It's a 15-mile, one-way hike/scramble to Kings Peak, Utah's highest point at 13,528 feet above sea level. However, it's probably the final mile to this lofty summit in rarefied air and over endless boulder slabs that's the hardest part of this trek.
Summiting Kings is a pure endurance feat, akin to running a marathon. It is only determination and desire that fuel many hikers, because once on the ridgeline, the actual summit isn't visible until the final 30 yards. Several false summits can crumble the hopes of first-time climbers.
With no actual trail to follow in that last mile, each hiker must also choose a path, or choose to follow another hiker, hoping he or she knows the way.
Dangers and hazards are also plentiful here — altitude sickness, possible stumbles on sharp rocks, cliffs, lightning strikes, possible heavy rain or snow, gusty winds, dehydration and exhaustion.
Difficulty-wise, Don W. Holmes, who wrote "Highpoints of the United States," ranks Kings Peak as a "Class 2, strenuous" hike, exceeded only by the highest summit in six other states — Alaska, Wyoming, Idaho, Hawaii, Oregon and Montana.
Despite the difficulty with this hike, hundreds and perhaps thousands of Utahns each summer attempt to scale Kings Peak.
For example, the trail-head register book at Henry's Fork (closest access point to Kings), from Aug. 11-16 included 156 total hikers, 120 of whom declared that Kings was their ultimate destination. There's no way to know for sure how many of those 120 actually made it to the summit, but probably most did.
"Reaching the summit is not technically challenging, but the length of the hike, the likelihood of inclement weather and the altitude can make reaching this summit difficult," Scott Wesemann, 30, from American Fork, said after his third time on the top of Kings Peak.
Altitude sickness is probably the most overlooked hazard on a Kings Peak hike.
"I have suffered from altitude sickness on two occasions while climbing Kings Peak," Wesemann said. "Both times I was not able to keep food or water down."
Altitude sickness is fairly unpredictable and can strike young and old, even very physically fit people.
Grant Holman, 9, of West Jordan, was probably the youngest hiker to summit Kings on Aug. 15, and he said the altitude had made him a little sick. But that didn't stop him from playing inside a large hole in the center of the flat rock slabs that adorn the summit.
His brother, Caleb Holman, 10, thought backpacking into camp was harder than the day's hike to Kings. "The view up here is cool," he said.
Bobby Johnson, 15, of West Jordan and a member of Boy Scout Troop No. 977, which led more than a dozen Scouts, plus the two Holman brothers and some leaders to Kings Peak, was impressed on top, too.
"The best part was standing on the tallest rock here and being the tallest person in Utah," he said.
Standing some 3,000 feet above timberline is an almost unearthly land of vast rock fields, rarefied but pure air, panoramic eagle-eye views and plenty of solitude. This is Utah's roof — a primitive area where the only hint of civilization is an occasional jet flying overhead.
This Kings Peak has only been the highest summit in the state for the past few decades. Prior to 1966, a different peak — today's South Kings, but the original Kings Peak — was erroneously believed to be the state's highest before satellite measurements located the current Kings summit, previously unheralded.
Hikers before 1966 would pass right by and below Kings, believing the southern summit was the state's kingpin.
Although the beaten path over Gunsight Pass, into Painter's Basin and up to Anderson Pass, has been the traditional way to hike Kings Peak, things have changed in the past few years. A majority of hikers today take a rock slide shortcut because it may trim about two miles, one way, off the hike.
The U.S. Forest Service officially discourages use of the rock slide because of the potential dangers of sliding rock. It feels the slide should only be used in an emergency, like to get out of a lightning storm.
Notwithstanding, on Aug. 15, only three hikers were spotted using the Gunsight trail, vs. some 50 hikers who took the rock slide up and down.
"Taking the chute from the Henry's Fork basin to Anderson Pass will save you some time, but going down this route has become very dangerous," Wesemann said. "On our trip there was close to 50 people in the chute at the same time descending. Several people were sliding down on their rear ends knocking off every rock in their path.
"I saw several rocks tumbling down the chute and one rock that I would estimate close to 50 pounds missed a father and his son by about 10 feet. It is only a matter of time before someone is seriously injured or killed on this section, so if you do take this route be advised. I would say that it is by far the most dangerous place on the trail."
Most at fault were a group of Scouts and some other young hikers who were both impatient and oblivious to the danger they were creating above hikers down below.
Wesemann's final advice: "I have climbed numerous peaks in Utah and several in the western United States, and I have to say that Kings is one of the most enjoyable peaks to climb anywhere, so take your time and enjoy the scenery, but be careful!"
With cellular phones only working on the highest ridges and the nearest town some 39 miles from Kings, safety is critical in such a wilderness area. Hiking Kings alone is also risky. Having at least one friend to back you up is wise.
Kings is hikeable with little or no snow in July through September. However, it is also accessible in winter on cross-country skis or snowshoes, but the last four miles of road to the trailhead are not plowed and so it is usually an extra eight-mile roundtrip trek.
E-MAIL: lynn@desnews.com