Hike Musinia Peak (Marys Nipple) Manti-La Sal National Forest, UT

Jul 20, 2022 — Musinia peak (also known as Marys Nipple) is an interesting-looking butte that's visible from the Interstate. It's located at the southern end of the Wasatch Plateau and actually gets a surprising amount of visitors, based on the summit register. Definitely do not follow Google to get you to the trailhead. It tried to lead me up Beaver Creek Road (0290), an ATV road that became dangerously muddy the morning I went and I almost slid off the side of the mountain. Instead, I recommend looking on satellite and locating the best graded dirt road you can find (there are multiple) to get up to Skyline Drive. I took Road 0022 up because it was most convenient based on where I was after my failed attempt on Road 0290, but there are certainly other options. Once on Skyline Drive (suitable for most vehicles, though I encountered some rockier sections that sedans would struggle on), take an unmarked road leading west here (39.05945, -111.55433). This road is steep and not suitable for low-clearance and would add about 0.6mi and 200 feet of vertical to the hike stats if going on foot.

At the end of the spur road, a sign prohibits further travel by vehicle, and a nice trail starts through the forest. Although the lush vegetation encroached a little bit, I had no trouble following the trail. After emerging into a large clearing I could see Musinia Peak's northern ridgeline ahead. The trail continued up to the crest and headed south. I was immediately in awe of the views and stayed that way until the summit. The area is pretty strange, the expansive Wasatch Plateau stretching all around with sparse tree cover and brightly-colored summit mounds in the distance. Ahead Musinia Peak's lightly-colored summit came into view.

After a mile or so spent hiking through wildflowers along the crest, I made it to the base of the summit, the trail still very much intact. A hundred feet of light Class 2 on scree took me up to a cliff band. Here I scrambled through a small crack and then reached the upper portion of the cliff band. To overcome this obstacle, I chose to keep to the right and scrambled up a Class 2+ crack, only about 5 feet tall. It was easy hiking to the summit from here. I hiked a bit past the summit to get a nicer view to the north.