Page Type:
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Route |
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Lat/Lon:
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40.81020°N / 110.6231°W |
Route Type:
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Scramble |
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Time Required:
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One to two days |
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Difficulty:
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Class 2+ |
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Approach
From the traffic light in Kamas and the intersection of Route 248 and 32, head north 0.1 to SR 150 (Mirror Lake Highway). Turn Right onto SR 150 and follow for 49 miles to FR 058, turn right onto FR 058 (gravel road) and follow for 16 miles to the 4-way intersection with the West Fork Blacks Fork Road turning south. Turn right and follow the rough dirt road to where it crosses the river. It is highly recommended you park here, no matter what type of vehicle you own. The river crossing is very rough and driving through the meadows along the heavily rutted 4wd road is at best, environmentally insensitive, not to mention damaging to your vehicle.
Yellow = Northwest Ridge Route.Route Description
Of all the routes to a 13'er in Utah, this one is the shortest. The round trip distance is only 17 miles (about 15 miles if you drive the 4wd track-seebelow-but this is not recommended), making this the closest 13'er to any road in Utah.From the trailhead, follow the 4wd road accross the West Fork Blacks Fork River. The 4wd road actually crosses the river and continues along it to past the junction mentioned below, but the crossing is usually pretty hairy in a vehicle, and the road beyond is very rutted. It is recommended that you walk. Walk up the 4wd road for just over a mile. You will reach a 4-way junction with the Bear River-Smiths Fork Trail. Turn east (left) along the Bear River Smiths Fork Trail. A few sections of the trail are (at least in the 1990's), a little hard to follow at first, but it becomes easy to follow higher up. Once you reach the ridge-top, head south along the ridge all the way to Tokewanna Peak. It will curve and become the Northwest Ridge. There is no trail at all once reaching the ridge, but the hiking is pretty gentle until the very last section. There are a few ups and downs along the ridge, with the greatest drop being beyond peak 11,885 and down to the saddle at 11,512. This is just before the ridge curves toward the southeast to Tokewanna summit. Photo of route. This route usually takes two days round trip. Finding water can be a problem on this route because there are no streams/springs on the ridge, and after early August, most of th snow banks will be gone. The only option is to carry all the water you will need, or to drop east from saddle 11,512 and to the creek draining Bobs Lake. This involves descending 500 feet on a very steep slope.
Tokewanna Peak from the Northwest Ridge.