HAYDEN PEAK TARGET (LO1127) - Summit County, Utah - U.S. Benchmarks on Waymarking.com

Hayden Peak may well be the unofficial posterchild of the Western Uinta Mountains, if not the entire range. With its craggy grandeur that is easily viewed from multiple highway pull-offs, trails, and popular lakes located along the Mirror Lake Highway (State Highway 150) to the west, this mountain likely receives more viewership and photographic attention over the course of a summer season than many of the interior peaks of the Uintas do in a decade (Red Castle and Kings Peak being perhaps the only notable exceptions). Despite being one of the shortest hikes/climbs of any summit in the High Uintas Wilderness, it is also one of the more technically difficult climbs. I have seen it ranked as either a Class 3 or Class 4 mountain by its easiest route on various websites. While the peak can be viewed from many miles around and there is no need to ascend to the top to visit this Waymark, the following is the route that I recommend for those wishing to reach the summit:

Park at the Highline Trailhead at N40 43.327 W 110 51.847. Hike about 0.45 miles in an easterly direction through marshy terrain and thick standing and downed timber, heading generally towards the treeless southwestern end of a buttress-like ridge. Ascend the rocky ledges on the southwestern end of the ridge, following "goat paths" where present to avoid the small cliffs. Keep hiking northeast through a sparse forest of shorter evergreens and reach a steeper talus slope around N40 43.475 W110 51.003. Looking up from the base of the talus slope, you will see what looks from afar like an imposing cliff band with limited options to ascend without breaking out climbing ropes. While I'm not certain of the exact location of the weak spot in the cliff, I recall that it is right around N40 43.509 W110 50.935 (follow the paths left by previous climbers/mountain goats and they should lead you to the weak spot). In my estimation, the weak spot in the cliff is about a Class 4 difficulty on the YDS scale, and is only about 15 feet tall. It makes for a fun bit of hands-on climbing on pretty good rock. Smaller backpacks make for an easier ascent. After making it past the cliff, continue eastward and gain the south ridge of Hayden Peak. Hike northward on the easy talus-covered ridge and enjoy the views down into Middle Basin to the east. Around N40 43.935 W110 50.800, you will hit the beginning of the cliffy terrain that characterizes the remainder of the route to the summit. While my memory is not clear about the particulars of the route from hear on, I do recall that I was able to follow fairly well-worn climber's trails and small cairns around many of the seemingly imposing cliffs and towers. There are many areas of Class 2+ and Class 3 scrambling around boulders and small chutes, but I never remember feeling uncomfortable or being in a spot where I was faced with a lot of exposure. From my research and reading of other people's summit stories, it seems that there is some confusion about what route to take to gain the final summit pinnacle. When my group arrived at the base of the final cliffs before the summit, we hiked along the east (right) side of the cliffs and found an easy Class 2+/Class 3 gully that ascended almost directly to the summit. I've seen others saying that they ran into Class 4 or Class 5 climbing via routes from the south and west sides of the final summit cliffs. I recommend returning the same way you hiked up, being careful when descending the first cliff band. Expect a round-trip hike of about 4 miles.

Condition: Mark found in good condition Designation: -blank- Benchmark Agency: U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey Monumentation type: other (not any of the below) Monumentation type (if other): Intersection Station County: Summit USGS 7.5' Topographic Quadrangle Name (optional): Hayden Peak Find type: Coordinates and/or to-reach information from the NGS database (or Geocaching's copy of it) were used Web address of this benchmark's datasheet (optional): [Web Link] NGS PID: LO1127 Benchmark Agency (if other): Not listed Special category (optional): Not listed Special Category (if other): Not listed Local database's URL (optional): Not listed

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