Route Climbed: normal trail Date Climbed: 8 August 2004
This was a great trail, and also great for me because I could identify many types of wildflowers and wildlife here. Saw deers up close. Deseret Peak is unlike Wasatch mountains peaks due to the fact that the peak isn't surrounded by mountains. The view goes out to the great expanses of the Salt Desert and Salt Lake. Really awesome.
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Loop Date Climbed: August 22 2004
I did this hike alone on a rainy and cool August day like I have never seen before. From the trailhead at 10:00am visability was very poor and it was raining. For the first couple of miles I could only see a few hundred feet beyond the trail and had no idea where the summit was or even where I had started from.
At about the 3 mile mark, I passed three other hikers that like me, enjoy the misery of walking up hill in wet weather with poor visability. When I got to a ridge that leads to the summit, I became exposed to a ruthlessly strong and icey wind that was unrelenting. I slipped on my shell pants and insulated vest and pulled my hood up tight. I know now gloves may be needed in the warmest month of the year at 11000'.
I made the summit after about 30 minutes and spent about an hour there hopefully waiting for a clear view below. The view never materialized but the hikers I had passed, joined in for summit pics. My decent was via the loop that makes for an interesting trip never seeing the same scenery twice.
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: July 13, 1997
This mountain gives a different perspective of the Wasatch Mountains and Salt Lake. Planned on doing the loop around the mountain but ended up taking a short-cut down a steep couloir. Big mistake as I had to slide down 1,000 feet of talus and route find my way back to the trailhead. It's best to stay on the trail.
Route Climbed: South WIllow Creek Date Climbed: June 23, 2003
It was raining in SLC, so I figured it would be snowing up on Deseret. It was just cloudy, but with very little precipitation to speak of. Every now and then, the clouds would lift off of the deck and I could see ridges and cliffs around me. I only saw three people on the trail going up, and a few more on the way down. It was chilly at the top, but no new snow was in sight. The Mormon Cricket invasion had spread as far as the top of the summit- the little bugs were so cold they could barely move. >=)
This is a fun hike and a good warm up for bigger and better peaks. Views are great and there are a lot of pretty wild flowers. Great views of the GSL and the desert.
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: 1985, 86
First time: A thunder storm swept up just as we obtained the saddle. We huddled together to wait it out, nervously joking about getting struck by lightning, when suddenly 3 ghostly figures appeared out of the clouds, stumbling down from the summit very slowly. Turns out, one of them had been struck by lightning 10 or so minutes prior! The poor fellow was apparently still in a state of shock, wearing the tattered remains of a yellow plastic poncho and one leg of his jeans blown apart in strips up to his thigh. One friend's head was bleeding from getting thrown into the rocks.
My brother subsequently ran all the way down the trail to the ranger station and obtained help, while we slowly hiked down with these guys. I think the strike victim was on the news a week or so later.
Second time: Wearily summited in the early evening, after climbing the Pfiefferhorn that same day. (My father's crazy idea.) Eerily enough, below the summit, we came across the spot where the fellow was struck by lightning the previous year, evidenced by the shreds of yellow poncho scattered about.
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: July,3 2002
Fun day hike, I lost the trail in one of the many snow drifts and took a little detour to the saddle. Awesome views of Mt. Nebo 50+ miles away. And more Mormon crickets then I have ever seen in my life. If you do this hike some time before mid July An Ice Axe is well worth the added weight.
Ammon Hatch - Oct 17, 2004 12:08 am Date Climbed: Oct 16, 2004
Route Climbed: South Willow creek Date Climbed: October 16, 2004
Very Fun. The route is very straight forward, moderate, and unexposed. Once on the ridge it was windy all the way to the summit and back, minus a few spots of shelter along the way.
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: October 16, 2004
Super hike with awesome views. Found out you can see many Wasatch range peaks (like Lone Peak and Timp) from there. Very enjoyable.
Bob Bolton - Sep 15, 2004 10:02 pm Date Climbed: Sep 7, 2004
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: September 7, 2004
See Dean's comments below. Indeed a very enjoyable hike and summit. It was my fourth 5000-foot prominence peak in as many days, on my way to eight in eight days.
Route Climbed: South Willow Date Climbed: 11 September 2004
Myself, 3 dogs and a friend had a great climb. Nice to see many valleys from atop. Looked at the peaks in the Wasatch Range and were inspired. Beautiful day hiking the loop.
Route Climbed: So. Willow Creek Date Climbed: Sept 7, 2004
Bob Bolton and I had a perfect weather day for this one and saw only one other person on the trail. Clear views in all directions. This is a sweet hike, very enjoyable and now one of my favorites. We spent almost two hours on the summit, just soaking everything in.
Route Climbed: South Willow creek Date Climbed: October 1,1998
I'd like to go back, it's been awhile. Wild country, lots o' animals, great scenery! Started to do the loop hike, but did some scree scrambling below the face, looking for a shortcut. Awesome hike though!
Tracy - Apr 6, 2006 5:13 am Date Climbed: Oct 1, 1988
Route climbed: South Willow Creekclimbed with Scott Towsey. We were halfway up by sunup and enjoyed nice weather on the summit
IdahoSummits - Oct 9, 2005 12:25 am
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: October 7th, 2005Cool, somewhat windy day. Clear skies and beautiful views though!
deafutahhiker - Aug 30, 2005 4:56 pm
Route Climbed: normal trail Date Climbed: 8 August 2004This was a great trail, and also great for me because I could identify many types of wildflowers and wildlife here. Saw deers up close. Deseret Peak is unlike Wasatch mountains peaks due to the fact that the peak isn't surrounded by mountains. The view goes out to the great expanses of the Salt Desert and Salt Lake. Really awesome.
one6180339 - Aug 27, 2005 5:13 pm
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: August 17, 2005Perfect weather here while it rained in SLC. Very consistent gradient trail. Excellent views from the summit.
craghag - Jun 6, 2005 10:43 am
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Loop Date Climbed: Aug.24,02Saw an adorable tarantula!
Bignick - May 28, 2005 6:57 pm
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Loop Date Climbed: August 22 2004I did this hike alone on a rainy and cool August day like I have never seen before. From the trailhead at 10:00am visability was very poor and it was raining. For the first couple of miles I could only see a few hundred feet beyond the trail and had no idea where the summit was or even where I had started from.
At about the 3 mile mark, I passed three other hikers that like me, enjoy the misery of walking up hill in wet weather with poor visability. When I got to a ridge that leads to the summit, I became exposed to a ruthlessly strong and icey wind that was unrelenting. I slipped on my shell pants and insulated vest and pulled my hood up tight. I know now gloves may be needed in the warmest month of the year at 11000'.
I made the summit after about 30 minutes and spent about an hour there hopefully waiting for a clear view below. The view never materialized but the hikers I had passed, joined in for summit pics. My decent was via the loop that makes for an interesting trip never seeing the same scenery twice.
mountaingazelle - Apr 30, 2005 6:43 pm
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: July 13, 1997This mountain gives a different perspective of the Wasatch Mountains and Salt Lake. Planned on doing the loop around the mountain but ended up taking a short-cut down a steep couloir. Big mistake as I had to slide down 1,000 feet of talus and route find my way back to the trailhead. It's best to stay on the trail.
nebben - Apr 9, 2005 5:01 pm
Route Climbed: South WIllow Creek Date Climbed: June 23, 2003It was raining in SLC, so I figured it would be snowing up on Deseret. It was just cloudy, but with very little precipitation to speak of. Every now and then, the clouds would lift off of the deck and I could see ridges and cliffs around me. I only saw three people on the trail going up, and a few more on the way down. It was chilly at the top, but no new snow was in sight. The Mormon Cricket invasion had spread as far as the top of the summit- the little bugs were so cold they could barely move. >=)
Scott Wesemann - Mar 29, 2005 1:18 pm
Date Climbed: ManyThis is a fun hike and a good warm up for bigger and better peaks. Views are great and there are a lot of pretty wild flowers. Great views of the GSL and the desert.
Nate D - Mar 2, 2005 3:12 pm
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: 1985, 86First time: A thunder storm swept up just as we obtained the saddle. We huddled together to wait it out, nervously joking about getting struck by lightning, when suddenly 3 ghostly figures appeared out of the clouds, stumbling down from the summit very slowly. Turns out, one of them had been struck by lightning 10 or so minutes prior! The poor fellow was apparently still in a state of shock, wearing the tattered remains of a yellow plastic poncho and one leg of his jeans blown apart in strips up to his thigh. One friend's head was bleeding from getting thrown into the rocks.
My brother subsequently ran all the way down the trail to the ranger station and obtained help, while we slowly hiked down with these guys. I think the strike victim was on the news a week or so later.
Second time: Wearily summited in the early evening, after climbing the Pfiefferhorn that same day. (My father's crazy idea.) Eerily enough, below the summit, we came across the spot where the fellow was struck by lightning the previous year, evidenced by the shreds of yellow poncho scattered about.
mfox79 - Dec 13, 2004 12:57 am
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: July,3 2002Fun day hike, I lost the trail in one of the many snow drifts and took a little detour to the saddle. Awesome views of Mt. Nebo 50+ miles away. And more Mormon crickets then I have ever seen in my life. If you do this hike some time before mid July An Ice Axe is well worth the added weight.
Ammon Hatch - Oct 17, 2004 12:08 am Date Climbed: Oct 16, 2004
Route Climbed: South Willow creek Date Climbed: October 16, 2004Very Fun. The route is very straight forward, moderate, and unexposed. Once on the ridge it was windy all the way to the summit and back, minus a few spots of shelter along the way.
jshatch - Oct 16, 2004 8:27 pm
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: October 16, 2004Super hike with awesome views. Found out you can see many Wasatch range peaks (like Lone Peak and Timp) from there. Very enjoyable.
Bob Bolton - Sep 15, 2004 10:02 pm Date Climbed: Sep 7, 2004
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: September 7, 2004See Dean's comments below. Indeed a very enjoyable hike and summit. It was my fourth 5000-foot prominence peak in as many days, on my way to eight in eight days.
ecallahan - Sep 14, 2004 2:23 pm
Route Climbed: South Willow Date Climbed: 11 September 2004Myself, 3 dogs and a friend had a great climb. Nice to see many valleys from atop. Looked at the peaks in the Wasatch Range and were inspired. Beautiful day hiking the loop.
Dean - Sep 8, 2004 8:29 pm
Route Climbed: So. Willow Creek Date Climbed: Sept 7, 2004Bob Bolton and I had a perfect weather day for this one and saw only one other person on the trail. Clear views in all directions. This is a sweet hike, very enjoyable and now one of my favorites. We spent almost two hours on the summit, just soaking everything in.
Joseph Bullough - Jul 7, 2004 2:45 pm
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek loop Date Climbed: August 24, 2002A nice easy hike, but poor summit views on this day due to haze.
Wildlife spotted:
• Tarantulas: 1
• Mormon Crickets: ±5,000,000
Kimberly - Apr 5, 2004 4:50 pm
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: October 1999A great hike.
imontop - Dec 19, 2003 10:02 pm
Route Climbed: South Willow creek Date Climbed: October 1,1998I'd like to go back, it's been awhile. Wild country, lots o' animals, great scenery! Started to do the loop hike, but did some scree scrambling below the face, looking for a shortcut. Awesome hike though!
MrWasatch - Sep 26, 2003 12:36 pm
Route Climbed: South Willow Creek Date Climbed: multipleMade a couple of ascents of this peak, but haven't yet done full loop. A nice option to the often crowded Wasatch. Great views, enjoyable hike.