Sheep Dip Mountain is a rather strange name to give a mountain, but the term actually refers to a dipping trough that farmers and shepherds use to protect their sheep from external parasite infestations. This unusually-named mountain is located in a southern extension of the Caribou National Forest
– in a "boundary hiccup" area along the Utah-Idaho border. Based on the official description, the border between Idaho and Utah was set at the 42nd parallel of latitude. When surveyed back in the late 1800s, however, two surveys (probably coming from opposite directions) didn't match up in the middle. Rather than change what had already been done, it appears as though they tied into the other one's survey, creating a diamond-shaped area roughly 176 acres in size shared by both Idaho and Utah (see blue area on map). Having trekked to all six corners of Utah, I became intrigued with this area and I wanted to see if I could locate any survey monuments. In researching possible routes to access Sheep Dip Mountain, the Idaho side offered the easiest approach.
To reach the starting point for this hike from Salt Lake City, take I-15 north for about 95 miles to the Idaho border. Continue into Idaho, taking off on the Woodruff-Samaria exit (Exit 3) and turn right towards the east frontage road. Follow the frontage road back towards the south for about 1.1 miles to the streambed coming out of Burnett Canyon. Parking is allowed near the streambed as long as vehicles are well off the road to allow farm equipment to pass by. When I came here I had my hiking partner, Joe, and his wife come along with me.
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Sheep Dip Mountain viewed from a
point to the west-northwest |
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View looking west over I-15 along the
Utah-Idaho border from the "6677" point |
We followed a well-established trail for at least one mile up Burnett Canyon before veering to the right (south) towards Sheep Dip Mountain. At this point we left the trail and made our way over the south ridge of Burnett Canyon into the Trail Creek drainage
– staying in the sparsely vegetated areas as much as possible. A point listed as "6677" on the USGS topographic map provides the first real vantage point, and aligns perfectly with the state boundary line to the west. Here I spent perhaps 30 minutes looking for any evidence that might indicate a boundary since this point sits at the edge of the shared area, but I found nothing. From this point our route continued southeastward along a more forested ridge to another point wholly within Utah listed as "6941" on the map. While we never did come across any survey monuments and/or markings to indicate a boundary, there is most likely evidence in places we did not look. We ended up going a different route down the mountain than we did coming up
– one which I don't recommend since we had to scale several barbed wire fences and cross private property. Based on the route we took up, distance from the starting point to the 7,057-foot summit of Sheep Dip Mountain is approximately 4.0 miles one-way with an elevation gain of approximately 2,490 feet.
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A Sego Lily (Utah State flower) blooms
along the route to Sheep Dip Mountain |
