Kings Peak - 13,528'
Last summer a few friends and I set out to climb Kings Peak, the tallest mountain in Utah. It is a 28 mile trek, round-trip, high in the Uinta mountains. Most people do it in 2-3 days with the most hardcore hikers doing it in a single day. The overall hike isn't very technical but the last 2 miles of the ascent require you to scramble up giant boulders to reach the summit.
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| View from the summit |
We left Provo later than expected and got to the trail-head at 2pm. As we began the hike we snaked through lakes and hiked through dense forest. It is a beautiful part of the state and a great place to get away from the crowds. The first day we hiked in about 10 miles and set up camp. The next morning we started before sunrise because we knew we had 18 miles that day to reach the summit and hike back out to the car. We hiked for a few more miles before beginning the scramble to the summit. This was the most difficult part because one wrong step could send a 200 pound boulder rolling down the mountain, and potentially over the person hiking below. We got to the summit at about 10am, had our lunches, and enjoyed the view. It feels great to sit on top of the highest point in any state, and this was no exception. We relaxed for about 20 min before beginning the 14 mile trip back to the car. Overall it was a great hike and a beautiful area of Utah.
US State High-pointers
One of my life goals is to climb the tallest mountain in each of the 50 states. Of the US State Highpoints, Kings Peak is the 7th tallest. The tallest mountains on this list are mostly in the western part of the United States with the tallest in the contiguous United States being Mt Whitney (14,505'). The mountain of all mountains and number one on this list is Alaska's Mt McKinley (20,327'). Some say it is tougher than Mt. Everest and it is the tallest mountain in the world measured base-to-peak. It will be a lifelong goal for me to accomplish the 50 high-pointers.
Other great hike ideas: http://allthingsutah2012.blogspot.com/2012/09/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-ja-x.html
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