Western Approach Map

*some trails shown mapped by Climb-Utah.com

Little Willow Canyon:  A Trail of Tears

Date:  20-21 August 2004
Weather:  pleasantly overcast
Elevation Change:  6150 feet

Summary:  The most scenic route on the mountain, but hampered by two large Class 2 obstacles.

Our purpose in writing this section is not to explain how to use Little Willow Canyon as a route to the top, but rather to explain why it's not an easy route.

Having searched for a safe western approach to the Lone Peak summit (Wasatch Range, Salt Lake County, Utah) since our childhood in Pepperwood, we selected the northern drainage of Little Willow canyon as the most direct route with a gradual elevation gain.

In the decade of the 1980s (before the Internet) we were aware of only two attempts to reach Lone Peak from Sandy...That was because LifeFlight helicopters had landed on Pepperwood Drive and in Pepperwood Park before ascending the mountain to retrieve some older teens who had "fallen off a cliff and got themselves hurt."  By the way, music was much better then, as evidenced by our library.  Anyhow, the promise of danger only increased the appeal...the same mountain whose creeks could be heard through our open windows on Summer nights now dared us to come.  We began to explore trails in Bell's Canyon, Dry Gulch, Rocky Mouth, and the Willows.

A century earlier, someone had carved a prominent scar down the face of the ridge separating Big and Little Willow canyons, presumably for sliding cut timber to the base of the mountain.  Decades later, a Turkey Farm was built on the field below the Log Slide.  The farm was dismantled in time to avoid residential growth, but the field was preserved as "Hidden Valley Park," a name that regrettably has nothing to do with turkeys or logs.  Access to the Willow canyons is found with the "Sawmill" trail that starts at 5100 feet elevation in the park.

At this point I feel obligated to admit that I wrote the previous two paragraphs for none other reason than to use a few important words and phrases to be picked up by search engines.  Very little has been written about life in Pepperwood in the '80s, so it was an easy opportunity.  And now I've used the word "Pepperwood" four times.  Now five.

Click on colored regions for trail detail and views (shown below)

Big Willow Canyon:  Facing Down the Wall
Date:  October 1988
Elevation Change:  6150 feet
Summary:  Good trail, but save a lot of energy for the 1,200-foot scramble.

Is the summit scramble not enough of a challenge for you?

For the average eastern Sandy resident gazing upon the beautiful mountain that serves as a backdrop for daily life, Big WIllow Canyon would be the obvious route to the top.  It's wide, close to the center, and it seems to emanate from the summit itself, pointing the way to the treeless heights.

The average resident might not be aware that the real summit towers above the rocky cirque he can see, and Big Willow cuts to the north of the goal.

So it's only natural that we would make several attempts with this route before discovering our big mistake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read about it at Confluence.org