Sugarloaf Mountain and Devil’s Castle in Wasatch-Cache National Forest, UT

Hike Sugarloaf Mountain and Devil’s Castle Wasatch-Cache National Forest, UT

Class 4 4.2 miles 2100 gain 3-5 hrs Loop Aug 17, 2017
Effort
Beauty
Personality
Solitude

Follow the crowded Cecret Lake Trail until the end, and then continue up a ski slope and electrical poles to the east face of Sugarloaf Mountain, an easy Wasatch 11er. Continue along the ridge to Devil's Castle, a really fun Class 4 scramble along the ridge that progressively gets more exposed to the summit, and then gets progressively easier past the summit. There are some great views of the Albion Basin, as well as whatever gorgeous stuff is to the south of the ridge. Continue along the ridge for a while before making your way down a gully of your choosing to the forest road below, which takes you back to the Albion Basin Trailhead. On subsequent visits, we took the fill ridge past Devil's Castle, taking a trail back instead of just beelining down the slope, which makes for a more pleasant hike.

PEAKS ON HIKE
Elevation (ft) / Prominence (ft)
Peaks on hike
Elevation
Prominence
1
Sugarloaf Mountain
11051 ft
531 rise
2
Devil's Castle
10920 ft
160 rise

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I'm not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!

Image 0 from gallery
Image 1 from gallery
Cecret Lake.
Cecret Lake.
Image 3 from gallery
Cecret Lake below.
Cecret Lake below.
Ascending a dirt road to the ridgeline.
Ascending a dirt road to the ridgeline.
On our way up Sugarloaf Mountain.
On our way up Sugarloaf Mountain.
Approaching Sugarloaf Mountain summit.
Approaching Sugarloaf Mountain summit.
Sugarloaf Mountain looking along Devil's Castle traverse. Cecret Lake below.
Sugarloaf Mountain looking along Devil's Castle traverse. Cecret Lake below.
Looking back along the ridge, Cecret Lake below.
Looking back along the ridge, Cecret Lake below.
Social trail toward Devil's Castle.
Social trail toward Devil's Castle.
Closeup of the start of the fun.
Closeup of the start of the fun.
Looking back along the ridge.
Looking back along the ridge.
Devil's Castle summit seen ahead. The scrambling gets slightly harder farther along the ridge, but definitely more fun.
Devil's Castle summit seen ahead. The scrambling gets slightly harder farther along the ridge, but definitely more fun.
Looking back at a particularly interesting platform.
Looking back at a particularly interesting platform.
Shawn on the crux, a knife-edge.
Shawn on the crux, a knife-edge.
Approaching the last section of harder scrambling, Class 3/4.
Approaching the last section of harder scrambling, Class 3/4.
Looking back along the ridge.
Looking back along the ridge.
Heading down from the summit, step Class 2/3 generally, with a Class 3 move mixed in.
Heading down from the summit, step Class 2/3 generally, with a Class 3 move mixed in.
The base of Devil's Castle.
The base of Devil's Castle.
View back toward Devil's Castle.
View back toward Devil's Castle.
Continuing along the ridge.
Continuing along the ridge.
Most of the scrambling is done, but we wanted to keep going along the ridge.
Most of the scrambling is done, but we wanted to keep going along the ridge.
Looking back toward Devil's Castle, Sugarloaf Mountain, and Cecret Lake.
Looking back toward Devil's Castle, Sugarloaf Mountain, and Cecret Lake.
Continuing along the ridge for a bit before descending. The terrain gains pretty gnarly here, but you can keep it Class 3.
Continuing along the ridge for a bit before descending. The terrain gains pretty gnarly here, but you can keep it Class 3.
You could continue along the ridgeline since there's a social trail the whole way, but we made our own route off the ridge and to the dirt road below since we had places to be.
You could continue along the ridgeline since there's a social trail the whole way, but we made our own route off the ridge and to the dirt road below since we had places to be.
Image 26 from gallery
Taking the road back.
Taking the road back.
Image 28 from gallery

Hire me or show me some love!

Hire/refer me as a web developer or send me a few bucks if you find my site useful. I’m not sponsored, so all fees are out-of-pocket and my time preparing trip reports is unpaid. I really appreciate it!