Utah's Deseret Peak lands on many highpoint lists. It is the highpoint of Tooele County, the 4th most prominent peak in the state with more than 5,800ft of prominence and happens to land on the Great Basin Peaks list, among others. There are several trails that go to the popular summit and it is often done as a loop starting at the Loop Campground TH, an 8.3mi, 4,000-foot effort. Peak 10,685ft is a P1K that is often done in conjunction as a bonus, adding another mile and 1,000ft of gain. I decided to add another bonus peak, another mile further north of Peak 10,685ft and then see if I couldn't find a way off its East Ridge to make an even bigger loop. This worked out quite nicely, though the East Ridge made for a very convoluted descent, not for the faint of heart.
I spent the night camped at the TH, noting a bunch of signs that describe
the whole area as a USFS "Fee Area". Seems that is for camping and
picnicking, though I don't know if sleeping in your car at the TH counts
for either. I slept in some, getting up with the sun that came filtering through
the trees to disturb my slumber. I woke, dressed, rearranged the jeep and
breakfasted before 
starting out around 6:45a. Much of the initial hour
is through forest with only 
a few views to the surrounding peaks. I
followed the route in a clockwise fashion, ascending up through the Mill Fork
with its 
chest-high jungle meadows which eventually 
grow thinner
as one gains altitude. I reached 
a trail junction at the saddle SE of
Deseret Peak shortly after 8a, with 
views now quite impressive in
multiple directions. I followed 
the trail west that leads to
the summit, about a half hour from the saddle with 
open views
now that the trail is above treeline. A large ammo box holds a very busy
register. It was less than a year old, but would be filled before the
end
of summer. The most recent ascent was just the previous day and I suspect there
are more days with summit visitors than without, except perhaps in winter.
After a short break, I 
continued north on the trail, taking about 45min
to reach 
the saddle
where it then drops east into Pockets Fork. Here, I left the trail
to continued north on the crest, 
climbing to Peak 10,685ft
in about half an
hour. There are various use trails that help make this 1,000-foot climb up
scree slopes easier. It would take another 40min to 
continue north
another 1.3mi to Peak 10,521ft (North Medina, on PB). A fire on
the west side of the range scorched much of the forested slopes,
though the summit areas around Deseret and Peak 10,685ft were spared. The fire
reached up to 
the ridgeline where it
connects the two unnamed peaks, leaving some downfall and pretty much no shade.
It was 10:30a before I reached the third and last summit, and it was here that
the adventure got most interesting. I didn't want to have to return back south
several miles of ridgeline to pick up the trail dropping into Pocket Fork.
Other options are limited, however. The entire east side of the crest is a mass
of vertical cliffs. There are some promising chutes that look like they
might offer a way down, but these end abruptly in dry waterfalls with no way
out. The East Ridge of Peak 10,521ft is pretty steep, but not exactly cliffs,
at least from what I could see while I was making my way to the summit. The
upper half is a steep set of chutes with kitty littered ledges that
work OK if
one takes one's time. The options soon dwindle about halfway down where the
chutes funnel into a pair of dry waterfalls. It was here that I traversed north
out of the chute and explored the north side of the East Ridge, where trees
can be found to help lower oneself down through some steep sections. I
eventually traversed east across the slope to return to the East Ridge, below
the difficulties. I spent the better part of an hour in descending
the ridge, happy to find that it worked.
An old trail cuts across the lower part of the East Ridge as it travels
between the North and South Forks of Willow Creek. I 
used this
to drop into the Mining Fork where South Willow Lake is found. This drainage is
also used for grazing, as exemplified by a very non-afraid 
specimen
I found just off the trail. There is a 4-way 
trail junction
in the middle of the drainage and I followed the fork that
continues south to Pockets Fork where I picked up 
the trail
that would take me back to the start. It was 12:45p before I returned to
the trailhead and already it was in the high 70s at 7,400ft.
I had some eight hours of driving planned to get me into the middle of Colorado
before I was through, so no more hiking today. Lots of soda to rehydrate and
road snacks to keep me awake...
Continued...