Page Type: | Mountain/Rock |
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Lat/Lon: | 40.73355°N / 110.50572°W |
County: | Duchesne |
Activities: | Hiking |
Season: | Summer |
Elevation: | 12707 ft / 3873 m |
At 12707 feet, Stone Benchmark with prominence of 647 feet ranks 40th on Scott's list of Utah 12,000+ Foot Peaks with 200+ Feet Prominence. Stone Benchmark is one of five peaks over 12000 feet which line the ridge which forms the west boundary of Garfield Basin. From south to north/ smallest to largest, it is peak number three. Swasey Knob and Bluebell Lake Peak lie to the south and South Porcupine and Porcupine Mountains lie to the north. |
Of all the peaks surrounding Garfield Basin, I think this one has the most interesting summit. The ridge immediately surrounding the summit is filled with block after block, fissure after fissure, some of which you can walk through. The very top is almost completely flat, atop a large block with many small fissures. The benchmark disk is located at N40 44.013 W110 30.343. |
This is a long (24.5 miles RT) but scenic loop hike starting at the Center Park Trailhead and hitting Swasey Knob, Bluebell Lake Peak, and Stone Benchmark. A very strong hiker could do it in a day. About half of the hike is on a nice well defined trail and half off trail, with most of the off trail portion being on a ridge which mostly alternates between easy walking or a class 2 boulder hop. On the north side of Stone there is one no exposure class 3 maneuver. Just south of Bluebell Lake Peak it is class 2+ for a short distance. Head north on the trail to Garfield Basin. After about 2.9 miles, leave the trail at N40 38.259 W110 27.603 and head for the 11193 benchmark to be found at N40 38.636 W110 29.439. Follow the ridge west and then northwest to the 11842 benchmark, the remains of which are found at N40 38.686 W110 29.439. Follow the ridge north to Swasey Knob (12124) and then north to Bluebell Lake Peak (12260) where you will find another benchmark at N40 41.467 W110 30.144. |
From here it is another 3.1 miles north to Stone Benchmark. From the trailhead it is a total of 11.7 miles to the summit and you gain 3650 vertical feet. This final section of ridge I didn't actually do myself but all indications are that it is similar to the rest of the ridge. I descended to Lake 11082 and then climbed back up to a point just north of Stone the next day via Doll Lake. To return you can either retrace your steps (1400 vertical feet of gain) or make a loop out of it and head down to Doll Lake, then Lake 11082, and rejoin the Garfield Basin Trail at N40 42.557 W110 28.680 as shown on the map. It is about 12.8 miles back to the trailhead by this rolling terrain route and you will gain 1580 vertical feet while descending 3820 feet. |
Here is a link to the current seven day forecast for Stone Benchmark.