UTAH COUNTY, Utah — At the start of summer 2000, Robert Collins led a troop of scouts on a backpacking trip to Khyv Peak, known as Squaw Peak at the time.
“We took a flag like we used to always do when we camp out, posted it in our little campout, and the next morning when we went to the peak, some of the scouts thought it’d be fun to take the flag up there and wave it so people could see us from the valley and whatnot,” he said. “There was a little spot to kind of plant it between two big boulders, and so we planted the flag, and we decided to leave it.”
Colllins’ son was one of those scouts and encouraged his dad to make an annual tradition of putting up the flag at the start of summer and taking it down in the fall.
“We’d hear people say, ‘Hey, we're hiking up to the flag on the top of the peak,’ and it just became something where it was kind of a fun thing to go to and see, get your picture taken looking out over the valley,” he said.
Over the next 20 years, the pole got longer and the flags got bigger, until in 2021 when Collins got a visit from someone with the U.S. Forest Service.
“He said it's illegal to plant anything or to erect any permanent structure on Forest Service land, and this is in the Uinta National Forest,” said Collins.
One day, Collins ran into Congressman John Curtis on the trail to Kyhv Peak and told him why the flag wasn’t there anymore.
“This is not just any peak,” said Curtis. “This is a very well-known peak in the valley of Utah where, quite frankly, we pride ourselves on being the most patriotic people in the country. For us to be able to celebrate this way, it doesn't seem like a very big ask of our federal government.”
Curtis plans to introduce ‘The Star-Spangled Summit Act,’ which would require the Forest Service to issue a special-use permit for this one specific purpose.
“Because we have so much federal land in the state, it gives the federal government control, rather than our county commissioners, who should be making that decision,” said Curtis.
Collins hopes the star-spangled banner will be waving above the valley again by next summer.
“I just think it's a great way to show our patriotism, our love for our country, and kind of a way to honor those that have served the country.”
