Mt. Ogden from Snowbasin

This Trek begins at Snowbasin Ski Resort. There are other ways to get to Mt. Ogden but I think this may be the simplest. I started at about 11am on a Tuesday morning from the Snowbasin parking lot. I really had no idea which trail I was going to take as there are so many different trails and roads to use to get to the top. I simply took a picture of the trails map that is near the gondola lift and started up. The first thing to remember about this hike is that it is LONG! I wasn't expecting an almost 5 mile hike to the summit from the parking lot but after about 2 1/2 hours of hiking I realized that I was still about a mile away from the top. I recommend hiking this in the fall. The fall colors make this hike even better as you are walking among tall aspens changing colors. Plus, the weather was cooler and I only brought a wind breaker which was sufficient for an unusually warm fall day. Like I mentioned before, there are many routes to the top but I decided to mainly stick to the Needles trail which eventually met up with the Porcupine trail which eventually met up with an access road to the summit. Just use your best judgement and always travel towards Mt. Ogden; be patient and you will eventually get there. The trick is to keep a steady pace and take breaks often. Always make sure you are drinking enough water too! I was very surprised because I didn't see any one else on the entire trail except for a few maintenance workers checking out a lift. Other than that, there were no other hikers or bikers that I could see. It was actually nice to have the whole resort to myself. I eventually came to just below Mt. Ogden with Needles Lodge on the ridge to the right and a zig-zag trail on the left side of the mountain. I followed the path to the left and slowly made my way to the top. Along the way, I found several mule deer that were watching me but by the time I got my camera out they had already bolted up the mountainside. Just below the summit there are a few propane tanks with a geocache on the west side of them. I checked it out and found that the cache was full of coupons for a retail store located in Ogden. I continued the several hundred steep yards to the summit and checked out the antennas and other communications equipment. There is also a helipad on the other side too. I didn't want to get too close to it all as there were multiple signs warning of "No Trespassing" and even a few cameras that were watching my every move. I simply enjoyed the incredible views, got some nice photos, had lunch and then came back down. It was a great hike! I followed the same trail back to the bottom.