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| Rocky Top Trail - Kamas UT, UT | |
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| | Rocky Top Trail - Kamas UT, UT | | | |
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Rocky Top Trail - Kamas UT, UT
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| Hiking | 8.00 Miles |
964 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.00 Miles | 4 Hrs 6 Mns | | 2.03 mph |
| 964 ft AEG | 10 Mns Break | 18 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | Thanks to the consequences of yesterday's face-plant, I wanted to give my pulled hamstring a bit of a break, so after a scan through the various options I had tracks for, being a well-known mountain biking trail (maintained by the South Summit Trails Foundation), I figured Rocky Top would be less taxing on the hamstring.
From the trailhead at the UT 32 and Rock Cliff Road just East of the Jordanelle Reservoir, we first passed through the vehicle gate, then passed by a number of cattle in the 500' before reaching a very narrow gate, which is pretty much where the actual trail begins. After passing through the gate we began the ascent on a number of relatively long switch-backs, which kept the grade reasonable, climbing roughly 250 feet over the first 2 miles. From there the grade ramps with an elevation gain of 500 feet over the next 2 miles.
The trail has little vegetation other than grass, and except for one large tree a mile out from the trailhead, there is almost no shade. On this day we began with temps in the mid 50's with a full overcast for the first 2 miles, then partly cloudy all the way to the top. On the return we had abundant sunshine. Not a trail to hike in warm/hot weather, but with a breeze and a high of 76° it was pleasant enough.
It's pretty much a climbing trail with plenty of long switchbacks so there are times you will hike 2-3 times as far as a straight line between points. This was most noticeable when my trail end-point was a quarter-mile away when the expected distance was 3 times that far. So as I looked up the hill I thought, whoa, the trail must have a short-cut. But in fact it just meant we'd simply hike a wide arc South, SW, West and North around the hill, followed by a tighter arc back South and SW to the end of the trail.
Note: I said the end of the trail NOT the summit of Rocky Top.
Ok, while the trail does go up a hill called Rocky Top, the trail name is misleading. The trail does not reach Rocky Top, it just ends at the exact 4-mile point in the midst of a pile of boulders, with the ACTUAL summit of Rocky Top a quarter-mile away.
(And of course, since this is private property one cannot LEGALLY reach it.)
Anyway, after a short lunch break at the mass of boulders we headed back. The return trip was uneventful but for a calf paying us a bit too much interest just before reaching the narrow gate. Whether it expected some kind of treat from us or not, who knows, but it seemed to try to pass right through the barbed-wire fence. Was the grass greener on our side of the fence? Nope.
Although this was not the most scenic trail, it was just what I needed... the tread was smooth enough, the ascents were mild enough and I got a reasonable workout without putting too much stress on the hamstring. |
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Route Editor
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