Emery County High Point Trip Report
East Mountain
Date: July 28, 2002
Author: Edward Earl
From UT-29 at Joes Valley Reservoir, I took Miller Flat Road north and followed signs toward Indian
Creek Campground (turn right after about 7 miles, then left after another 0.7 mile). After a total of 10 miles,
the campground appears on the left. Go past the main entrance and cross a cattle guard. The road
continues through cow pastures and gradually worsens. I parked in the upper reaches of Upper Joes Valley
where several side roads branched off. East Mountain looms high to the east at this point.
I continued on foot, up the main road which gradually degenerated into a jeep track and gradually veered
east and then southeast up the flank of East Mountain. After gaining about 250 feet of elevation, the road
was blocked by a large fallen log. A somewhat maintained and very easily followed trail continues beyond
this point. The trail switches back to the left, climbs and traverses, and eventually arrives at some fiberglass
water tanks near a point where a spring is shown on the topo map. Here I made a sharp right, following a
freshly cut, taped trail uphill. After a few minutes is a taped fork, where I turned right and continued uphill.
After a few more minutes the trail emerged out of the forest and onto a steep grassy hillside. From here the
trail fades gradually as it climbs directly up the hill. Little is left of the trail where it tops out on the broad
summit of East Mountain.
Though the summit itself is open, a few stands of trees lie scattered nearby. There are several candidate
boulders and mounds for the exact HP, but after careful sighting, I determined that the true HP is a brush-
covered sand pile, slightly reminiscent of a large anthill, about 50 - 100 yards north of the cairn and register,
which are located on a open rock slab.