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| Hiking | 20.16 Miles |
4,870 AEG |
| | Hiking | 20.16 Miles | 8 Hrs 22 Mns | | 3.10 mph |
| 4,870 ft AEG | 1 Hour 52 Mns Break | 16 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | From Antelope Island, I headed to Ogden to grab a bagel and some coffee then it was off to the trailhead. This was supposed to be a very gradual climb so I was feeling positive about the amount of miles I'd have to cover. I made excellent time heading up the first batch of switchbacks. When I crossed over to the side of the trail that overlooks Ogden, it was smooth sailing until I neared the bottom of Ben Lomond Peak. The trail got a little steeper and went in all different directions due to washouts and people cutting switchbacks. They all wound up at the same place just below Ben, and a few seconds later I had a great view of Ogden, the Wasatch Front, and my target, Willard Peak.
The walk to Willard had some more gain, but it continued to be a very gradual climb. I wrapped around the west side of Willard and looked for a cairn or spur trail, but the terrain looked much too steep for my liking. I left the trail NW of the peak, topping out at a ridge with a use trail on it. It was fairly easy to follow with more cairns along the way. When in doubt, just go up and to the south.
The summit block had that lofty "peak" feeling and I sat down barefoot to air everything out for a few minutes. I neglected to research benchmarks for this trip and was happy to find the station mark and two reference marks in good condition. Probably an azimuth mark somewhere close, too, but that's for another day.
I thoroughly enjoyed most of the walk back to the car (a tad sore during the last set of switchbacks). Several of the miles were pure mountain bliss on a superb trail that required hardly any energy. There were puffy clouds, a cool breeze, flowers, TWO MOUNTAIN GOATS, the whole nine. Without a doubt the most enjoyable stretch of hiking I've had in a while. Near the end, the sound of cars grew louder with every switchback until I found myself crossing the highway. Woo, 20 miles!  |
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