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| Hiking | 10.43 Miles |
3,556 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.43 Miles | 5 Hrs 35 Mns | | 1.91 mph |
| 3,556 ft AEG | 7 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | Mount Nebo is the highest peak in the Wasatch Range. Per Wikipedia, it has two summits: the northern summit reaches 11,933 feet (3,637 m), and the southern summit reaches 11,882 feet (3,622 m). Early surveys placed the southern peak as the highest, but the mountain was resurveyed in the 1970s and the northern peak was found to be higher. It is the highest point of Utah County and is located in the southern part of the county.
I didn't realize that the northern peak was higher; otherwise, I'd have been more motivated to bag it while up there. Instead, both because I was tight on time and because I assumed the southern--and more traveled to--peak was higher, I skipped the spur trail to the Northern Peak.
That said, as I look at the topo map, I'm not sure what is labeled the "north summit" is what the Wikipedia page is referring to, and perhaps I hit the high point/north summit after all. (After all, it is Wikipedia ....). Based on the topo map, there are a couple of high points south of the summit we reached, whose elevation seems to align more with the Wikipedia description.
Regardless of whether you hit the "North Summit" (as shown on the map), you should definitely visit the South Summit (which is simply labeled "Mount Nebo" on the map).
This hike plays second fiddle to the more popular Mt. Timpanogos, but I was very pleasantly surprised how cool Nebo is. Unlike Timpanogos, Nebo also has the visually pleasing aspect of a beautiful pyramid peak.
The hike involves three big climbs, and some sweet, non-technical ridgeline stretches with fantastic 360 panoramic views from the summit.
We got an early (5:30 am) start on a Friday, and had the trail to ourselves until half-way through our descent, when we passed 3 small groups heading up.
The first part of the trail is a little ho-hum, but once in the drainage that leads up to the first overlook to the west (the first of the three major climbs), and the first ridgeline stretch, it's pretty magical.
The spur to the north summit is at the end of that short ridge. The main trail skirts the North summit and then actually goes down to a saddle (Wolf Pass), from which the second, and most significant climb starts to an unnamed peak. It was in this section, above the treeline, where we encountered a dozen+ mountain goats. Always cool to see those guys.
Once on the unnamed summit, the cool ridgeline traverse starts to the base of the South Summit. Amazing views along this section on both sides.
The final climb to the summit has a bit of a choose-your-own adventure, though there are some well traveled paths, some more scrambly than others (the one we took on the way down had us doing a little butt scooting in a couple of spots).
With the early start and the cloud cover, temps were ideal, though a breeze on the summit made the hands a little cold and prompted donning the windbreaker.
This would be a more difficult hike on a hot, sunny day, as there are significant sections of the trail without shade.
Given the up-down nature of the ascent, there's some not insignificant elevation gain on the way back.
A fantastic gem if you are in the area and don't want to fight the crowds on Timpanogos (or just want to try something new in the area).
Now, I'll need to go back to tag the North Peak! |
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I could see two people coming down from the peak and it looked insane. I wasn't sure if I'd top out on this one, but I pressed on anyways. There were 5 people on the ridge, including myself. I spoke with the first guy who said he turned around after losing his nerve near the top. The others assured me it was nothing. Then that was it. I was alone and my somewhat false sense of security was gone. Well, let's see how bad it gets...
