What's the tallest mountain peak in Davis and Morgan counties?
If you answered Francis you're correct because, strangely enough, the two tallest mountains in the Wasatch Range dividing the two counties share the same name. So, if you thought two Hill Field Roads in north Davis County was strange, here's another major duplication for the record.The best-known Francis Peak is the one with the radar domes on it above Lagoon (9,515 feet above sea level). The more obscure Francis Peak is 3.5 miles farther north (elevation 9,706 feet), directly east of East Layton's Cherry Lane and Snow Canyon. Both straddle the Morgan and Davis county line.
The northern Francis is listed on U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Geographical maps as "Francis VABM.' The U.S. Geological Survey office in Salt Lake City reports that VABM means "vertical angle bench mark" and refers to the presence of a triangulation station on the peak.
Information obtained from the Geographical Survey's Cartography office reveals how the two highest peaks came to share the same name.
The key mountain peaks in northern Utah were re-surveyed in the 1950s using triangulation methods. One such VABM point was set up in 1954 on the unnamed 9,706-foot peak north of the original Francis Peak.
The Geological Survey office reports it is not unusual for some of the highest peaks in the state to be nameless. For example, more than 15 unnamed peaks in the High Uintas exceed 13,000 feet in height.
The triangulation survey teams were reportedly notorious for naming unnamed geographical features after already named natural points. Although this method wasn't the official way to do things, it still put the name Francis on all geographical maps from 1955 on, and hence on other maps too, such as those of the Forest Service. When this name dubbing took place, the original Francis Peak was still a jagged mountain with no radar towers on it.
Mountain-climbing expert Michael R. Kelsey refers to the taller 9,706-foot Francis Peak as "North Francis Peak" in several of his Utah hiking books. This makes sense and helps avoid confusion between the two pinnacles.
The more famous Francis Peak is now well-known as a "skymark" in Davis and Morgan counties because of the two radar domes sitting on it.
The peak was named Francis in honor of Esther Charlotte Emily Wiesbroddt Francis, an early pioneer woman who settled in Morgan in 1863. Her expert knowledge of mathematics, particularly calculus, drew many to seek her help. She assisted early surveyors and, among other things, helped organize Morgan City into blocks, lots and streets.
It was customary in early settlements of the West to name a landmark after a person in recognition of services rendered or contributions made. Sometimes a first name was used. In the case of Francis, her last name probably sounded like a better name for the most prominent mountain peak in the area than her first name.
Brigham Young himself is reported to have honored Francis by naming the mountain after her.
Why her name was given to the second-highest peak in the mountain range between Bountiful and Weber Canyon is unclear. Lacking modern equipment, perhaps no one in the 1800s knew the north peak was the highest, or possibly the south peak just looked more spectacular because it was pointed. (The northern Francis Peak is rounded.)
Obviously, South Francis Peak looks much different today, with radar towers perched atop it that were not there before the 1960s. Meanwhile, the taller, northern Francis has remained a wilderness. The peak was surveyed at 9,707 feet high in 1955 until a re-measurement in 1991 lowered it by one foot to its current 9,706.
North Francis Peak can be a little difficult to single out, but it is more easily spotted out west, away from the foothills. It is directly east of the Davis Drive-in Theater and has a little knob poking out of its north slope. To the south of it, the mountain skyline dips down several hundred feet to its lowest point between Weber and Farmington canyons.
The original, southern Francis Peak is visited by hundreds of people a year and has a dirt road leading to it. The radar towers have made it one of the only real skymarks in Davis County, especially at night, when they are lighted. This Francis Peak was measured at 9,547 feet and is listed as such on 1955 U.S. Geological Survey maps. Construction on the two radar towers started in July 1958. The pointed peak had to be blasted off to level just over an acre of ground to support the radar facilities.
This construction resulted in a loss of 22,000 cubic yards of material and 32 feet of the peak's height. However, the Geological Survey has since neglected to update the original Francis Peak's elevation and still lists it at 9,547, while the Morgan County Historical Society has done considerable research and correctly lists the height of Francis Peak at 9,515.
The Geological Survey does not add the height of man-made structures to its elevations. Otherwise, Francis Peak would be higher than ever at approximately 9,600 feet because of the 85-foot-high radar towers. (This still makes its 106 feet lower than North Francis Peak.)
The radar facility became operational in June 1961. When opened, it was the highest radar facility in the nation. Today it is ranked third. Still, some hang-glider participants believe it is the highest place in the United States where a person can drive a vehicle to a launch point near the radar towers and where more than a vertical mile of gliding separates them from Lagoon.
Nearly perpetual snow below the radar towers creates a small "winter playground" in the spring and summer, though this kind of recreation can lead to accidents. For example, a Clinton teenager slid 300 feet down the side of Francis Peak while snowboarding last May and into a rock field, resulting in three fractured vertebrae.
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Getting to S. Francis Peak and the FAA radar stations
Take I-15 exit No. 326 and/or get onto Main Street in Farmington. Go east to 100 East and head north. This road eventually becomes the Farmington Canyon road and goes up the canyon more than a mile before becoming a dirt road with numerous switchbacks.
A truck, jeep or motorcycle is the best transportation on the road, although most cars can make the trip. Even mountain bicyclists use the road. After about seven miles, be sure to take the north road leading to the radar towers. (The south road is the Bountiful Peak road and ends at the "B" on the mountain in Bountiful.)
A four-wheel-drive road continues past the back side of the radar towers to the the top of Baer Canyon and the Smith Creek Lakes. It is 12.8 miles from the mouth of Farmington Canyon to the radar towers.
The Farmington Canyon road was built as a CCC project in the 1930s. The road to the radar towers was improved in the 1950s in conjunction with their construction. The Forest Service maintains the lower portion of the road, while the Federal Aviation Administration takes care of the upper portion.
The FAA uses the road year-round to access the radar towers. A proposed tramway to the towers up Shepherd Canyon was deemed too expensive.
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Hiking to North Francis Peak
While the Francis Peak radar towers can be easily reached on a dirt road, 9,706-foot-tall North Francis Peak requires a rugged eight-mile, one-way hike that ascends 4,800 feet.
There's a lot of private land in the foothills, and this complicates access to the best trail, located between Hobbs Canyon and the middle fork of Kays Creek (between the Fernwood Picnic area and Hill Field Road). The rugged skyline trail is marked on Forest Service maps, though.
To find the trailhead, walk up a private dirt road east of the junction of U.S. 89 (Mountain Road) and Hill Field Road. (Landowner Mel West of Layton is concerned about motorized vehicles, not hikers, on his land.)
After reaching the mouth of Hobbs Canyon, head south on the fire road and after crossing a stream, look for a faded trail to the east - 600 yards later - after coming to the top of a small hill.
This rough trail is more like a stream bed and is not only steep but has numerous loose rocks. It goes up the ridge, with a few switchbacks, but mostly heads almost straight up. The trail is not maintained at all.
The route crosses through several mini-forests of pine and aspen trees. There's a nice camping area with a nearby spring, well-used by horsemen, at the 8,200-foot elevation. The trail then climbs to 8,800 feet before heading south along the mountainside. Above the main timberline it passes by one more spring before dipping into a basin, also heavily used by horse travelers and containing a stove and makeshift toilet.
Although Forest Service and U.S. Geologicial Survey maps have the trail marked as continuing south all the way to the radar towers, this continuation is a matter of definition. From here on, the trail all but ends, and though a few orange flags tied to the brush are an attempt to mark the path for a while, it's still a scramble to the top of the ridge - especially in the spring with snow fields around. With all the loose rocks and cliffs near here, extreme caution is advised.
Once on the ridge, a U.S. Geologicial Survey quadrangle map of the Peterson area is a necessity to single out the correct Francis Peak with an elevation of 9,706 (or 9,707 on older maps).
There are a few game trails to follow, but basically hikers must decide where to go, step by step, without the aid of a marked path. (If you've ever wondered how an area would have looked before man came along, this may answer your question.)
You'll know if you reach the correct highest peak because it has a U.S. Geologicial Survey marker imbedded in a rock on top near a pile of rocks and sticks. In fact, it appears hikers have made a game out of adding a few rocks to the top of the pile at each visit to add height to the peak (I added two feet myself.)
There's also a black plastic time capsule tube on the peak, full of notes left by previous hikers. One hiker even left a memo signed by Karl Malone regarding some sort of summer mountain climbing and drug-free program he endorsed a few years ago.
(Here I am on the highest peak around for 20 miles, during the NBA playoffs, and the first name I come across is Malone's!)
Another hiker left a list of Utah's tallest peaks and
See HIKE on C2
another a photograph of his family.
Looking around from on top, hikers can see Morgan to the east, Trapper's Loop can be seen to the northeast and the radar towers on the other Francis Peak do look the full 3.5 miles away, as indicated on maps.
It will take the best of hikers about five hours to reach the tallest peak. Coming back down to civilization is slightly quicker, but rocky ridges and loose rocks make hurrying impractical. The entire hike will take 8 to 12 hours. The Sierra Club rates this hike as moderately difficult; I disagree and rate it very difficult.
- NOTE: The west face of the higher Francis Peak is far too rugged and sheer to climb, and the eastern side isn't much better. So, to reach this peak, hikers must come from far away - along the ridge - either from the north side, as explained here, or from the radar tower side on the south. That's why the round trip distance of the hike is probably 16-17 miles long.