Roberts Horn (W7U/UT-004) SOTA Activation

Roberts Horn on the right.

My 80th SOTA Activation! On 22 September, the eve of autumn, I headed out to tackle Roberts Horn (W7U/UT-004). This summit stands just shy of 11,000’, and sits just east and in the shadow of Mount Timpanogos. This little brother to Timp means it is a lesser-visited, less crowded summit but still offers amazing views of this wilderness area.

After studying the topographic maps my plan for the day was to take a direct north-to-south route up the ridgeline (see my route map below). In theory this would shorten the hike to ~6 miles round trip, instead of 10+ miles if I took the Timpanogos trail. However, after a leg burning, stairmaster, bushwack ascent to the summit I smartened up and chose to take the Timp trail back to the parking lot, logging about 12.5 miles for the day.

Getting There

To get to the Timpooneke trailhead from Salt Lake City head south on I-15 to exit 282, and travel east on UT-92 for 16 miles. You can also access this summit from the Timpanogos trailhead just north of Sundance, UT, but the roundtrip and elevation gain will be slightly more.

The parking lot is located at:

40°25’52.9”N 111°38’20.4”W

40.431347, -111.638993

Summit Info (Roberts Horn):

SOTA data

40°23’58.7”N 111°38’14.4”W

40.399627, -111.637344

The Hike

I started my trek right at 7 a.m. with a light frost on the ground. The parking lot was already half full, most with frozen windshields. There was no wind this morning so this made my re-introduction to fall hiking easier and enjoyable. I followed Forest Trail-150 northeast for about half of a mile before going overland to the Island Meadow trail and taking a trail that interconnects with the Snow Gauging trail. A few yards into that connection, and at the base of Roberts Horn ridge I found a game trail that led me up the spine. The forest was lightly wooded and the way was easily navigated by following the heavy laid paths of generations of deer and elk, switching up the ridgeline.

The route I chose was direct, but also very steep. I had to stop regularly to keep my heart rate in check. Steep but manageable until I was about half way up and ran into a quagmire of a young trees that turned my efforts into a bushwack for about 100 yards or so. There may have been an easier route to the north side of the ridge but I was cautious to not want to get stopped by the many drop offs on that side and have to double back. When I could finally see the summit I was in disbelief. It still seemed very far away with much elevation still to gain. My will to press on was more driven at this point by not wanting to go back the way I came. I took a moment to hydrate and had a snack before motivating myself to keep on going. Forward. Up. Rest. This was my mantra. It was dead quiet and along my stops I heard: a pack of coyotes, elk trumpeting, many rock falls from the adjacent cliff, and a symphony of birds and squirrels rustling about. Overall, I would not recommend the route I took unless if you like not seeing other people while in the woods.

Close to 10,000’ there is a false summit that I chose to traverse around by staying on contour along the north side through a few inches of fresh snow. As I came around the first hill I spooked three large bucks and they headed off in the same direction I was

Family-O-goats.

heading. I soon picked up their tracks in the snow and used their knowledge of the terrain to make the push to the final saddle below Roberts. On the final push to the summit I ran into a family of mountain goats; mom, dad and a baby. I did not want to disturb them more than I already had so again I deviated to stay on contour and travel below, up and around them.

My goal was to reach the summit by 10:30. That did not happen until 12:30 but I was just happy to finally have reached the summit after a 5.5 hour ascent. The panoramic view was amazing. There

Looking west from Roberts to Timpanogos.

was just a slight breeze out of the southwest. It was still eerily quiet allowing me to hear the contrails spin of the circling sparrows’ wings, and the conversations of hikers way below traveling up the valley on the Timp trail.

After an hour on the summit I had logged twenty-two contacts on HF, mostly on CW (Morse code) including two summit-to-summit contacts. I felt accomplished, but knowing I still had a journey ahead of me to get back to my car. After packing up my gear I headed southwest down the ridge to catch Mt Timpanogos trail 52 north and down into the valley back to the trailhead. That trail is just amazing. It drops down again and again into new and different realms of wilderness, offering ever-changing vistas and eco-systems, waterfalls, and wildlife. Feeling motivated to get home I made great time heading down. I was back at my car right at 4:30 p.m. (slightly less than 3 hours down from the summit) and totally out of water.