Willard Basin: Rugged and remote oasis, amid Willard and Ben Lomond peaks

WILLARD Peak and Willard Basin comprise some of highest and most rugged territory in Box Elder County. Willard Basin, approximately 8,600 feet in elevation and on the backside of both Willard and Ben Lomond Peaks, is a remote oasis and has been the site of some unusual events over the decades.

For example, the Ogden Standard-Examiner of July 22, 1948 chronicled that Willard Basin was the site of a Jim Bridger Festival for some years each summer.

The 12-mile road from Mantua into the Basin was widened and improved before the event.

“Those making the trip will be especially fortunate in that there are hundreds of acres of wild flowers in bloom at present, with hundreds of varieties to see,” the Standard story stated.

To lessen traffic problems along the mountainous road to the Basin, those going up had to be there by 11:30 a.m. Festival day. The rest of the day was reserved for return traffic on the road.

The Festival included games, races, a log sawing contest, games and talks on geology and botany.

The Standard-Examiner of June 24, 1956 includes the legend that Bridger himself visited the Basin on the way to Willard Peak to prove that the Great Salt Lake was an arm of the ocean, since it was so salty. Bridger supposedly carved his name on a tree in the Basin, though no one has ever been able to locate it.

-The Standard-Examiner of Sept. 27, 1970 reported that a lofty wedding was also held in the Basin. Rodney L. George and Connie K. Eldredge tied the knot there, with 18 people in attendance – and all overdressed for a serene mountainous setting.

                                Inside Willard Basin.

-According to the Standard-Examiner of Feb. 2, 1941, the original road into the Basin was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) from 1936 to 1940. Fire control, maintaining livestock fences and erosion control were the main reasons for the road being built.

(Many mountain roads in the west were built by the CCC.)

                            The lake inside Willard Basin.

In fact, an early fall snowstorm on October 18, 1938 trapped 15 CCC workers in Willard Basin. Bulldozers had to slowly chew their way to rescue the men, the Standard-Examiner of that date stated.

              Willard Peak resembles a knob-like feature from Ben Lomond Peak.

-Willard Peak, elevation 9,763 feet, is the highest peak in Weber County (taller than 9,712-foot Ben Lomond Peak), as it straddles the Box Elder-Weber county line. Paragliders have also from time-to-time leaped from Willard Peak or Ben Lomond Peak during various celebrations.

For example, the town of Willard’s July 4^th celebration of 1975 included paragliders jumping off Willard Peak and landing in town.

-On Saturday, Sept. 29, 1923, the schools in Box Elder County sponsored a hike to Willard Peak, the Box Elder County News of Sept. 25 that year reported.

                            The top of Willard Peak.

-“500 Trek to Willard Peak” was a July 18, 1939 headline in the Standard-Examiner. Residents from Ogden to Brigham City hiked to the top of Willard Peak that day. Government trucks provided transportation up to Willard Basin, so that the hike was only several miles long.

-Who was the first non-Native American to hike Ben Lomond Peak, the most distinctive peak in Weber County? It may have been Mountain Man Osborne Russell in 1840. The Standard-Examiner of Feb. 15, 1976 reported that Russell’s diary stated that he climbed a peak on the northeast shore of the Great Salt Lake. Some believe that summit was Ben Lomond.

“I was upwards of 6,000 feet above the level of the lake; below me was a dark abyss silent as the night of death,” Russell’s journal stated.

He climbed Ben Lomond in February to hunt mountain sheep and bagged three. He also camped on the mountain and had an encounter with a wolverine.

-The winter of 1948-1949 was one of the harshest known winters in Utah. And, on May 17, 1949, heavy rains produced a flashflood in the Ben Lomond Peak area. This caused 10 to 20-foot deep gullies in fields and orchards some 5,000-feet below, along Highway 89.

              The face of Ben Lomond Peak in winter.                 Photo by Lynn Merrill.

-Ben Lomond Peak is often believed to resemble a smiling face during certain winter periods. The Standard-Examiner of May 3, 1956 also claims the face of the peak “grows a beard” too occasionally.

The story said: “The top of the peak resembles a Boy Scout’s hat. Two crevasses look like eyes. Later in the spring when melting continues, the Boy Scout sprouts a beard of melting snow and ice going down the front of the mountain.”

                                    Ben Lomond Peak, as seen from Taylor Canyon.