Black Crook Peak, Sheeprock Range, Utah

Here are a few photos from a little jaunt to seldom-visited Black Crook Peak near Vernon, Utah, back in June. At 9,274 feet, it's not the tallest peak in Utah's West Desert, but it is nonetheless quite spectacular. The intrepid explorer can still find the Old West out in the Sheeprock and Simpson Mountains. I completed the hike with a couple of my brothers starting at the end of the Jeep road up Sheeprock Mountain's South Pine Canyon (elevation 8,265).

Small pillar of granite dubbed "God's Thumb" at the mouth of South Pole Canyon.

A couple of hundred yards up from our parking spot near an abandoned mine at the head of South Pole Canyon.

Troy scales a meadow of mule ears at the head of South Pole Canyon.

Ruins at the long-abandoned Hilltop Mine near the summit ridge. There's not much info out there on the hundreds of mines scattered throughout the Sheeprock and Simpson Mountains. Best guess is that many of these mines were silver-lead prospects dating back to the 1920s or so. It looked like ore from the Hilltop Mine was transported via rail to the summit and then lowered by aerial tramway into North Pole Canyon where there are additional mines and a road. There is a lot of mineralization in these mountains, but the distance from major transportation corridors likely precluded most mines from being profitable. 

On the summit ridge and heading northwest towards Black Crook (high peak in the left distance).

Matt and Eros carefully pick their way across the class 2-3 rocky summit ridge. The most common rocks we saw were quartzite, schist, argillite (cooked claystone), and metaconglomerate. At about 600 million years old, these rocks have a long history and they predate complex lifeforms. 

We were shocked to see two other hikers making their way toward the summit. You can just make out their white and orange shirts in the upper right of this photo. They made the poor choice to bushwhack through thick mountain mahogany here. We scrambled up and around the mahogany to get ahead of them, although  they eventually caught back up to us before the final climb. The communication facilities are on top of Peak 9267 which is about 1/2 mile north of and just 7 feet lower than Black Crook.

Matt makes the final scramble to the summit.

Success! The Bennion triangulation station was set in 1952 on top of  the tallest pillar of rock on the summit.

Matt, Eros, and Halle on Black Crook Peak.

View from Black Crook Peak south along the summit ridge.