Mount Wire - February 8, 2015

[scatman]

It was such a gorgeous day yesterday here in Salt Lake that I decided to go for a little hike near my house. I chose to head up to the old airplane beacon on top of Mount Wire also known as Big Beacon. The route is approximately 2.3 miles one way, so just a touch over 4.5 miles round trip. I started hiking around 10:00 am and before long had crossed the Shoreline Trail and was heading up Georges Hollow towards Red Butte. After an hour or so, I arrived at a small saddle where you can look down and northeast into Red Butte Canyon. After taking a couple pictures of the canyon, I turned southeast and made my way to the top of the mountain. The north slope still had some icy snow to negotiate but it wasn't too bad. I had brought my micro spikes but didn't end up using them. It took an hour and twenty minutes to get to the top and once there I climbed the beacon to take some pictures and eat a Cliff Bar while enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. Once done enjoying the view, I retraced my path back to the trailhead and then headed home. On my way down I saw a butterfly. Amazing for February in Utah!

Mount Wire is a great early season hike that will take you to 7143'. Be sure and climb the beacon to get great views of the Salt Lake Valley, Emigration Canyon and Red Butte Canyon.


Route Map


View from the Shoreline Trail


Icy trail to begin with


Looking up towards the top of Mount Wire


Red Butte Canyon


View of the Wasatch Front


First glimpse of the beacon after leaving the saddle


Grandview Peak to the north, just above Black Mountain Ridge


Looking slightly northeast along the ridge from Mount Wire


The throat of the beacon


Emigration Canyon


The old beacon


A butterfly in February! It is located on the small rock just to the right of center.

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[Vegan.Hiker]

Not sure how I missed this @scatman. Nice looking ridge and view of the canyon. Are there a lot of Fire towers in the uintas? We have a bunch out here in ny/nj since most of our teeny weenie mountains aren't above tree line. There was a guy recently on a NH forum that hiked the entire list of 92 NH Fire towers. Hikers over here are ALL weirdly obsessed with lists and redlining. Part of the reason I spend my time here on BCP instead.

 

[Dave]

There's only one fire tower left standing in the Uintas. It's Ute Mountain near Flaming Gorge. There are a couple just over the state line in Colorado though in Dinosaur National Monument.

 

[scatman]

@Vegan.Hiker - The tower on top of Mount Wire is not a fire lookout but rather an out of commission airplane beacon. I'm not sure of the history behind it but it hasn't been used in decades. At one point it must have been a navigational aid for pilots.

Mount Wire used to have two microwave reflective panels on top but they took them down last year.