I hiked up Kessler peak the first week of August, 2025 and it was one of the steepest hikes I had ever done. On several maps I saw another trail to the summit that took off from the Cardiff Fork trail and decided to give this one a try yesterday. The 1.37 miles from Cardiff Fork to the summit of Kessler were every bit as hard at the topo map made it look.
I have searched for names for a particular part of this trail and have found just one. On several web pages I have seen this referred to as the Relsek Trail.
The Relsek Trail was around 1.37miles long according to my Garmin. Like the trail up the north side of Kessler, this one was very steep. The footing was difficult in many places because of loose dirt and rock as well as some scree. There were very few “gentle” places on the trail. If you’re wondering how steep the Relsek Trail, the 1.37 miles it covers goes up almost 2,100 vertical feet!
I took many breaks on the way up for two reasons. First, the trail was unrelentingly steep and second – the views were stunning!
My hiking route started at the Mill D North Fork/Cardiff Fork Trailhead in Big Cottonwood Canyon. I went up past the turn to Donut Falls and past the first trail up Kessler Peak. The trail I took to the summit of Kessler Peak began around 2.34 miles from the parking area at Mill D.
The image above shows my route for this hike. The blue line shows the trail from the Mill D parking area the start of the Relsek Trail. The red like follows the Relsek Trail to the summit of Kessler Peak. The yellow line shows that way back down the north side of Kessler Peak.
The trail was not very worn and appeared to have very little foot traffic. It wasn’t difficult to follow except in a few places. The trail went through a lot of brush and a few aspen groves. In places there wasn’t much vegetation and there were several very obvious avalanche chutes along the way.
Close to the summit was a pass of sorts. I could look back to the east at the Cardiff Fork side and could see the Salt Lake Valley to the west. Just below this was the remains of an old mining camp. There was a low rock wall and there were pieces of rusted metal scattered around. According to a website I found, https://miningutah.com/id241.html, this must have part of a cabin that probably housed men and supplies for the old Carbonite Mine.
On the way up I had crossed several old rusted, but intact, cables. These were most likely part of what remains of the old tramway for the Carbonite Mine. Not far below what I am calling the pass was what was apparently what is left of the Homeward Bound Tunnel dump of the old mine. The mine entrance had been buried and there were some old metal rails and wood beams scattered down the tailings. The old, rusted cable also could be seen going down the mountain.
From the pass where the remains of the mining cabin was to the Kessler Peak summit was pretty interesting and challenging. The summit of Kessler Peak looked very dramatic and had a very steep drop to the southeast side. I went around the west side of the peak well below the summit before coming around to a point at which the often difficult to follow trail went up to the summit. There was some pretty fun scrambling on this part of the trail. The trail wasn’t easy to follow and I got off it a couple of times before getting to the top of Kessler.
The summit was just as I had remembered it from the hike up Kessler Peak I had done 6 weeks earlier. After hanging out at the summit enjoying the cool breeze and the dramatic view I started back down. Click to see more about this side of my Kessler Peak hike.
My hike up Kessler Peak via the Relsek Trail took me about 7.4 miles and the total vertical gain was over 3,200 feet. My hike was longer than what the route map shows because I wandered around the mine and mining camp remains and checked out some other areas as well.
By the way, I took an old windbreaker my best friend from when I lived in Alaska gave me 46 years ago. Pete’s Place was a bar in Moose Creek, just south of Fairbanks and the town of North Pole. It was owned by my friend’s dad and I am thrilled to still have the jacket!
Going up Kessler Peak via the Relsek Trail was another really challenging effort for this Old Hiking Dude, aka Sam Chapman, but it was more than worth it!
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