"Lounger Top" Peak (UT)

 
 

Overview

The Strawberry Reservoir is a large reservoir which is Utah's most popular fishery, receiving over 1.5 million angling hours annually and is part of the Blue Ribbon Fisheries program. Game fish in the reservoir include rainbow trout, bear lake cutthroat trout and kokanee salmon. It was constructed to provide water for the Utah Valley area. However, fishing and water retention aside, there are many hills and small mountains that are of interest to those who seek hiking and prominence peak bagging experiences. It was interesting to me to find a recently placed register by two prominence peakbaggers from southern California.


Located just to the south of the reservoir is Peak 9716 (aka "Lounger Top" as coined by Eric Willhite). With over 1100 feet of prominence (making it the 289th on the Utah list), this one attracts the attention of a small group of peakbaggers who are specifically interested in prominence. It is located within the Uinta National forest and I found the roads leading to near where I parked in good condition.
This might make an interesting snowshoe hike in the winter time depending on how far you might be able to get on the road that leads up from the reservoir.

Getting There

Take FSR 090 off Highway 40 on the east side of Strawberry Reservoir. This paved road follows the east side of the lake with some great viewpoints to stop at. When the pavement ends, a nice gravel road continues uphill. There is a No Trespassing sign placed to make you think you must turn around but the main road is legal to drive. Once through the private lands, you will see a sign saying "entering Uinta National forest". Follow the main road until you reach the intersection shown on the map below on the south side of the summit. With 4WD/clearance, you can drive a quarter mile to the trail head. If not, start on the ridge at the intersection.
 
 
Check out Eric Willhite's trip report with its maps and pictures. It was his page that inspired me to add this peak to Summitpost.

 

Red Tape

No red tape that I am aware of. There was a "no trespassing" sign on the way but that shouldn't deter you from continuing on the road since the forest sevice has a right of way. Just stay on the road and avoid private property. For more information, contact one of the following:

Salt Lake Office
(801) 236-3400
125 South State Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84138
Mon-Fri: 8:00am - 4:30pm

Provo Office
(801) 342-5100
88 West 100 North
Provo, UT 84601
Mon-Fri: 8:00am - 4:30pm

Heber-Kamas
2460 South Highway 40
POB 190
Heber City, Utah 84032
435-654-0470

Camping

Camping is plentiful in the area. You can car camp on the national forest land near the trailhead using existing spots that have obviously been used before (leave no trace ethics apply) or down near the Strawberry Reservoir.

Strawberry Reservoir area

Current Creek Campground

Motels are available in the Provo/Salt Lake City area or Heber City area.

The hike itself

There was nothing more involved than class 1 hiking with a bit of class 2. It had helped to GPS where the summit was and I found that there was heavy animal visitation in the area (deer and elk). I had encountered one elk hunter just before I left the road and it turned out the elk hunter (on an ATV) had mutual friends so we had a fun conversation. From where I parked my vehicle in the aspen grove, I followed the road for about a third of a mile and then left it to go cross country up to the summit. An easy hike of less than a mile and under 700' of elevation gain, the only difficulty would be finding the right place to park and walk from. I ended up including a hike to the top of an adjacent peak, peak 9620, called the "power line" peak by Eric Willhite.

Power Line Peak Peak 9620
 
 

Weather links

Strawberry Reservoir weather

Heber City Utah weather

Other peaks in the area

Some other peaks in the area that might interest prominence peakbaggers are
below. Click on each one to bring up a List of John page which has additional information:

Peak 8041
Peak 8258
Peak 8038
Square Top
Peak 9180
Peak 9055
Water Benchmark

Images

View "Lounger Top" Peak (UT) Image Gallery - 16 Images