I had not planned to hike Naomi Peak when originally figuring my hiking vacation for this week, but after visiting the Rich county highpoint three days earlier, and Box Elder's county highpoint yesterday, I realized all I needed to do to connect them was make a quick visit to Naomi Peak, Cache county's highest. I had Miller & Weibel's High In Utah with me but no topo maps (again, I hadn't originally planned for this hike). Turns out I did not need the maps as the trail network was obvious and very well maintained.

After spending the night in Logan I got an early start and drove up US-89 into Logan Canyon about 20-odd miles to the Tony Grove access road. The sign was pretty small and I know I don't recall seeing it the first time I drove this road three days ago. In any case, I followed this road about 7 miles as it led up into the wilderness and ended at a nice lake. The area is named for a well-off family that used to visit this area back in the early 1900s. The term "Tony" simply refers to the fact the family was "tony", as in rich and spiffy, not because their names were Tony, or variations thereof. Anywho, I parked in the furthest of the lots, nearest the lake and trailheads, paid my parking fee, and got my gear together. The weather was magnificent and it was just about 7 a.m. in very pleasant temperatures. Only one other vehicle was there, and they looked like they were going to row in the lake. I started my hike around 7:15 a.m.

The trails are all very well marked and I had no trouble following them. The trail gains at easy to moderate grades for about the first mile, crossing numerous meadows and sparse stands of trees. There were a few areas where the trail got steep, and maybe just a bit eroded, but overall, the conditions were very good. I made good time. About the halfway point the trail comes up to a pass, where the summit of Naomi is visible for the first time. It's the left of two little rocky outcrops, although this is not apparently obvious as from down low, many points look higher. I continued up the trail and achieved the main ridge. From here it was a short side trail of about 1/8 mile to gain the top. The rocks have enough 'steps' in them that I didn't need hands. I was at the top about 8:30 a.m., a 1,800-foot gain in about 4 miles, maybe less.

From the top, I could see the city of Logan way down in the valleys below, and tons and tons of mountains surrounding me. The west-facing slopes of Naomi were sheer cliffs and very beautiful. The rocky, spiry summits of Mounts Gog and Magog were to my north, while way off to the west I could make out some ranges that must have been close to the Salt Lake itself. Very nice; I stayed up top for almost 40 minutes, just sitting and staring. When I started to get a chill in the pleasant breeze, I began my trek down.

The hike down was easy and eventless, except for a point about a half-mile below the summit. As I was hiking, pretty much head-down and not paying a whole bunch of attention, I heard a shriek: some women below me were hiking topless! They'd seen me before I saw them and they were frantically putting back on their shirts. I told them it was cool and that I didn't mind. But they seemed pretty embarrassed. I thought it was amusing! I was back to my car just after 10 a.m. for a round trip of about 3 hours. It was actually kind of warm by now. I spent much of the rest of the day exploring the Salt Lake and setting myself up for a hike the next day of Deseret Peak, the Tooele county highpoint.