Trail Advertisement for Mt. Kessler (and White Baldy)

Mt. Kessler

by Sam

Are you tired of all the hustle and bustle on the ever popular Mt. Olympus trail? Do you like climbing straight up the mountain without those dizzying switchbacks? Do you like getting your quads pounded out in a good massage but can't afford it? Do you suffer from cold feet or icicle toes? Are you looking for spectacular views not limited to the city but encompass the entire Wasatch range? When's the last time you pressed wild flowers? Do you like being alone? Are you afraid of mountain lion dens? Bears? Does the stillness of the forest leave you unnerved? Have you ever seen the trees so thick the sun cannot penetrate them?

Selfie on the summit.

Well, have I got a trail for you. Mt. Kessler towers above the ever popular Doughnut Falls but most people have no idea how to get to it or that it's there at all. The trail that leads you up to Kessler can be tricky to find. It is not marked and if you don't already have a general idea where it is, you'll miss it. Don't take the trail headed to Doughnut falls. Well, you could if you wanted to, it would just require dodging thousands of people and some backtracking. Instead, from the parking lot take the would be service road. Pass the locked gate and loop around. The road eventually turns into the Doughnut Falls trail, unless you stay to the right when it forks. After the fork, keep your eyes peeled for a single track unmarked trail on the right. It's about 3/4 mile from the parking lot.



That trail will lead you up to Kessler through beautiful wildflowers, wonderful aspen groves, dense firs, around the mountain lion's den, and up, up, up the steep hills. Once you reach the ridgeline continue on the trail to the south until you reach the summit. No scrambling, no crags, no people anywhere.

Lion's den.

View of the Wildcat Ridge, Salt Lake Valley beyond.

Summit Monkey with a good view of the Triple Traverse on the Cottonwood Ridge.

Map and Stats of Mt. Kessler and White Baldy.

If Mt. Kessler isn't enough for you, (it wasn't for me, 5.3 miles and only ~3,000' vertical? More please!) go on over the mountain to the White Pine trail and hit White Baldy. Chris Pope and I headed up the trail until we came in view of the lake. At this point, a fellow coming down, Scott was his name, hitched his rope to our wagon and accompanied us the rest of the night. He wanted to hit the summit but didn't have a headlamp, so he abandoned that idea until hooking up with us. Luckily, he knew his way over the boulder field and we followed him up the ridge until darkness descended on us. At this point we asked ourselves the soul searching questions that every trail runner/mountaineer-er asks.

White Baldy in the middle.

Chris and Scott traversing the boulder fields.

Do I really want to traverse the knife edge ridgeline in the dark in order to reach the summit?

Do I want to go down what I just went up in the the dark?

Is it really worth it? In the dark?

Did I mention that it was dark?

So, we turned around. We didn't summit. We were probably only 1/2 mile away at most, but it's treacherous. In fact, I happened to have an enormous boulder give way right under my feet and make quite a racket sliding down the moutainside. Fortunately, my handholds were secure and those rocks didn't give way. Phew!


Scott seemed to be an experienced mountaineer and talked fondly of summitting peaks the likes of Gannett in the Wind Rivers. He moved quickly over the boulders, in the dark, sharing our headlamp light. Back on the trail, he held his own going down at about 11:30 min. mile pace. Not too shabby. Chris and I probably would have recklessly gone down at 8:00 min miles without him, but that was probably for the better. My stomach was roiling a bit from the enormous and delicious JCW burger I had for dinner. Upon arriving at home, my stomach decided it was done with the last of it and I woke my household up heaving it out about 6 or 7 times. It wasn't as delicious on the way back up. Then, I felt better and went to bed.

And you thought the sunset was good down in the valley. Ha!