Mount Wire - February 8, 2015

scatman

Member
.
Joined
Dec 23, 2013
Messages
3,624
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.

Mount_Wire_Route_Map.jpg
Route Map

13_view_shoreline_trail.jpg
View from the Shoreline Trail

12_icy_trail.jpg
Icy trail to begin with

11_top_mountain.jpg
Looking up towards the top of Mount Wire

10_red_butte.jpg
Red Butte Canyon

08_wasatch_front.jpg
View of the Wasatch Front

07_first-look-beacon.jpg
First glimpse of the beacon after leaving the saddle

06_grandview.jpg
Grandview Peak to the north, just above Black Mountain Ridge

05_east_ridge.jpg
Looking slightly northeast along the ridge from Mount Wire

04_throat.jpg
The throat of the beacon

03_emmigration_canyon.jpg
Emigration Canyon

02_beacon.jpg
The old beacon

01_Butterfly.jpg
A butterfly in February! It is located on the small rock just to the right of center.

Featured image for home page:
slide.jpg
 
Last edited:
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.
 
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.
 
@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. :(

10404914616_c390ddf8b4_k.jpg
10405005364_e6634a5756_k.jpg
10404888274_1e232e9a79_k.jpg
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
scatman Mount Wire - February 25, 2023 Hiking & Camping 15
scatman Mount Wire Loop - 2003 and 2016? Hiking & Camping 13
scatman Mount Wire - April 30, 2022 Hiking & Camping 6
scatman Mount Wire - January 1, 2022 Hiking & Camping 8
scatman Mount Wire - December 11, 2021 Hiking & Camping 12
scatman Mount Wire and Mount Van Cott Lollipop Loop (or the Foothill Follies) - November 6. 2021 Hiking & Camping 20
scatman Mount Wire - January 10, 2016 Hiking & Camping 15
scatman Mount Superior - July 14, 2023 Hiking & Camping 16
scatman Mount Raymond - July 8, 2023 Hiking & Camping 17
scatman Mount Aire - June 17, 2023 Hiking & Camping 23
ANelson Hiking to the Top of the Henry's (Mount Ellen) August 2022 Hiking & Camping 10
scatman Mount Olympus - March 18, 2023 Hiking & Camping 3
scatman Mount Aire - June 18, 2022 Hiking & Camping 6
Yvonne Climbing Mount Saint Helens via Monitor Ridge Route, July 2021 Hiking & Camping 16
scatman Mount Olympus - January 17, 2022 Hiking & Camping 6
scatman Mount Van Cott - December 18, 2021 Hiking & Camping 25
scatman Mount Olympus - November 13, 2021 Hiking & Camping 11
TheMountainRabbit Horse Ridge to Mount Febbas (Fitzpatrick Wilderness) - July 2021 Backpacking 24
scatman North Summit, Mount Olympus - July 3, 2021 Hiking & Camping 12
scatman Mount Raymond and Gobblers Knob Lollipop Loop - June 18, 2021 Hiking & Camping 17
scatman Mount Aire and Unnamed Peaks 8490 and 8319 Lollipop Loop - June 12, 2021 Hiking & Camping 11
Udink Mount Belknap and Bullion Canyon Hiking & Camping 3
scatman Mount Aire - January 2, 2021 Hiking & Camping 4
scatman North Summit, Mount Olympus - October 17, 2020 Hiking & Camping 16
norwegianxplorer Summiting Mount Whitney from Guitar Lake, 6 Days backpacking the Sierra before the Creek Fire closed everything down. Backpacking 5
scatman Mount Nebo - August 6, 2020 Hiking & Camping 13
SteveR Mount Burke, Alberta Hiking & Camping 5
scatman Mount Raymond via Bowman Fork - June 27, 2020 Hiking & Camping 6
J Mount Nutt Wilderness Cave Spring Area dayhike Nov 26, 2019 Hiking & Camping 0
scatman Mount Olympus - November 10, 2019 Hiking & Camping 1
BJett Mount Rogers National Recreation Area - Virginia Backpacking 18
TractorDoc Three Days at Mount Rainier in late July. Hiking & Camping 10
TractorDoc Mount Rainier in Late July -- Day Hiking Meet Up (Members Only) 0
scatman Mount Aire - September 23, 2018 Hiking & Camping 11
stevecochranephotography Blue Lakes Trail... Southwest Colorado in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness Hiking & Camping 9
stevecochranephotography Notch Mountain Trail - Mount of the Holy Cross and Shelter - Minturn, Colorado Hiking & Camping 4
Dave Mount Watson Hiking & Camping 12
scatman Mount Olympus - April 5, 2018 Hiking & Camping 15
AbinadiWitness Part 1: Telluride Via Ferrata and Mount Sneffels SW Ridge from Blue Lakes- Colorado Trip # 1 - 2017 Backpacking 0
Udink Deadman Point, Haystack Mountain, and Mount Tukuhnikivatz Hiking & Camping 3
misSOULa Montana's Pintler Wilderness: Goat Flat and Mount Tiny Backpacking 6
Devin Ashby Mount Agassiz Beta Trip Planning 4
scatman Mount Olympus - February 20, 2017 Hiking & Camping 9
scatman North Summit of Mount Olympus - November 6, 2016 Hiking & Camping 8
IntrepidXJ Mount Tukuhnikivatz Hiking & Camping 6
Udink Mount Peale Hiking & Camping 4
Udink Mount Sneffels and Handies Peak Hiking & Camping 4
blueeyes Winter Snowshoe Mount Baird, ID April 23-24 2016 Backpacking 10
Bryan Harwood Glacier National Park: Wintersun on Mount Brown March. 2016 Hiking & Camping 4
Elemental Fluttershy Mount Adams Rec. Area: Wildflowers at Bird Creek Meadows! (Washington) Hiking & Camping 3

Similar threads

Back
Top