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.
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| At the summit of Mount Ogden Peak with associates from work |
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Mount Photo Credit: Steve Baker |
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