Long enamored with mountains, I am especially inspired by lone peaks or mountain clusters that tower above the surrounding desert, grassland or forest. Most of these isolated highlands, not part of an extensive range, are volcanic, laccolithic or fault block in origin. There are many such mountains in the U.S., including some of the major Cascade volcanoes, the San Francisco Mountains of northern Arizona, the Tetons of Wyoming, the Black Hills of South Dakota and Mt. Katahdin, in Maine; the greatest concentration of these isolated peaks and small ranges are across the Great Basin, where the crust is being pulled apart and numerous fault blocks have developed.
Among these isolated peaks, my personal favorites are the La Sal Mountains of eastern Utah. Thanks to the writings of Edward Abbey (most notably, Desert Solitaire), I imagined this mountain cluster long before I saw them. Since that time, I have camped and hiked among these peaks, observed them on numerous road trips and spotted them from the air; they never fail to stir my soul. With multiple summits above 12,500 feet, the La Sals are the most concentrated collection of high peaks in the State, though higher summits can be found in the High Uintas. The La Sals have been carved from a massive laccolith, which rose during the Miocene-Pliocene Uplift; now towering between the Colorado River, to the west, and the Dolores River Canyon, to the east, these lofty mountains send numerous tributaries into those larger streams.
Rising to the east and southeast of the Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, the La Sals are a popular background for postcard photos and are surely in the personal photo collection of anyone who has visited these scenic parklands. For those of us who have these rugged peaks in our souls, photos are enjoyed but unnecessary.
