Mount Ogden Peak

We moved to Ogden, Utah from Logan when mother married my stepfather.  My attention eventually focused on the seemly large mountain east of our new home, which was Mount Ogden Peak.  The first hike I took to the top of this mountain was when I got involved with the Boy Scouts during my last year of Primary.  Primary is a youth organization in my church, and at that time we were known as the Guide Patrol class.  We had a remarkable teacher, Emma Roberts, who took us on a hike to Mount Ogden to fulfill some of our requirements in scouting.  I remember taking the trail in Taylor Canyon atop 27th Street and going over the summit of Malans Peak – a climb of approximately 2,000 feet.  The big drawback here was having to descend into Malans Basin – perhaps a few hundred feet – before ascending up Mount Ogden Peak itself.  The trail tends to fade to ascending gullies and rocky slopes once you get past Malans Basin.  Close to the 9,572-foot summit, we came across a rattlesnake located beneath a rock we were hiking near.  Scouts being scouts, we became interested in the creature, and though none of us got bit, one of the boys killed it and decided to take it home as a trophy.  Obviously we weren’t aware at that time that we shouldn’t kill snakes – even if they appear threatening to us.  Our teacher let us know later that she didn’t approve of our handling of the snake – a valuable lesson to me.  I’ve been to the top of this mountain several times since – starting sometimes from the less-strenuous Snow Basin side.

At the summit of Mount Ogden Peak
with associates from work

Mount Ogden Peak from Taylor Canyon –

Photo Credit: Steve Baker







My First Hike

The first real hike I remember taking without any adult supervision was one in the Logan, Utah area when I was a child.  We lived on the east bench of the city near the USU campus and the Country Club Golf Course during the mid to late 1960s.  At that time there were no homes located east of the canal, and I used to wonder what it would be like to hike to the two antennas on top of what I referred to as Saddleback Mountain.  After some persuading of my mother and my friend’s mother, they allowed us to set out on a day-long hike to the top of Saddleback Mountain.  My friend was Robert Elwood, and I was actually about a year or two older than he was.  As I recall, there was no real trail to the top of this mountain.  We simply hiked through the brush and grass and rocks to the top.  We hiked past the rocky outcrop known as Castle Rock and a mining prospecting dig further up the mountain.  We reached the 7,475-foot summit where the antennas were sometime during the early afternoon before heading down.  The Providence of God smiled upon us during this hike, which was a good thing for a first-time hike.  Though tired, we encountered no mishaps, such as falls, injury, rattlesnakes, or unfavorable weather during this hike.



Rock outcrop known as Castle Rock



Saddleback Mountain taken

from home in Logan, Utah