I was on a fast trip through the high country of southwest Utah over Labor Day weekend of 2001, having visited the highest points and/or peaks in Kane and Iron counties the previous day, both being fairly short and easy dayhikes. By the time I was off of Brian Head Peak in Iron County, it was late afternoon, so I descended down the highway into Parowan, drove north an hour into Beaver, and stayed the night at a hotel in town.

Delano Peak is a big, pretty summit in the Tushar Mountains overlooking Beaver, and because the county line between beaver and Piute Counties runs across the top, it is the highest point for both counties. Early the next morning, I drove up state route UT-153 about 20 miles to the Elk Meadows Ski Area, arriving to the trailhead at 6:10 a.m. in pleasant weather.

The trail starts on the north side of UT-153 and goes into the forest a half-mile where it meets up with a trail coming from Puffer Lake. Not far after the trail junction, the main trail is blocked by deadfall. At first it was usually a single tree, which could easily be stepped over or around. But very quickly there were piles of dead trees in the trail, forcing me to hike down below, off-trail, for awhile. It is easy to lose the main trail but when in doubt, I stayed high, as the trail eventually rides the top of a short ridge, topping out at about 10,400 feet elevation. At this point, I'd covered just over a mile from my truck.

The next half-mile was really miserable, too. Now, the deadfall seemed man-made. There was dead crud everywhere, with bulldozer tracks in all directions. I think they were clearing the area for a future ski run. I'm always amused how butt-ugly ski areas are when not covered in snow. Finally, I was past this deadfall junk and the ugliness and back on the main trail in the trees. For the next portion, probably a shade less than a mile, the trail gained at a pleasant grade in the forest on the west flanks of Lake Peak. It then crosses a stream and comes out in the open again. So far, so good.

At this stream crossing I followed a faint path to a couple of junctions. My goal was the Skyline Trail. However, I missed an important switchback (the morning sun's glare was intense... that's my excuse). But in the openness, I could see my immediate objective ahead of me: a small pass at about 10,900 feet elevation directly southwest of Mount Holly, the big peak south of Delano Peak. As I hiked toward this pass, I re-found the trail, and followed it over the pass. On the other side, the trail dropped about 100 feet, went through a couple stands of fir, and then crossed two wooden footbridges. After the second bridge, about 2.5 miles from the start, I began the long cross-country leg of the hike, as there is no established trail to Delano Peak.

I hiked up a drainage that's shown on the map near an obvious "left" turn in the trail, between the words "Pack" and "Trail" on the map. This part was pretty straightforward. After a few minutes I was high enough to make out the main route. I had to cross a couple of boggy sections, and I hiked up and across the grassy mountainsides toward a parallel drainage just to the north of the first one. This second drainage is below a long ridge that tops out at an elevation of 11,526 feet. This is all above tree-line and it is all clumpy grass and wildflowers, and very pretty.

The second drainage has a rudimentary "trail", probably a game path that has been used by humans over the years, on the right hand side of the drainage as one looks up. I followed it, then crossed the drainage to the other side at a convenient spot and started walking up the slope below point 11,526. Mount Holly, at 11,985 feet, loomed high to my right. My goal was a small pass located between point 11,526 and point 11,815 northwest of Mt. Holly. I stopped and turned around periodically to check out the awesome view, as well as to memorize landmarks for my hike down. I also made an extended stop high on the grassy slopes just to relax, for about 20 minutes. The weather was very nice, with temperatures in the 60s, and a light breeze. Soon, I was on my way and I made the pass shortly. For the first time, I could see Delano Peak.

At the pass I continued generally level toward an obvious ridge, steadily getting closer to Delano's main body. Surprisingly, I found a very good trail for this final leg. This trail stayed right on the ridge, allowing for views down the east and west sides of the range. It rose and fell over two very minor bumps, then bottomed out at a small saddle just below Delano Peak. Here, the trail continued up the steep scree slope. It looked intimidating but aside from a small 20-foot stretch of really loose crud, it was safe and solid. This small section gained about 200 feet quickly, and topped out above some rocky outcrops and below a false summit. I saw two mountain goats in the area, covered in their fine fur, munching on the grass.

At this point, I ditched my pack and walked up the false summit, from which I could see Delano Peak about 500 feet away. It was an easy walk to the top, and I arrived at 9:15 a.m., exactly 3 hours after I started. Total one way to the summit was about 5 miles and about 2,200 feet of gain. Beautiful, with incredible views in all directions, including the bare rocky slopes of Mount Belknap to the north (Belknap is only about 50 feet shorter than Delano Peak in height). I stayed for about 15 minutes and just relaxed in the cool breeze. I signed into the register, but a wooden sign described by many apparently is no longer there, as I could not find it. Up to this point, I had clear skies, but a couple of puffy clouds started to appear so I figured I should get started down.

I followed the same route down as I did up. Going down was quick as the footing on the grassy slopes was solid, and in less than an hour I was back to the wooden footbridges. I continued to make good time along the trail, but of course, was slowed by the downed trees mentioned earlier. Actually, I did okay, but I stayed too high and found myself about 100 feet above the actual trail, which I could view from my forested perch, so I downclimbed to it and was back to my truck at 11:15 a.m. From here, I stopped in Beaver for lunch, then made the 250-mile drive back to Henderson, Nevada, to shower up and visit with the folks.