Outdoors / Mountain West
Naomi Peak via Tony Grove
I arose early and tired on the morning of June 28, 2026 in my tent near Forest Road 163, west of Bear Lake. A cloudless and windy night had kept me from good rest and I contemplated the day’s goal- hiking eight miles to summit Naomi Peak- glumly. A breakfast of Peak Refuel biscuits and gravy revived my spirit, thirsty though I was. The previous night’s search for a water source had yielded nothing but a dry creek bed.
After packing up my tent, I hopped in Cassidy the Subaru and drove the short distance to the Tony Grove parking lot. To my chagrin, a day pass cost $15. I only had Hamiltons. Fortunately, a passing Good Samaritan paid my way entirely, refusing to break my tens in exchange.
I spent some time at the trailhead, waiting for my shoes to dry. I had purchased them the day before and swiftly discovered that, while excellent in dry weather, they were not waterproof at all. Ultimately, I grew tired of waiting and set out around 9:00 AM with soggy socks.
The Naomi Peak Loop trail begins at Tony Grove Lake, heads north, and then curls to the west to ascend the eastern face of Naomi Peak. From the summit, the trail follows the ridgeline south, before eventually turning eastward once more and back to the lake.
Around a mile in, I grew hot and decided to take off my fleece and put it in my day pack. In the process, I spilled about half the water out of my camelback, and all over my shoes which had finally dried. Damn. Not good. I contemplated turning around- adding two extra miles to my nine mile day- but ultimately decided to ration my drinking and push on.
Past the first mile, the trail rapidly became steeper and I began to doubt my decision to push on. However, the weather was perfect and as I rose higher the views behind me grew better and better. It wasn’t long before I began to see snowdrifts.
Around 3 miles in, I finally ascended the ridge and the trail headed south with not far left to the summit. At this point, I had caught up with another young hiker and her dog, Goose. We took the opportunity to get some photos, typically impossible when hiking alone.
I reached the peak of 9974 feet after an hour and 25 minutes of hiking. To the southeast, a grand basin opened up before me. To the northeast lay the prominent peaks of Mt. Gog and Mt. Magog. Though beautiful, I had chosen not to hike these for obvious reasons. Off the west side of the peak, the ridge fell away precipitously. I peered over the edge with great care.
After leaving a brief message in the log, I took advantage of some fellow hikers to get a few more photos before setting out on the descent.
The second half of the Naomi Peak loop loses altitude much more gradually than the first half gains it. It is also less frequently traveled and harder to stay on. On more than one occasion, I found myself significantly off trail and was grateful for my recent bouldering practice as I had to climb and down-climb along the ridge.
Eventually, the rocky ridge gave way to grass and began to slowly slope downhill. Here and there, stubborn mounds of snow still clung to the ridge, refusing to give themselves up to summer. I continued for a few miles before dropping off the ridge into a beautiful green meadow filled with sunflowers.
Sensing the difficult section of the trail to be behind me and still with plenty of water, I slowed down to appreciate scenery. The last few miles slipped from meadow to pine forest before depositing me back at the shores of Tony Grove lake, right as my phone died and water ran out.
Back at my car, I drank deeply from a warm Nalgene and hastily threw on some swim trunks before walking back to the lake. The water was perfect: less cold than I expected and invigoratingly refreshing. I took the opportunity to float and allow the chilly water to work the soreness from my legs, back, and neck.
With the bittersweet nostalgia that accompanies the end of every day well spent, I returned to Cassidy and dried off before packing up and heading home.
An excellent day.
