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| Hiking | 5.02 Miles |
1,331 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.02 Miles | 2 Hrs 57 Mns | | 2.05 mph |
| 1,331 ft AEG | 30 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This was a hike to the highpoint of West Mountain (elevation of 11,014 feet and prominence of 1,323 feet), which is in the Manti-La Sal National Forest. There are actually 3 peaks on West Mountain, all marked with their spot elevations on topo maps: 11,014; 11,010; and 10,998. I only went to the highest of the three. West Mountain is also the highpoint of the Bears Ears National Monument, although I am not sure if Peak 11,014 is within the Monument boundary.
I drove in from the town of Monticello by taking paved County Road 101 to FR 079, about a half mile past the Dalton Springs Campground. I took FR 079, which is a well-graded gravel road, for about 8.5 miles to a turnoff for FR 0354 which is where I started hiking.
I hiked for 1.75 miles on FR 0354 until I got to the Shay Ridge TH. With a 4WD vehicle you could drive this stretch instead. From the Shay Ridge TH I took the Shay Ridge Trail for a bit and then hiked on an ATV road to the east side of the peak. From there I went on a short but steep off-trail stroll to the summit. On the descent, I went first on a ridgeline to the south, then went off-trail on a sloped meadow back to the ATV road, and from there I retraced my steps back to where I parked.
This was another nice hike in the Abajo Mountains. The area is pretty, has a good feel to it, and you are away from crowds. |
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| Civilization is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there |
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