I still love recess, it was the the only way I survived Valley View Elementary. I'm now 58 and approaching retirement, but the ideal still applies. The work day is much better when it's broken with a lunch run. I come back refreshed, energized and re-born. Today I went up Dude Peak above Bountiful. It's my new "Mt. Van Cott," which was a favorite lunch run when I worked near the University of Utah. I miss those Red Butte trails, Mt. Wire, Georges Hollow, Dry Creek, Cephalopod Gulch, Red Butte Peak, but I especially miss Mt. Van Cott. In less than an hour door to door, one could get the heart pounding and blow out the morning cobwebs of the debauched cubicle life. If anything, Dude Peak might be an improvement over Mt. Van Cott because it has much less traffic than the University of Utah/Bonneville Shoreline trails. I rarely see another runner when I'm on Dude Peak. Plus, I'm now working from home and the trailhead is just a short drive from away. It's almost as convenient as running the Mt. Van Cott of my previous corporate life.
Dude Peak via Hidden Lake is approximately 4.62 miles round trip with an elevation gain of 1,500 feet; high point 7,196 feet; low point (TH) 5,852.
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| View south from Dude Peak toward the Central Wasatch. |
View west towards the GSL and Antelope Island.
View North, Bountiful Peak and Francis Peak.
Sego Lily
Before . . .
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. . . after. . . mark trail junctions discreetly with small cairns, not Stonehenge. Understatement reveals confidence and a thoughtful mind.
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| DUDE Peak, the rock outcrop, at 7,223 feet, the high point of the ridge dividing North Canyon and City Creek Canyon, about a mile west of Rudy's Flat. |
I have no idea how DUDE Peak got its name, but there are USGS Markers on the rocky summit (two markers) stamped with "DUDE," which could be a bootleg name because no USGS maps, or Google Earth, or any guide or map that I own have a peak listed as DUDE Peak. I wonder if someone took a metal stamp and a maul and hammered the name into the marker?
Dude Peak is the second-to-last high point (or third depending on one’s definition of high point) on the ridge about a mile above what I called "Stonehenge" Peak (see ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos above). Stonehenge Peak is also the trail junction where the old 4x4 from the Antennas (and Woodbriar trail) meet the Hidden Lake trail. "Stonehenge" elevation is 6,652 feet and DUDE Peak is at 7,223feet. A high point east of DUDE might be a few feet higher.
At Dude Peak, the trail forks. One way goes towards Rudy's Flat, the other way goes towards Woodbriar, Wild Rose, Tunnel Springs, etc., and along that fork, I've found a ton of rocks that have been written on with a sharpy, and it really doesn't make me happy at all. One of them says "Blaze 2019", and I covered it up with some other rocks. I wonder if that's some sort of stupid trail race or something. Shame on them.
ReplyDeleteWhen you're up that way, Owen, look for the little fat lizards that are easy to catch by pinching their tails. They're really cute little lizards that will let you hold them.