Official Climbing Log
Condensed Climbing Log
The Escalante Cross is said to mark the location where Francisco Dominguez and Silvestre de Escalante first looked upon Utah Valley–the first two white men to do so–while looking for an overland route from New Mexico to California.
After doing some research, the actual Dominguez Hill is located lower to the northwest (40.07478, -111.59967). However, Dominguez Hill is now accepted and synonymous with the site of the cross (40.07178, -111.59487).
The thirty-seven-foot high steel-beam cross was erected in 1981 and is secured by steel cables. The cross is anchored in cement and sits on top of Dominguez Hill located in the foothills of Loafer Mountain and at the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon, Utah County, Utah.
I have looked at the Escalante Cross, from time to time, for the better part of fifty years but never hiked up to it. Today I did hike it and got a good workout in the process. Jill and I probably began our journey a little too late in the day in that the temperature got hot towards the end of our climb, and we didn’t take near enough water. Even so, it was a fun climb and the scenery was spectacular!
Map of Ingress/Egress Route
Note: Map functions better in full-screen mode; particularly on computers with less than 8GB of memory.
Elevation Profile
Trip Log
Date of Trip: 07/09/2016
People in Party: Mark and Jill Carlson.
Activity: A road trip in a car and some hiking on a short, but steep trail.
Beginning and Destination Points: Spanish Fork, UT to Escalante Cross, Spanish Fork Canyon, UT.
Total Trip Time: 1 hour and 55 minutes.
Total Trip Mileage: 7 miles.
Elevation High Point: 5,337 feet.
Hiking Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Hiking Distance: 0.62 miles.
Elevation Gain: 160 feet.
Miscellaneous: The trail is really steep in one place on the route we took. The trail is less steep from the designated trailhead. Great hike and view of Utah Valley.
Works Cited
Map – “Escalante Cross” Map. GoogleMyMaps. Google.com, 9 Jul. 2016. Web. 9 Jul. 2016.
Elevation Profile – “Elevation Profile for Escalante Cross” Elevation Profile. Profiles. GPSVisualizer.com, 9 Jul. 2016. Created 9 Jul. 2016.
