Hike Bridger Peak Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, UT

Aug 19, 2022 — Bridger Peak is mostly known for being a Utah County High Point, but I wanted to reach its summit to get a view of Bear Lake below. Any car can reach the trailhead, which isn't well-marked. The trail itself is in good shape, descending a hundred feet into a drainage before reascending to the east on a steep slope. It was strange to me that an official trail would ascend at this angle and without switchbacks. After gaining about 800 feet in a short time, the trail mellowed out and started heading south, where there were some nice views into the surrounding hills. It was temping to continue along this trail since it had only just eased up, but to reach Bridger Peak I left the trail and ascended to the east. Just ahead was a small cliff band, but this can be easily avoided by one of a few social trails leading through weaknesses. Worst case, you may pull a Class 2/2+ move if you can't locate a trail option. It might be tricky to locate the cliff band on the way back since there was really no semblance of a social trail past here.

Once above the small cliff band, it was a forested walk to the Bridger Peak, though the brush isn't thick enough to be annoying at all. I initially headed northeast to gain the ridge crest, which was a good idea since the crest was mostly non-forested and continued directly north to the summit. I was mostly disappointed by the tree-obscured view, but it was a nice add-on hike while in the area and Bear Lake is big enough that I got a sense of its scale from higher up based on the hints of a blue blob I could see below.