After spending the night in Ogden, I left the next morning to ride in the Wasatch Range. Skyline Drive begins in Farmington, Utah, and ascends the Wasatch Mountains to elevations exceeding 9,000 feet above sea level. This first photograph was taken near Francis Peak. Looking west, almost 5,000 vertical feet below, you can see Antelope Island, and the Great Salt Lake in the background.
The next photograph looks down a nearby canyon to Antelope Island, and the vast Great Salt Lake Valley.
Here is a close-up photograph of Antelope Island, and the nearby towns of Syracuse, Layton, and Kaysville, Utah.
On the other side of the ridge, looking east, the city of Morgan is visible in the distance.
Many small trails branch off from Skyline Drive. Heading to the north a fun trail yields excellent views to the south of Morgan, into East Canyon.
Heading south from Francis Peak, you are rewarded with many beautiful views of the valley. In the next photograph the Promontory Mountains I visited the day before are visible in the distance, above the Zong’s mirrors. Hill Air Force Base, in Ogden, is also visible above the Zong’s luggage rack.
Many beautiful canyons extend into the valley below.
Solar evaporation ponds west of Farmington provide a foreground to the Oquirrh Mountains, which extend from the south to the shore of the Great Salt Lake.
Heading south to Bountiful Peak, a fun little trail leads to slightly lower, but more intimate views of the valley below.
The following photographs sweep the horizon from the Oquirrh Mountains, south of the Great Salt Lake, past Antelope Island to the Promontory Mountains, north of the lake.
Backtracking up the small trail, I headed for Bountiful Peak.
I parked the Zong below Bountiful Peak, and climbed several hundred feet to the summit. In the following photograph, Francis Peak is in the background, to the north.
At an elevation of 9,259 feet above sea level, Bountiful Peak is approximately 5,000 feet higher than the Great Salt Lake. Here is a view from the summit, looking north to Francis Peak.
Here is a view from the summit, looking to the east.
Here is a summit view, looking to the south.
Here is a view looking to the west, across the Great Salt Lake, with Antelope Island in the center, and the Promontory Mountains on the horizon to the right.
Descending from the summit, I rode south. Skyline Drive descends into the valley just north of the Mormon temple in Bountiful, Utah.
After an afternoon of great riding, I headed south to Utah's capitol city.
In my next installment I will continue my ride report from downtown Salt Lake City, where I visited the annual Utah State Fair.
Spud