the trail is consistently steep, with a couple little mine shafts near the top and some great views of Cottonwood Ridge from the summit. While the higher peaks still had snow, we only had to go over one small crossing at the top of the avalanche path.
SabineInUtah - Oct 10, 2016 2:25 pm Date Climbed: Sep 25, 2016
North RouteNice hike from the Doughnut Falls TH. Hiked with RDB. Beautiful fall day with unsettled weather, sunlight breaking through dark clouds, and golden aspen leaves. There are two mine shafts along the route that are open, although I wouldn't recommend going in, especially into the higher one that is basically a hole that goes straight down into the rock. Took a little longer than we expected for such a short route, maybe because it is very steep in places.
ZeeJay - Sep 1, 2015 6:38 pm Date Climbed: Sep 1, 2015
Nice hikeNice short, steep hike. I've been here 22 times. I've taken the north route all but twice. In the summer there is always a ton of people headed to donut falls but I almost never run into anyone on the trail to Kessler. Great views of the Cottonwood Ridge.
9/1/15 Via Montreal Hill and south ridge.
12/01/08 Lots of snow. Personal worst time of 3:25 to the summit.
09/30/08 Finally found geocache near summit. (After owner moved it to an easier location and told me exactly where it was.)
08/19/08 Personal best time of 1:08 to the summit.
08/12/08, 07/24/08
10/01/07 Another unsuccessful search for summit geocache.
09/25/07 Unsuccessful search for summit geocache.
08/04/07 Hiked up Argenta trail with Joyce and down north route. Found 2 of MOCKBA's geocaches.
04/27/07, 11/10/05, 07/01/04, 06/26/04, 06/20/04, 06/15/04, 05/20/04, 06/30/03, 09/19/02, 08/10/02, 07/11/00, 10/02/99, around 1990.
Garon Coriz - Jun 22, 2015 1:05 am Date Climbed: Jun 20, 2015
Hot DayStarted later than expected - around 11. The heat was terrible in the lower portions but a nice breeze alleviated some of our discomfort once on the bench. Saw a young bull moose camped out 20 feet off the path. The summit view is one of the best in the Wasatch - all of BCC is visible.
jgreeneruns - Apr 13, 2015 3:30 pm Date Climbed: Nov 8, 2014
First snow hikeCrampons probably would have been helpful, but the summit views were well worth the climb.
McKenna - Dec 22, 2014 12:30 pm Date Climbed: Nov 8, 2014
What's a bit of snow?Would have been more comfortable with an ice axe, but no biggy. Anders and White Chocolate sang and skipped all the way to the top.
PrinceOfNorway - Nov 10, 2014 12:37 pm Date Climbed: Nov 8, 2014
Soft SnowWe went up the north route. There is now a cairn there since my friend made one. Anyway, the trail was steep and it got snowy in the shade. Higher up the soft snow made the going slippery, but it was warmer than average up there. On top it felt to be 55 degrees F.
There were great views to the south, and I was happy to see plenty of snow up on Hidden Peak and at Snowbird.
tmtn93 - Oct 26, 2014 12:06 pm Date Climbed: Oct 25, 2014
Round tripWeather was looking good Saturday and not having work meant it was the perfect day to hike. Began this hike at 12:30 pm. hiked up the road to cardiff fork and about a mile past Donut Falls. Luckily we ran into the people that own the land up there and they guided us but we still managed to get lost and went off-trail. I could see the ridge, so we decided to create our own path to the ridge. Saw a moose in the forest. The bushes and the loose rock near the ridge are really annoying, so we decided to head straight up the West Face of Kesslers (very steep scramble). Then, it was transversing over the first bump, another bump and what a surprise, one more bump!! The scramble wasn't difficult but we had to do a lot of route finding. Then I could finally see the true summit and this is where it got tricky. We hit a wall and I've only down two scrambles my whole life (Mt. Olympus and Frary Peak). This nearly 50 foot wall with exposure was really scary and my friend managed to get enough confidence in me to climb it (it's way easier than it looks) but it's steep! There's a lot of nice places to find your footing and once over that, the rest of the scramble is easy (but be careful, you have to go under a bunch of trees, don't try going over the trees). We made it to the summit by 4:00, stayed up until 4:30 (other than the two owners of the land, there was no one else in sight). It got way gusty, so we decided to run down the north side and to my surprise, there was a trail there! Took a quick detour to Donut Falls on the way down and made it to the car by 6:00. Great hike!!! Would definitely do it again in the summer. Outstanding views!! The scramble is way fun!
edge - Sep 20, 2014 12:12 pm
Kessler PeakClimbed up from the Doughnut Falls area and up to Carbonate Pass. No trail up to the pass. Very annoying. Views from the top were great! Scrambling was tricky if you stay directly on the ridge. Probably class 4.
Joseph Bullough - Aug 10, 2014 5:27 pm
Various ascentsClimbed 4 times:
8/10/14 - North Route
5/08/04
7/13/03
7/09/00
derekthered - Aug 4, 2013 11:32 am
North Route06/11 - Morning solo hike, up and down in less than 3 hours. The trail was absolutely beautiful and full of wildlife! I love walking through fields of wildflowers, even if it causes my allergies to go into hyper-drive.
07/08/12 - Hike with Pauline.
08/03/13 - Hike with Sage.
voxnihili - Jun 17, 2013 12:27 am Date Climbed: Jun 16, 2013
North RouteTally for the morning: one mountain goat, five moose.
scgrant - Sep 15, 2012 4:46 pm Date Climbed: Oct 22, 2015
Kessler Peak10/22/2015 Nice hike with my dad.
9/15/2012 I have been meaning to climb this peak for some time. I climbed it from the North Route, and it certainly lived up to the hype. There were endless amounts of people at the trailhead and on the road that was heading to Doughnut Falls but once I got to the trail heading up Kessler I didn't see another person. The views from the top were amazing.
Ryan Borzea - Aug 27, 2012 12:32 am Date Climbed: Jun 17, 2012
Great Views!We loved the views!
Pfeiffer75 - Jul 28, 2012 3:54 pm Date Climbed: Jul 21, 2012
Easy hikeBeen wanting to do this one for a while. Easy hike with a good trail. Great views from up top
jdw10 - Jul 2, 2012 5:52 pm Date Climbed: Jun 28, 2012
North RouteFirst ascent of Kessler. Loved the hike and the solitude. Probably going to be one of my new training peaks. I like the fact that it's quick and gets you above 10,000'. I guess I'll head out...
utahjimk - Nov 11, 2011 3:23 pm Date Climbed: Aug 30, 2011
a favoritelatest of several by north route.
Wisemtn - Jul 15, 2011 7:51 pm Date Climbed: Jul 15, 2011
North from CardiffWoo - Kessler is a short, steep bitch! Explored the mountain to the South along the ridge. Great views!
#2 - 8/6/17 trail run