Myatt's Hikes

Hike with the Kids Jan 11, 2010

2010-01-11T17:59:00.002-07:00

With the kids moving to Texas shortly, I thought I better get out and make sure they didn't forget how to hike! So we went to one of my favorite hiking spots at the end of 200 West in Hurricane. From SR 9 head north on 200 West and follow it all the way to the end. It will turn to a dirt road for the last few hundred yards.

The trail is a dirt road that takes you all the way down to the river. When we went on this hike last week, we saw one of the naturalists who had driven down in his truck, working in the Desert Tortoise habitat - an area near the river that is fenced off with cages in it. I never saw any tortoises though. He was impressed that the kids had hiked all the way from the top.

On the way down, we saw a perfect spot for a picture, overlooking the Virgin River down below. The kids love using my hiking poles and since they are so stinking cute doing it, I always oblige. For the most part, they have little trouble with the down hill portion of the hike with the one exception of a steep down hill section lasting about 100 yards. I held Trey's hand as we went down it, but Shelby was able to make it on her own.

Before we knew it we made it to the turtle habitat fencing. This part of the trail has soft dirt where the kids love to draw lines and poke holes in the dirt with their hiking poles. The river is not much beyond this point and it's always fun to have the kids listen for it as you can hear it before you can see it.

After our last hike to the river, the kids talked alot about how we had lunch by the river and pretended that the log we sat on was a chair. So when we approached the river this time, the first thing they saw was the log and were so excited. They immediately sat down on it and said, "time for lunch, Dad." So we ate our Penut butter and Jelly sandwiches and then played a litte around the river.

They weren't ready to go, but after about an hour of playing I thought it best to get going while they still had a little energy left for the long uphill climb. On the way out, just past the Tortoise habitat, I spoted a porcupine up in a tree (it looks like a big birds nest from a distance). So I brought the kids over to see it. It was sleeping up in the tree so when I asked what we should name it, Shelby said, "Sleepy!" We also learned what porcupine tracks and scat look like.

By this time most of the energy had been drained from the kids so the hike up hill was a bit more strenuous for me than in was the last time since I had Shelby on my shoulders and Trey in my arms up the steep part. The kids love watching for the fence/gate on the way out - probably because it means that they don't have much longer till they get back to the car!

We made it back after about 3 hours of hiking and exploring, having hiked almost 2 miles (1.93). And neither of the kids fell asleep in the car on the way home!

The Subway via Das Boot 9 Sept 2009

2009-09-11T21:12:00.003-06:00

trailhead

I had been looking forward to exploring The Subway for quite some time. Nick, a friend of mine had mentioned that he was planning on doing a trip in September so I thought I better clear my schedule! We decided to try the Das Boot route of the Subway, which adds about 1.5 miles (and 2 hours) to the hike and drops you into the slot canyon about .75 miles before the normal entry point. The Das Boot section is also a bit more technical in places and the water is much more frigid due to the narrow canyons where light rarely, if ever, penetrates to the floor. (An additional permit is required in addition to the Subway permit, for Das Boot)

We met at the Lin’s in Hurricane and carpooled in 3 cars to our first destination – the Left Fork Trailhead. To get there, head to the town of Virgin on SR-9 and go north on Kolob Terrace Road toward the Kolob Reservoir. After about 9 miles, there will be a sign indicating the Left Fork Trailhead off to the right. We left 2 cars here and all piled into the 3rd, heading further up the road about another 7 miles to the Wild Cat Canyon Trailhead. Again, another sign marks the turnoff to the right.

We arrived at the trail head a little before 8:00 and hit the trail at 8:05. There were 9 of us that started out the hike. The original plan was for the 3 more novice hikers to go the regular Subway route and the other 6 hikers to go the Das Boot route. We would then meet up at the normal Subway entrance as is required by Zion National Park (no splitting up when a permit has been issued).

entry into Das Boot You start by following the Wildcat Canyon trail for about 1 mile. The trail starts off in a high-desert setting but quickly becomes more and more dotted with pine trees. After 1 mile, you’ll encounter the Northgate Peaks Trail junction. Turn right onto the Northgate peaks junction and follow it for about 200 yards until you see a sign indicating the “Left fork of North Creek” and the “Subway”.

Shortly after this turnoff, the trail leads you to slickrock. Up to this point the trail is very well defined. Once on the slickrock, I expected to see cairns marking the route, but there was only 1 that I saw the whole first section. But we managed to spot the trail off in the distance though, as the slickrock gave way to a forested area again.

After about .5 of a mile, we left the trail off to the left to cross over Russell Gulch before it became more difficult. We actually crossed right before it became a canyon. After crossing we looked back and noticed a more defined trail that we had somehow missed. Once on the east side of Russell Gulch, begin climbing up the slickrock to the main ledge. Once on the ledge continue about another .5 miles. At this point, you can begin to see the canyon that makes up the Subway.

Once there is a substantial ridge to your right, descend toward the canyon and route find your way into Das Boot. There are very few entry points. The one we used was a small drainage which required a bit of down climbing to get into and then a little bit of down climbing to get from it to Das Boot.

Shortly after our entry, the canyon walls narrowed as if to welcome us to our challenge. We started through the beautiful canyon along the dry river bed, coming to a few small obstacles every now and then. After a short time, we encountered our first technical section - a dry waterfall which had about a 12 foot drop. Apparently, a log used to make this obstacle a mere catwalk, but the log had been broken so the only way down was a drop. We got out the daisy chains and one by one lowered ourselves down – some more gracefully than others. Looking back on it, we could have all hung on the log and then dropped a short distance to the bottom, as Jason did, who unclipped the daisy chains and came down on his own. But we’ll chalk that up to it being the first obstacle of the day.

Shortly after our first technical section came the water. For the most part, we were only in up to our knees and occasionally our waist. Nick had mentioned that the water is normally much higher than it was. We did have one short swim of about 15 feet which kept me chilled for the next few hours.

The final obstacle we came to was about a 25 foot drop into a shallow pool (maybe 6 feet). After trying to figure out an easy way down, the group decided to get out the ropes and harnesses to repel down. I continued to look for a good down climb and found one off to the right. The dicey part was getting off of the main ledge to one about 5 feet below it which was only about 2 feet wide. I decided to go over the edge on my stomach which meant I couldn’t tell when/if my feet were about to hit the ledge – a scary feeling. Once onto the ledge it was a pretty easy down climb, albeit on very narrow ledges. The others in the group still elected to repel down after seeing that I had made it to the bottom.

This brought us to the entry point of the Subway. We arrived at about 11:15 and expected to see the other 3 members of our group waiting for us. But they weren’t there as we had expected and, after waiting for about 20 minutes, Nick decided to go up the trail a bit to look for them. He discovered that two of the others had turned back because of some steepness which was taking a toll on one of their knees.

We resumed our hike at about 12:00 and were now on our way to the subway. Not too long after we had started back up we came to another swimming hole. This swim was a little longer – maybe 25 feet. The water was much warmer in the standard subway route than it was in the Das Boot section, but still left me scurrying to find sunlight penetrating the canyon walls to warm my self up.

Just before entering the actual “subway” and about 1.5 miles from the Russell Gulch/North Fork Junction, we encountered Keyhole Falls. Many people down climbed this obstacle without much trouble. I was still shivering from my previous swims and down climbing would have meant that I would have to wade through chest deep water once again so I decided to repel (hand over hand) past the wading part and stay dry.

Once past Keyhole falls, the amazing beauty of the subway begins. Corridors are filled with pools of water of all kinds of interesting shapes – one even resembling a heart. Despite the many people that were there, I was still left feeling that I was discovering something incredible on my own.

Just out of the subway are the red ledges, a very beautiful series of small waterfalls over slickrock. Walking out of the subway and towards the red ledges gives the feeling of walking off the end of the earth, as the water flows over the edge, but what is over the edge can’t be seen.

We carefully made our way down the red ledges (very slippery) making sure to keep our weight slightly forward so as not to have the misfortune of ending up on our backsides.

About 1.5 miles out of the subway, there are some very distinct dinosaur tracks on large blocks of light grey mudstone located about 15 feet to the right of the river. They are hard to miss unless you are hiking with your head down trying to keep your footing in the water.

By this time the canyon walls have opened up. About 1 mile from the dinosaur tracks is the exit back to “Left Fork Trailhead” as marked on the signs. The ascent north is difficult, especially after the long hike negotiating obstacles and slickrock. Fortunately it is only about .1 of a mile and covers 400 vertical feet.

Once to the top, it is another .5 mile stroll to the parking lot. There are a few little trails that break off. For the most part, if you just stay on the main trail, which is to the left, you’ll make it back.

We made it back to the parking lot at 4:45 – an 8 hour 40 minute adventure. We hiked at a very slow pace, took tons of pictures and had many rest stops so the actual time for most people would probably be about 1 hour less than that.

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Angels Landing at Sunset

2009-09-04T22:54:00.011-06:00

I had originally planned to hike Angels Landing after work and be on the top at 8:00 to view the sunset. I ended up getting a late start and was worried that I would quickly run out of daylight -and miss the sunset.
I entered the park at 7:00, parked at canyon junction, and reached the Grotto area at about 7:15. So, having not gone on a hike in . . . well, quite a while, anyway, I knew I was going to be hard pressed to make it by dark, let alone by 8:00.

I started up the trail head at 7:16, taking in the beauty while walking at a considerable pace. I wondered what the few people heading down were thinking about me as I passed them on the way up as the sun was quickly going down. I finally made it to Scout Lookout at 7:45 - covering 2 miles of pretty extreme up hill in 30 minutes.

The climbing section, covering the final .5 miles of the hike, was a grueling experience. My legs were tired from the Walter's Wiggles portion I flew up. But at last I made it to the top at 8:03 - 47 minutes to the top, but still 3 minutes late!

As I was on top, I took a picture of what was left of the sunset. There was also a lot of cloud cover, which lessened the sunset's effect. The time on top was spent remembering a previous hike to Angels Landing and feeling certain connections. . .I waited for a few minutes, then decided I better head back down before it got too dark.

The climbing portion on the way down was difficult in the twilight. And once in Refrigerator Canyon, it became extremely hard to see the trail and especially any bumps there might be. Fortunately, I brought my fanny pack which has a flashlight in it.

I made it back down to the tram stop at 8:49, just 1 hour and 33 minutes from when I started.

Angels Landing will forever hold a special place in my heart.

Kanarra Creek 3 Aug 2009

2009-08-09T18:28:00.002-06:00

After trying to get a permit for the Subway in Zion National Park to no avail, some friends and I decided to try another slot canyon, just north of Kolob Canyons. Besides the Narrows, this would be my first attempt at canyoneering, albeit a tame one. Bruce Summerhayes, Nick McKinlay and I met at the gas station by exit 16 in Hurricane at 9:00. We quickly hopped in Nick’s truck and were on our way. We took exit 41 and headed north toward Kanarraville for a couple of miles. One in the small town we found 100 North, took a right, and followed the road for a short distance until in turned to dirt. We saw a gate with a sign indicating that parking for the hike was back in town. There was an obvious parking area just off to the left before reaching the gate so we pulled in there and were on our way at about 10:00.
The trail starts by passing through the gate and hiking towards the water tanks. Once past the tanks the trail descends into Kanarra Creek Canyon. Soon the creek is visible to the right and the trail enters the creek after about .5 of a mile.
For most of the hike, there are short trails to avert the water if you so desire. Because the water was usually only a few inches deep, it wasn’t too much harder to just stay in the creek. Soon after we entered the creek and the cliffs started closing in, my GPS unit lost reception.
The water was cold and my feet soon began to ache and became numb shortly thereafter. As we entered the "narrows" the high water marks were visible in places and it was a reminder to us that this was not the place to be in a flood. We also noticed one of the old ladders (used for assistance in climbing the two waterfalls) that had apparently been washed down stream during a flood.
We came to the first of two obstacles – about a 10 foot waterfall. At the time we hiked it, there was a makeshift ladder with wooden rungs nailed into it with a short section of metal also for two footholds. There was also a rope hanging off to the right for balance, I guess. All in all, a pretty easy obstacle to get up, assuming that you are placing your feet in the center of the wooden rungs and not on the edges where they would twist a little.
Once up, the canyon walls are still just feet apart. About half way in between the first and second waterfalls, there is a little pool with a natural water slide going down into it. Bruce decided he would slide down on our way back.
We continued on and came to the second waterfall. This one was a little more challenging to get up. The water from the waterfall was poring down on the ladder portion, which was only about 4 feet high. The pool of water by the bottom of the ladder was also one of the deeper pools we encountered. The ropes attached to the right side of the wall came in handy here. Once to the top of the ladder, I grabbed the rope and hand over hand climbed as I carefully placed my feet on wet rock where the water from the water fall was coming down. It was a short hand over hand but with the slippery rock, made it a bit more challenging.
After the second waterfall, there is a short section of narrows and then the canyon starts to open up a bit with much more vegetation than had been present earlier. We hiked for about another 1-2 miles up stream and finally decided to stop, eat our snacks, and turn around and head back.
Retracing our steps was easy and quick. Our feet had also warmed up by this point. But the exciting part on the way back was watching Bruce go down the "water slide." The pool at the bottom was only about 5 feet deep, and Bruce swears he saw icebergs floating in it. At least I was cold watching him!
We made it back to the truck about 1:00 after hiking for about 3 hours. I would guess that we hiked about 5 miles round trip, though my GPS unit showed about 2.8. It was out of reception range for a majority of the hike. Kanarra Creek was a very beautiful hike, similar to the Narrows in Zion National Park, but with much tighter sections of narrows and with a couple of waterfalls that needed negotiating making it a little more interesting.

Signal Peak, elev 10,365' July 2009

2009-07-17T07:45:00.007-06:00

The first real hike of the year! Since we’ve moved to Southern Utah, I have only been on a handful of hikes – a day hike in the Grand Canyon and Angels Landing at the end of last year, and Mollies Nipple 3 times this year (a short hike with only about 1200 feet elevation gain). So needless to say, I was in poor hiking shape, but overly anxious to get out there.
I tried to find my topo software to download to my GPS but it has been misplaced in the 2 moves we’ve had in the last year. So I was going blind into a mountain range I had never set foot it – a great situation for someone who gets lost in a bathroom. . . I did have a hard copy of a map of the Pine Mountain Wilderness, so I did have something to refer to.
I got on the road at about 8:00 and took I15 north to exit 23 in Leeds. Then you head west on Silver Reef Road for about 8.6 miles until you reach the Oak Grove Camp Ground. While on the unpaved Silver Reef Road, you’ll encounter a fork in the road after about 3 miles. The left fork heads to St. George so stay right! Once to the camp ground there is a small parking area off to the right side of the road after passing a couple of camp grounds.
The Trail Head is well marked and is even visible from the road. I parked, used the rest room and headed up the trail at about 8:55. The sign indicates that it is 3 miles to the summit trail.
After ½ a mile, a sign marks the Pine Valley Wilderness. The first 3 miles to the summit trail are at a fairly steep grade and I was a little concerned when I started feeling it in my legs much sooner than normal. At about 9800 feet I reached the top of the ridge I had been looking at in agony for the past couple of miles, only to see the trail descend the other side – a frustrating thing for me, to lose elevation I had just gained.
I should mention that the trail for the first 3 miles was well defined and easy to follow, but after dropping over the ridge at 9800 feet, it became a little harder to follow in places. There were a few sporadic cairns to help but I did have to use some route finding to get back to the trail.
At about 9600 feet I saw a sign that was facing the other way. As I walked around to see what was on it, it pointed to Further Water off to my left and Whipple Camp Ground, I think, to the right. I knew I needed to go to Further Water, so I made a left.
I soon made my way to Deer Flat, 2 pretty meadows surrounded by pines in all directions. Once out of the meadow, the trail began climbing again at a gentle pace. After about another mile I came to Further Water. I had to cross a small stream, running from the spring at Further Water. This was an even bigger meadow that Deer Flat and very pretty too with a small stream running down the left side of the trail for a while.
Once through Further Water, the trail climbs rather steeply for a little bit. After a few hundred yards, a series of cairns are staggered along the fairly well defined trail. Near the cairns, there is a small wash. This is a good spot to leave the trail at about 9950 feet and begin bushwhacking off t the left to the summit.
Unfortunately, I didn’t realize this at the time and hiked for about another mile to the base of Burger Peak. I knew I was in the wrong place because there was a cliff band off to my left which I could easily find on the map. So I turned around and went back to the base of Signal Peak and started the bushwhack.
It was a fairly tame bushwhack with not many obstacles in the way other than the occasional fallen tree or patch of vegetation. I reached the summit at about 1:00. I first came to a large cairn which I assumed was the summit, but after exploring a little, I found a slightly higher location and two registers contained in glass jars covered with tin cans.
I signed the register, took some pictures and headed back down. I had already eaten my snack on the way up (further indicating to me how out of shape I was since normally I eat on the summit if at all). The summit was slightly disappointing because all the pine trees obscured most of the views.
On the way down, I startled a deer who, in return, did the same to me. The final 3 miles were brutal and I thought they would never end! Ascending them was much easier for me then descending them. I reached my Pathfinder at about 2:50, out of water and ready to soak in a warm bath!
The total hike took me about 6hrs and 4mins, was 10.7 miles and had an elevation gain of 4718 feet. The mileage and time are a little skewed because of my little excursion out of the way.

Kings Peak, elev 13,528' July 2008

2009-07-08T10:59:00.017-06:00

My preparations for Kings peak started weeks before actually leaving for the Hike. I wanted to make sure I knew where I was going and that I had the proper gear once I got there. Shelby had a great time helping me get ready!
I originally planned to go with two other co-workers, but they both backed out so I was left on my own, which had it’s advantages and disadvantages. The advantages being that I would be able to go at my own pace and on my own schedule, but the disadvantages being obviously if something went wrong, I was on my own for 3 days. Also, my imagination always likes to play tricks on me when I’m on my own in Bear and Mountain lion country.
There are two main ways to get to the Henry’s Fork Campground, where I decided to start my hike. The way I went in took me through the town of Lonetree, Wyoming and the way I took home was a different way through the town of Robertson. In the future, I will take the Robertson route both ways as the road is much better maintained than the Lonetree route road is.
The forecast called for thunderstorms Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the three days I had set aside for my adventure. So I was sure I was going to get wet, I just hope it wasn’t going to be a "shocking" experience as well. If I could avoid the lightning, I knew I’d be ok.
I arrived at the trail head parking lot at 4:10pm on Monday after leaving work in Lehi, Utah at about 1:10pm. After getting my gear ready and using the restroom there, I got started on the trail at about 4:30pm. My plan was to hike into Dollar Lake which I read was about 7 miles in.
The first five or so miles of the hike follows the Henry Fork River on its west side through many lush pine trees. After about 2 miles I saw the sign for Alligator Lake and the trail which breaks off to the right. After about 5 miles I came to the sign for Elkhorn Crossing, the lone crossing of the Henry’s Fork River. The sign indicates that you have 2 options: you can follow the trail left and use the foot bridge, or you can continue straight and ford the river.
I decided to use the foot bridge to cross since my shoulders were already feeling the effects of my 38 pound bag. Soon after crossing the river, I was able to see the mountains at the head of the Henry’s Fork basin as the pine forest gave way to huge meadows. Not long after that I had my first view of Kings Peak. The trail still followed the river, this time on its east side for about another mile. At one point the trail became a muddy mess from the many streams draining the snow melt off and I had to hike through some thick brush to avoid getting my feet soaked and muddy.
After about 7 miles I came to a sign describing the rules about camping around Dollar lake, similar to the one I had seen previously for Alligator Lake. But this time there was no trail leading up to the lake. So I kept hiking for another half a mile until it became apparent to me that I had already passed the Lake. At about 7:40pm I found a good clump of trees that had been used previously as a camp site on the right (west) side of the trail that I thought I would use.
It felt good to finally get that heavy pack off my shoulders! After setting up camp I looked around and saw many rivers and meadows below to the west. I took a quick stroll up the small incline to the east of my camp site to look for a lake (maybe even Dollar Lake) to filter some water. I came to a small lake which looked like a perfect water supply for me. As I came to the lake I noticed a Doe and two fawn just on the other side. I snapped a couple of pictures and then filtered some water.
Once back at camp I sprayed my self with some bug spray to keep all the mosquitoes off of me and ate a beef ravioli MRE. By this time it was after 8:00 and the sun was going down. I decided to look around a bit and re-read what was in store for me the next day.
I had decided to get up at first light so I could get an early start and beat the possible thunderstorms the next day. Plus, I never seem to sleep too well on a camping trip so I didn’t think it would be a problem. What I didn’t anticipate was that the full moon was so bright, that I woke up at one point just after 11:00pm and thought it was time to get up until I looked at my watch. The wind blew all night and it sprinkled a little, but not enough for the ground to show signs of it when I got out of the tent the next morning.
At 6:01 I woke up, ate the remnants of my MRE the previous night (some apple sauce and crackers) and got on my way about 6:30. I read a couple of other trip reports about a short cut from Gunsight Pass to Anderson Pass which alleviates all of the elevation loss that the main trail looses going into Painter Basin. But I decided against it since the trip reports cautioned that although it saves about 2 miles and elevation loss, the trail isn’t marked as well and it is a bit more dangerous.
Getting ahead of my self a little to settle which route is more advantageous, while on the summit I talked to a hiker who I saw start hiking right behind me with his brother. They decided to take the "short cut" (which explained to me why I didn’t see them anymore when I would look back after Gunsight Pass). I arrived to the summit about 5 minutes before the first brother, Oren, and passed the other brother who was still ascending on my way down. So I recommend the standard route, which looses about 500 feet of elevation and is about 2 miles longer, because it is easier and takes the same amount of time.
Anyway, back to the report, the trail is easy to follow to Gunsight Pass. Once to the base of the pass, the trail turns right and switches back up to the pass. It took a long switch back at first – so long, I wondered if maybe what I had assumed to be Gunsight Pass, wasn’t really the pass. Once near the top of the pass, I noticed a less defined trail that went straight up the drainage from the top of Gunsight Pass that didn’t look too difficult and would save a lot of time. I thought I would try to take it on the way down.
Once over the pass, there are three trails to choose from. The faint trail to the right is the "short cut," and the two more defined ones in the middle and to the left meet up about 60 yards down from the pass (one is a switch back and the other is more of a straight down hill trail). This is where frustration set in as I lost about 500 feet of the elevation that I had just gained. But Painter Basin is very beautiful with many little lakes that dot the vividly green meadows. At one point the trail split again, with the left fork heading further into Painter Basin while the right fork headed more around the mountain, which is where I knew I needed to go to get to Kings Peak.
Once around the unnamed peak, I started ascending a steep hill side. At this point I left the main trail because a big pocket of snow was in the way of where the trail went. But after hiking steeply up the hill, I easily found where the trail picked up again and followed it in a westerly direction toward Anderson Pass. At this time I passed 3 other hikers that must have gotten a really early start. They had also gotten off track in one of the snow banks so I helped them find the trail again and went on my way.
Once to Anderson Pass, I looked left toward Kings Peak and noticed that it was engulfed in dark clouds. It was a bit discouraging to see, but I hadn’t heard thunder yet, and it was only about 9:15 in the morning so I decided to keep going. From Anderson pass, if you just turn left (south-southeast) the remaining route is fairly obvious despite there not being a trail for most the rest of the way. It is just a matter of boulder hopping. I should have stashed my trekking poles at Anderson pass to free up my hands for climbing, but I was afraid they might not be there when I returned.
The frustrating feature of the final ridge ascent to Kings Peak is the number of false summits I came to. There were two or three false summits that would get my hopes up only to dash them once I saw a taller summit a few hundred yards away. On one of the false summits, I finally stashed my trekking poles which made the going a lot faster and easier. Fortunately, the dark clouds had lifted off of the summit, though many clouds were forming all around.
Just before the last false summit, I passed a family of 3 who apparently had been the first to summit that morning. They told me that I was almost there but that the summit I saw right in front of me was another false summit, but that the true summit was just behind it.
Finally at 10:05, I made it to the summit, the top of Utah! I had it to my self for about 5 minutes before Oren, the first brother who took the "short cut," made it to the top. He was from Florida but had already hiked all the Colorado "14ers" (14000 foot peaks in Colorado). I had him take some pictures of me and we talked for a little bit before I headed back down at 10:30.
I offered encouragement to a few hikers who were making their way up to the summit as I headed down. Again the worst part was losing elevation – getting down to 11,400 feet, knowing that I would have to get back to Gunsight Pass at 11,800 feet. As I got closer to Gunsight Pass, I noticed a number of animals just at the head of Painter Basin. As I got closer, I could tell they were sheep – I had read that they were allowed to graze freely in the basin. There were tons of them!
As I got to the top of Gunsight Pass, I remembered the less defined trail that went straight down the drainage, avoiding the long switchbacks I had used to ascend the Pass. I took the more direct route down. It was very tame compared to many of the steep hikes I’ve been on in the Wasatch range and I would definitely recommend it and take in both up and down in the future.
Once I was safely down the pass, I heard a loud crack of thunder from behind me – sort of near Kings Peak. I worried a bit for the many hikers I had passed on my way down as they were ascending the peak. I was still deciding if I wanted to spend another night in the Uinta’a or if I wanted to head back. The thunder and lightning got louder and louder and I could see now the storm clouds forming to the west.
I determined that if I stayed, I was going to get soaked, so I would try to pack up camp fast and make my way for the car. I arrived back in camp at about 1:15, started an MRE, quickly filtered some more water, and sprayed myself with some much needed insect repellent. I ate a really good beef patty, drank some water with drink mix and then started heading over to my tent to start taking it down.
I no sooner had the first pole out of the tent than the first rain drops started pelting me in the head. I hurried even faster to take it down before it got too wet. I put my sleeping bag in a water tight bag and strapped it, my tent, and mattress to my back pack and put it on. I actually draped my sweatshirt over my shoulders to cushion some of the weight from my pack, and it really helped.
As I left my camp sight at 2:13pm, the rain really started coming down and the lightning and thunder were still doing their thing over to the west. The rain probably added a few pounds to my pack, but I was determined to make it home that night.
The trip back seemed to take forever. I was beat! All the reports I read before I left said to make it a 3 to 4 day trip and I was beginning to see why. But the constant sound of extremely close thunder kept me at a good pace. I finally made it back to the car at 4:50 and started on the long trip back home. I even took a stranded hiker to Evanston so he could hitch hike back to his car on the Mirror Lake Highway.
I arrived back home at 8:02pm, just in time to see Shelby and tell her all about my trip before she went to bed.
Looking back on my trip a week after I completed it, I would love to spend a few days out there exploring and hiking Gilbert and South King’s Peaks – among the other 13,000ers. It was a rushed but relaxing trip. In total, my GPS registered 27.9 miles, but it was off (low batteries) for about 20 minutes so in reality it was probably about 28.5 miles round trip and my actual hiking time was 12 hours and 16 minutes. I averaged 2.3 miles per hour (rest stops included).

Mount Nebo, elev 11,928' July 2008

2009-07-02T21:29:00.013-06:00

I wanted to hike Nebo, the tallest peak in the Wasatch Mountain range, before I moved to St. George. I left Provo and traveled to the town of Payson where I took exit 250 and then took a couple of turns to get to the Nebo Scenic Byway. The Scenic Byway was slow going for the first 8 or so miles – only able to go about 30 mph because of all the winding. But the last 16 or so miles picked up quite a bit and I saw a couple of deer and a lot of cattle that are allowed to roam free across the road.
I arrived at the monument trailhead and continued on the dirt road there for another .4 of a mile until I reached a cattle guard and a little parking area. Another car was in the parking lot so I knew I wouldn’t be alone on the hike. I took to the trail (trail 089) at 7:45.
The first mile or so of the hike winds along a barbed wire cattle fence. It seems that you are frequently losing elevation that you just worked so hard to gain! The trail finally turns north a bit, away from the cattle fence and toward a canopy of pine trees.
The trail meanders through a pretty pine forest all the while going towards a minor ridge heading in a westerly direction. The ridge leads to a drainage that you spend the next little while climbing. About half way up the drainage, the trail makes a sharp turn to the north, across the drainage, and up to another ridge.
Once on this minor ridge, the steep hiking begins. It is obvious from here where you are headed as you can see the main ridge in front and above you. There were still pockets of snow I had to make my way around occasionally veering off the trail a little ways to do so.
Once to the main ridge, the trail turns left (South) and is easy to follow. At one juncture along the way, a faint climbers trail breaks off to the left and continues on to North Peak. I originally had planned to go up and over this peak on my way to Nebo, but a bum knee and limited time helped me decide to skip North Peak. The trail takes you to the west side of North Peak, only 400 vertical feet from the summit (an infuriating close amount) before dropping about 200 feet to take you down to Wolf Pass, a beautiful meadow, at 10600 feet. When I was on the side of North Peak, I could see that the three hikers ahead of me had just reached point 11440.
From Wolf Pass, it’s a steep hike to reach unnamed point 11440. Once there, I saw the hikers climbing the final few feet to reach the summit. From point 11440, you’ll have to descend a bit to reach the final ascent of Nebo. For the most part, you stay just a few feet below the ridge proper on either side as it will speed things up.
The final part of the hike is again steep but primarily class 2 (as is most of the hike). The trail takes you along the north ridge until just about 100 feet below the summit, where you cross to the eastern side and climb the final 100 feet to reach the summit. I reached the summit at 10:30.
On the top, I signed the register which is contained in a black metal container, ate lunch, took pictures, and got a little nervous as I started seeing clouds start to form a short distance away. The forecast had called for afternoon thunderstorms and I didn’t want to get caught in one on the peak or ridge. The hikers I had seen before had continued on to complete the Nebo Traverse and probably hike out via the Andrews Ridge trail (which would require a car shuttle).
I spent 20 minutes on the summit before starting my descent. I hurried down, trying to beat the threatening clouds. I arrived back at my car at 1:05, making my total time 5 hours and 20 minutes to cover 9.07 miles. A challenging and pretty hike!

Red Top and American Fork Twin Peaks, elev 11,400' & 11,489' July 2008

2009-07-02T21:05:00.007-06:00

We move to St. George in only 3 weeks, so I knew I needed to get all the hikes in that I could. I decided to get the highpoint of Salt Lake County – American Fork Twin Peaks in before we left.
To get to the trail head, I drove up Little Cottonwood canyon to the second snowbird entrance and parked just to the west of the Snowbird Resort Center. From here, I read that I was supposed to take a small footbridge, but I couldn't find one so I crossed a large bridge even more west of where I parked and started up the hill.
I crossed a paved walking trail, I believe called the Dick Bass Highway Trail and crossed under the Wilbere Ski lift. Eventually the road/trail petered out into a large grassy slope with a very faint sign of a road continuing upwards to a noticeable road ahead. I continued climbing until I got to the road.
Here was my first adventure. The book I had told me to take a right when the trail split and to continue climbing. If I took a right, though, I would have to loose elevation. But I did see another break-off trail about 100 yards down the right fork, so I thought I’d try it. I walked up that trail and it dead-ended into a ski lift support. So I backtracked down that trail and continued down hill. I saw signs for west 2nd south skil lift and little tiger and something like thunder bowl. If you happen to see these signs, you are heading the wrong way!
To make a short story longer, I should have taken a left at the first fork and gone up hill, not a right. After I had gone about a mile off course and added about 500 feet of elevation gain and loss to my hike, I was back on course.
Soon after the trail forked the first time, it forked again. This time there was a sign, though. It said the Gad valley trail was to the right and the Peruvian Gulch trail was to the left. The book said that I wanted to take a right, so I followed the Gad valley trail. I believe the Peruvian Gulch trail goes up to hidden peak and engages the knife ridge to get to the AF Twin Peaks. I decided that I wanted something a little more tame, and also wanted to climb Red Top on the way.
Not too long after the second fork, I made it to Mid-Gad Restaurant, which is open in winter, and tried to figure out what to do from there. I could basically see that I needed to gain the ridge to the right of the peak, which was now visible. I started from the restaurant by hiking under the ski lift up a grassy ski run (it started out being a little swampy because of all the snow run off). From here, I just followed what I believe is the Election ski run up hill until I came to the top of the Gad 2 ski lift and a ski patrol hut.
Just past the hut, I saw a service road and took it down hill for about 50 yards until I came to a break in the trees. I then left the service road and started boulder hopping over loose rocks. My target was a small break in the trees/brush quite a bit up the hill. The left over snow pockets made me have to choose my route extremely carefully because I didn’t have the equipment to climb up the snow. This part of the hike was perhaps the most unpleasant.
I could see AF Twin Peak in front of me the whole way, but knew I had to go around to the right before I could get to it. Once to the ridge, my first goal was Red Top. I turned left and headed for the summit. The smoke in the air from the many wild fires in California and Nevada made me loose my breath faster than normal and I found my self needing more rest stops than normal on the steep ascent.
Once to Red Top, I looked over at the north ridge to Red Baldy (a class 4 ridge) and was happy I didn’t have to go that way. But the view over to AF Twin Peaks looked like it would take all the remaining energy I had to reach. I started over by dropping down about 170 feet to the saddle and then started climbing all over again to the summit.
The views of the peaks to the south west were amazing – and they are my favorite peaks in the wasatch to date – especially Pheifferhorn. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the Uintas since I’m planning a trip there in a couple of weeks, but the smoke didn’t allow me to see them.
I stayed on the top for a while taking pictures and eating a quick lunch. Then, as it was about 5:00pm (I got a late start), I thought I better head back down. The only wild life I saw was on the way down and they were little Marmot looking animals that were not very afraid of me.
Overall, it took me about 6 hours and was about 9 miles, even though I don’t know for sure because my GPS had trouble keeping an accurate log of my trip. This was one of the more physically demanding hikes I have been on, but I’m glad to have two more eleveners down!

Shingle Mill Peak, elev 10,690' Sep 2007

2009-06-28T18:11:00.007-06:00

The hiking season is rapidly coming to a close but I wanted to get another peak in. Although not an "elevener," I had wanted to climb Shingle Mill Peak for some time because of it’s proximity to Cascade Mountain and Freedom Peak, and also because of it’s appearance from the freeway. I love the pyramid look to it, and the erosion terraces beneath it set it a part from many other peaks.
I took my trusty 2-wheel drive Pathfinder on the trip because it has a higher clearance than our other cars and Squaw Peak Road can be rather rocky past Rock Canyon Campground. I arrived at the trail head (on the left side of the road shortly past Rock Canyon Campground and marked with a post with trail #60 on it - the Dry Fork trail) at about 8:20 in the morning and got started soon thereafter.
The morning was chilly and I stopped a couple of times just to warm my hands in my pockets because they were getting cold on my trekking poles. The first two miles have most of the elevation gain in them, gaining about 1000 feet in each mile.
The ridge line is visible early on in the hike and looks a lot closer than it really is. But this was a good thing for me because it kept my hopes high that I would be there soon and back soaking in a hot bath in no time.
The trail was very well maintained and led through some pretty aspen trees, pine trees, and meadows. The one frustrating part of the trail was the constant switching back below the summit. Many times it looked SO much shorter to just climb straight up the ridge to get to the saddle rather than switch back and forth so much.
In fact, much of the switching back is just level walking, as you only gain about 400 feet in the 3rd mile. But I had read a report about a failed attempt trying to do what I had thought looked easier - hiking straight up the side to get to the saddle, so I decided to stick with the trail.
Just before arriving at the saddle, I looked back and noticed four tents that I had basically walked right by and not even seen because they were in a perfect camping spot just above the trail and surrounded by a few small pine trees.
Once at the saddle, there is a sign labeled with Big Springs Trail #59 pointing north, Dry Fork trail #60 pointing south (the way I had just come) and Shingle Mill Peak trail #57 pointing East, the way I was headed.
Once on Shingle Mill Peak, the trail is less defined but marked well with cairns by a Boy Scout for his Eagle Project. I followed the cairns with relative ease getting lost once in a while but finding the cairns not much later. In reality, it would be pretty easy to route find your way to the Peak on your own.
The trail ends up on Shingle Mill’s south ridge as it takes you to the summit. I arrived at the summit at 10:50, after about 2 ½ hours of hiking. Since I forgot to pack a lunch or even a snack for that matter, I decided to take pictures, try to call my wife (unsuccessfully - no cell coverage), and head back down. The views of Freedom Peak were great. I had no idea how rugged of a peak that is. Climbing it next year will be a challenge.
I headed back down, surprisingly having not seen any wild life at all on the whole hike other than the occasional bird that flew out of a bush that I had come upon which got my adrenaline pumping.
The whole hike took 4 hours and 12 minutes and was about 9.1 miles. It was a pretty fall hike and a good "easy" hike after a short time off from hiking, my last hike being Superior and Monte Cristo a month to the day earlier.

Mt Superior & Monte Cristo, elev 11,040' & 11,132' Aug 2007

2009-06-27T22:31:00.010-06:00

With my wife still in California, I have a lot more time to go hiking. Just a few days since my assault on Red Baldy, I thought I better get another 1 or 2 down. I couldn’t get anyone to go with me for this hike, so I was on my own.
Having never looked for the Cardiff Pass trail head before, it took me a little time to figure out where to start from. One book I have said to park just East of the Alta Fire Station and to walk down .1 of a mile to a paved road where the trail starts. I did this, but there was no paved road after .1 or .2 of a mile. I tried to get information by stopping in the information center (located on the east side of the fire station) but they couldn’t help.
Finally I decided to continue walking down the main road and after about .26 of a mile I came to a paved road that came in from the north. I figured out that I think the Alta Fire Station the book was referring to was the old fire station because there looked to be an old fire station looking building where the road came in. For future reference, park next to the Mile post 12 sign and walk down the road for about .1 of a mile until you see the paved road come in from the north.
The paved road splits - take the road that heads right (or east), as the left fork goes to a house. The paved road winds around a building and turns into a dirt road. The dirt road switches back again and then an ATV road comes in from the left (the main dirt road continues straight). Take the ATV track to the left.
At about 9000 feet, a trail breaks off the ATV road. Take it. The trail will eventually reconnect with the road (not sure if it’s the same one) which you will once again follow until about 9300 feet. This is where a trail again breaks off from the main road on the left (north). The trail heads north about 10 yards, then crosses the road you were just on because the road switched back, and then continues on the other side of the road. The trail heads parallel to the power lines overhead but stays to the south of them at first.
The trail climbs at a steeper grade here and after a little while splits. Both ways end up at the same place so it really doesn’t matter which one you take. They both take you to a pretty little meadow with small pine forests mixed in. From here, if you look up to the ridge, you can see a power pole on top of the ridge. This is Cardiff Pass - what we are aiming for.
Once on top of the ridge at about 10,000 feet, turn left (west) and start for Superior first. The first big summit you see (which has some sort of weather station on it) is most easily bypassed on the north side, although a faint trail also leads around the south side towards a cave. I took the south route on the way up and the north (recommended) route on the way back.
Once past this summit, the trail stays for the most part on the south side of the ridge, sometimes 50-100 feet below it. I made the mistake of staying too close to the ridge which made the going harder and in some places more technical than I was comfortable with.
You’ll bypass another minor summit on the south and then come to a small spur ridge (barely noticeable) off of Superior’s south east side. The final 400 or so feet to the top are Class 3, sometimes maybe low class 4 due to poor route finding (personal experience). Before I started the climb, I left my trekking poles so I could use my hands for hand holds on some of the more difficult spots.
I came upon Superior’s summit much faster than I expected and looked over toward Monte Cristo and the large Cairn that marks it’s summit. The ridge between Superior and Monte Cristo is much easier than the ridge you have to negotiate before Superior.
The route is obvious, but you start by descending about 50 feet or so, continuing on towards Monte Cristo on level ground - at one point even coming to a pretty little grassy area which was a very welcome sight since all I had been hiking on for a while was rocks - and then finally coming to the final climb.
The final climb is relatively tame. It is about a 60 foot climb which was easier than most of the stuff I had already done.
I reached the summit and enjoyed the views of the many peaks on the ridge to the south. Also beautiful was the wilderness down to the north of the peak. I have never ventured into that area yet, but pan to do so next year.
After snapping some pictures, eating some crackers and calling my wife, I headed back down because some afternoon thunderstorms looked like they were starting to develop. On my way back to Superior, I spotted a hiker coming up to Superior from the South ridge. We talked briefly on Superior’s summit. He said that it was class 4 or 5, which is a bit out of my league at the moment. He left the summit for Monte Cristo, and I headed back down also.
Not long after I left Superior’s summit, I saw a small brown fox running from the trail down into some small pine trees. Other than one very sketchy spot that required a class 4 move, the descent went good and I was back to the car much faster than it took me to go up.
This hike, although not nearly as physically demanding as Box Elder or Lone Peak’s south summit, was way more technically challenging. It is definitely not for those scared of heights as much of the trail is narrow while hugging a big rock on one side with not much but air on the other.
In total, the hike was 5.5 miles and took me 4 hours and 20 minutes to complete.

Red Baldy, elev 11,171' Aug 2007

2009-06-27T11:03:00.007-06:00

Another day off from work, another hike. A friend of mine, Trevor, agreed to go with me. Because this was his first hike of the year and his first "Elevener" I thought I better make it one on the easier side of the scale. Little did I know, the information I had on the Red Baldy hike was a little off.
We arrived at the White Pine trail head up the Little Cottonwood Canyon at about 8:00 and started down the trail about 8:05. I had hiked the first mile of the hike only a little over a week earlier on my way up to Red Pine lake and Pfeifferhorn.
Once we arrived at the split in the trail (straight ahead leads to Red pine Lake and left to White Pine lake), we followed the trail which makes a sharp switchback to the left. It appeared that there used to be a sign here as witnessed by a log post sticking up out of the ground with a notch for a sign. But no sign was present. The first part of the trail heads in an easterly direction and follows an old mining road.
The road switches back through Pine forests, meadows, and boulder fields, and crosses a few streams, some of which run down the road for a few yards.
After about 4 miles and walking thought a large boulder field at 10,000 feet, you leave the road and route find the rest of the way up to a spur ridge that runs up to the main ridge. One marking that helps know where to turn off is an overgrown road that breaks off briefly on the left and switches back until it ends not far after it begun into a small drainage.
You actually want to start up the drainage and, once past a steeper section off to the left, you want to head left, aiming for the last bunch of trees way up near the Red Baldy ridge. This last part of the hike is considerably more steep, covering 1100 feet in about a half a mile. Once there, it’s a short hike over stable black rocks to the summit.
We made it to the summit at about 11:20 (including an accidental .5 mile excursion to White Pine lake. Note: if you can see the lake from the road, you’ve gone too far. You won’t see it until you’ve started the final ascent up the drainage).
After a few pictures, a couple of granola bars, and a total of 30 minutes taking in the views, we decided to head back down. We made it back to the car about 2:15 just as some afternoon storm clouds appeared to be blowing in.
It was a challenging hike that had pretty scenery and a somewhat challenging final ascent to the summit. In total, it was 10.3 miles and took us 6 hours and 17 minutes to complete.

Pfeifferhorn, elev 11,326' Aug 2007

2009-06-25T22:08:00.007-06:00

Another day off, another hike attempt. After trying to get a couple of people to go with me to no avail, I decided to make the attempt on my own.
I arrived at the parking lot for the White Pine trail head at about 7:45am and was on my way by 7:55am. The trail begins by descending on a paved path down to the river. A bridge crosses the river and the trail then heads off to the right (west). The first mile of the hike is a very gentile grade. It is at this point that the White Pine trail breaks off to the left, while the Red Pine trail continues straight to cross the river and a couple of other footbridges.
Not long after crossing the river the trail heads west parallel to the Little Cottonwood road far below. At one point, there is a great view down the canyon and out into the Salt Lake valley. Soon after the view of the valley, the grade steepens, but still not to drastically. The Maybird Gulch trail comes in on the right and is very noticeable due to the footbridge used to cross the river to take it. Continue straight.
A few tenths of a mile after the Maybird Gulch junction, I saw about 5 deer that didn’t seem to be afraid of me at all. One walked up to about 10 feet away from me and I was able to reach in my fanny pack, grab my camera, and snap a shop with out him even flinching.
I finally reached the Beautiful Red Pine Lake about 3.5 miles from the trail head. It was the first time I had been there, and I was enamored by the beauty of it. The Trail up to the Lake is very well kept and extremely easy to follow.
Once arriving at the lake look at the ridge behind it - This is the ridge you will need to climb to reach Pfeifferhorn’s main ridge. From the Lake, there is a well defined trail around it’s eastern side. Take it until you come to a stream that feeds into the lake. Here, the trail (or what trail there is) heads up the ridge. Although there might not be much of a trail from here to the main ridge, the rout is obvious.
The faint trail generally stays in the pine trees and heads in a south westerly direction up to the main ridge. Eventually, the trail emerges above the pine trees and from here, a little boulder hopping/climbing begins, not to mention that it was also the first time I noticed upper Red Pine Lake behind me. This was the first part of the hike that I felt my legs getting tired. The grade is steep.
Once to the main ridge, Pfeifferhorn is off to the right. A visible trail starts off to the south (left) of the main ridge as you pass a couple of minor summits before reaching the Pfeifferhorn summit base. The summit base is a massive structure which looks way too steep to hike when looking at it from a few hundred feet away. Although it is steep, it is very do-able and is about as steep as the Provo Peak trail.
But first you must negotiate the "knife ridge." It really isn’t too scary unless you’re scared of heights, I guess. There is some exposure but even if you choose a poor route along the ridge (which I did a couple of times) there are plenty of big foot and hand holds to get you back to where you need to be, if you don’t just want to retrace your steps to find an easier route.
I cached my trekking poles in some bushes before starting the knife ridge so I could have my hands free for climbing (I already has mu hat fastened to my camelback due to the strong winds).
Once past the knife ridge, the steep climbing begins on the summit base. It is either a difficult class 2 or an easy class 3 climb, depending on if you use your hands for balance and the occasional pull up as much as I did.
It was a busy day on the trail and I passed a couple on their way up to the summit and was on the heels of another climber. I made it to the summit just a few minutes past 10:30am. Once on the summit I struck up a conversation with the hiker who made it ahead of me named Christian. He mentioned that it was his first time up there and that he was going to try to take the Maybird Gulch way out.
To do so, it would be a steep down climb from a spot on the knife ridge, but I watched him do it with relative ease. I’m just not sure where to pick up the trail once in the canyon.
I spent about 30 minutes on the ridge, taking pictures, eating a couple of granola bars, and just taking in the breathtaking scenery around me. The summit of the Pfeifferhorn allows for great views of so many dominant peaks in the surrounding area. It was rather cold on the summit because of the wind so I was glad I had brought some thermal sleeves to put over my arms.
The hike down was quick and I noticed a few bits of the beautiful scenery around me that I hadn’t seen on the way up. This was probably the most scenic hike I’ve been on with Timpanogos (via Aspen Grove) being a close second. It was definitely the most enjoyable hike I’ve had.
Over all, the hike was about 9.6 miles round trip and took me 5 hours and 19 minutes to complete, with 30 minutes of that resting on the summit.

South Lone Peak, elev 11,230' July 2007

2009-06-23T21:12:00.007-06:00

A day off from work meant my first attempt at a hike in almost a month. And this time I wanted to try Lone Peak via School House Springs. I scouted out this trail last fall, making it just past the second hamangog (meadow). I arrived at the trail head in the city of Alpine at 7:45 and was on my way a couple of minutes after that.
The trail begins basically right next to a house with a small makeshift parking area for maybe four cars. The trail follows a four wheel drive road and is very easy going for the first 2.9 miles to the first hamongog, with one exception. There is one spot where the road forks - what looks to be a road comes in from the left which looks like another switch back. In a few yards, this way narrows and it becomes obvious that it is not the 4-wheel drive road that you should be on. But to save a few extra unneeded steps, when the trail forks, stay straight.
The books I have mention that at a point in the four wheel drive trail (at the fifth switchback), you take a route north (straight ahead) called the "Lone Peak Trail" instead of switching back and following the road to avoid private property. Based on my previous experience where I took the Lone Peak Trail on the decent, I ended up hiking through the private property on the way up and down because the Lone Peak Trail is brutally steep and only saves .07 of a mile each way.
Once arriving at the first hamongog, a sign marks the Lone Peak Wilderness and the four wheel drive road ends. In the middle of the meadow, a sign marks trail 200 which continues on to the second hamongog. At this point, a trail also comes in from the right (east) and heads, I’m told, to lake Hardy and South Thunder Mountain.
The trail to the second hamangog actually heads in a south westerly direction at first, and I wondered last fall if I was on the right trail. Eventually, it turns back north, giving you a great view of Utah county for much of the way to the second hamongog. About halfway in between the two meadows there is a camp site which looks to be often used. From the first hamongog, it took me about 1.4 miles to reach the second hamongog.
Almost completely across the meadow is a sign marking the way to Lake Hardy via a trail that comes in from the right (east). It says that it is two miles to reach the lake. I’ve read that it is better to take this junction to get to lake Hardy instead of the one from the first hamongog, but it seems as though it would add a couple of miles to the trip.
To reach Lone Peak, continue straight, or north, right at Lone Peak. .22 miles after leaving the second hamangog, a faint trail comes in from the right which can be easily missed. This trail heads in the most direct way up to Lone Peak. From what I’ve read and been told, you can continue on the main trail (west) and reach Lone Peak from the North but this adds a few miles to the trip. If you want to reach Lone Peak from the south, heading to the south summit before attempting the true summit, take the faint trail that comes in from the north.
From this trail, the climbing begins. The trail starts off docile enough but soon the trail fades and it is just a matter of ascending drainage’s and/or climbing over slabs of granite and boulders. This was easily the toughest part of the hike and I had to take many rest stops because of the steepness of the way. It didn’t help matters either that the air was filled with smoke due to the Milford Flat fire (the biggest wild fire in the state of Utah to date). One key here that kept me going in the right direction was once to the drainage, there will be a large cliff band to your right (east) and a smaller cliff band (more like a ridge) to your left (west). At first, you’ll stay close to the small cliff band to your left, but as soon as you get out of the drainage area, you’ll want to make your way to the top of the large cliff band on your right. It is just north of the large cliff band where you’ll make your way to the ridge.
Once near the top of the large cliff band that was on your right, head in a northerly direction towards the ridge. There are two cairns that mark the spot on the ridge. Just before the ridge, I carabined my trekking poles to my camelback as a short class 3 section began. After the short class 3 climbing, it is only a short class 2 hike over tundra and small granite rocks to reach the base of the summit to South Lone Peak. Here again, there is another bit of easy class 3 climbing to reach the summit of South Lone Peak at 11,200 feet.
There is a few hundred feet between the South Summit and the true summit. The whole way is class 3 with maybe a few class 4 moves also. If you are a little fearful of heights or not much of a risk taker, the south summit would be a great ending point. If you’re up for a thrill and have enough energy left, the main summit is attainable. I down climbed to the saddle of the granite blocks between the two summits but was about out of gas. I looked to see where my next move would be and saw I would have to down climb to some dirt below and then climb steeply up to reach the main summit. The climbing looked much more vertical than I had done thus far and because I was not in great shape yet for the season, I decided to head back to the south summit and call it a day.
For me one of the hardest parts of the class 3 climbing was remembering the way I had come so I could return the same way. A couple times I had to backtrack because I had gone the wrong way and taken my self to a sheer cliff.
The way back down was as planned and I made good time. Descending the drainage in parts was actually harder than ascending it because of how steep it was. And after my boots got a little mud on them, hiking down the slabs of granite was nearly impossible with out slipping.
I made it back to the car at 3:00. The whole trip took me 7 hours and 10 minutes and registered 11.8 miles on my GPS. I think the next time I try Lone Peak, I will try it from the Cherry Canyon trail.

Maple Mountain, elev 9,089' Jan 2007

2009-06-22T21:44:00.003-06:00

It had been a while since I had attempted to summit a mountain and I had only been on one hike in the past four months. Needless to say, I was not in any type of hiking shape. Originally I had planned to attempt the hike with a co-worker but he backed out the night before. So I was on my own for the attempt.
The temperatures had been very cold and the low for the 17th was projected to be around 0 degrees. So I dressed warmly and headed for the trail head at about 8:30.
The trail head is the Y-mountain (slide canyon) trail head. I started hiking about 8:45 and was at the Y in about 35 minutes - not bad considering the kind of shape I was in. I journeyed past the Y and made the turn up Slide Canyon. Shortly after I was hit with a shot of adrenalin as I apparently snuck up on some unsuspecting birds that flew away right above my head.
I made pretty good time to Bear Flat, where I put on my snow shoes. The snow here was at least a foot and a half but there was a decent trail blazed. I continued past the turn off on the left for the Y-mountain summit trail. I decided instead of continuing on to where the trails to Rock Canyon and Slate canyon brake off, I would take a right straight up Maple Mountain as I had seen a hiker do last winter several hundred yards before the main trail.
The normal trail takes a sort of road up the northeast side of Maple Mountain at a normal grade but the way that I went was a very steep climb that in my current shape I was not prepared for. There was a slightly broken trail up the side of the mountain - just broken enough for me to follow it, not to be any kind of a help. After a much longer climb than I expected, I finally joined the road. I took the road for only about one or two hundred yards before the faint trail that I was following left the road on the left and headed for the ridge proper. It appeared that the road ended just a few yards ahead anyway.
For the most part, I just stayed on the north ridge all the way up to the summit, sometimes staying on the west side. I reached the summit just after noon after about 3 hours and 15 minutes.
From the summit I should have had great views of southern Utah County (Spanish Fork, Payson, etc) but there was an inversion that clouded up much of the view. But Mount Nebo, Santaquin Peak, and Buckley Mountain were easy to spot to the south. To the north, Lone Peak and Timpanogos were visible, but it was difficult to see Y-mountain through the trees.
After about 20 minutes on the summit, I headed down. The way down was a challenge for me to keep my feet. Parts of the hike were relatively steep, especially the detour I took, and so I spent a fair amount of time on my back side. Other than that, the way down was beautiful but uneventful.
Total, the hike took about 5 hours and 15 minutes and was a little over 7 miles - 7.2 according to my GPS.

Mount Timpanogos, elev 11,750' Aug 2006

2009-06-22T15:36:00.000-06:00

Since the hiking season is rapidly coming to an end I thought I better hurry and do Timpanogos. I had talked to a friend, Mark Hiles, a couple of days before about doing the hike and he was very intent on joining me. He has a goal to hike Timp every year, and he hadn’t done it yet this year.
It was good to have him along too because he has been to the summit two times before, although both times he took the Timpanooke trail but descended the Aspen Grove trail once. I headed to his house at 6:40 and we arrived at the Aspen Grove trail head at about 7:10.
The Trail Head is well marked and starts at the north end of the parking lot (which requires a $3 fee). The first portion is a well graded trail which after a little while turns into a paved trail for the first .8 of a mile.
The first part of the hike takes you through the Primrose Cirque. It was a pretty view looking down the canyon, which reminded me a lot of the view of the beginning of Angels Landing in Zion National Park. Numerous switchbacks take you out of the Cirque and into the Hidden Lakes Basin.
This is a pretty change of scenery - big meadows with a couple of small lakes and one larger one above which in the cliff band we saw the first four of the 18 mountain goats we saw on our hike. Not too long after entering the basin, we came to Emerald Lake and the Timpanogos Shelter.
After leaving the shelter, we headed West and soon came to the boulder/snow field. For the most part, the trail is pretty easy to follow, and is also marked with cairns. Even if you do manage to lose the trail (as we did for a short while) it is easy to see where you are supposed to go off to the west. The trail which leads up to the saddle is visible as you climb through the boulder field to the west.
Once through the boulder/snow field the climbing up to the saddle begins. It really isn’t that tough, especially compared to Box Elder or Provo Peak. Once at the saddle, turn left (south) to head toward the summit. A faint trail also comes in from the right which leads to North Timpanogos.
At the saddle it became extremely windy. So much so that I had to use a carabineer to fasten my hat to my camelback. It also became a lot colder. It remained windy and cold for the remainder of the hike toward the summit.
The trail then takes you on some short switchbacks through a cliff area. After getting through this area, the summit comes into view and doesn’t look that far off. The remainder of the hike is just following the trail and watching the metal hut on the summit get closer and closer.
We reached the summit at 11:15 and spent a half an hour taking pictures, signing the log book, eating lunch, and hunkering down on the East side of the summit ridge to get out of the wind.
Instead of sliding down the glacier, which Mark had done on his previous two trips up Timpanogos summit, we oped for the more prudent route (in my view) of backtracking down the trail. The trip back down was where we saw most of the mountain goats. We also saw some storm clouds rolling in which accelerated our decent.
We arrived back at our car at about 2:50pm after 14.7 miles according to my GPS (all other sources I’ve read indicate that it should have been about 16 miles). It was a fun hike with a variety of different terrains. It wasn’t as difficult as I had imagined the "mighty" Timpanogos would be, but it left me tired and sore nonetheless.

Box Elder Peak, elev 11,101' Aug 2006

2009-06-22T13:32:00.000-06:00

After about three weeks off from hiking, the mountains were once again calling my name. I still hadn’t conquered Box Elder Peak after a botched attempt a couple of months earlier, so I thought I’d make another attempt.
Being the typical cheap Utah County resident that I am, I didn’t want to pay the $3 that it costs to go up American Fork Canyon. That would have given me access to the Deer Creek trail head. Instead, I opted for the longer route with more elevation gain from the Dry Creek trail head in Alpine. I reached the trail head and started my hike a couple of minutes after 9:00am.
The first couple of miles was uneventful other than little rain shower and my encounter with a bobcat. I had stopped for water for just a few seconds when a bobcat started walking down the trail towards me. At first I thought it was a house cat, but after realizing that a house cat wouldn’t be where I was, and after seeing the bobcat turn around and run after spotting me, I realized what it was.
The main trail follows a dry creek bed for the first part of the hike. Many trails intersect the main trail and at times it is hard to know what trail to follow. For the most part, all of the trails connect back up with the main trail after a few hundred feet. One exception and a place where I got lost in my first attempt, was about a quarter mile after the second large stream you cross with the aid of logs. A trail comes in from the left and the dry creek bed that your hiking up makes a hard turn to the right up the hill. Make sure to follow the dry creek bed to the right.
After a couple of miles, you come to a field with a sign telling of the way to the Box Elder Trail #44 and the Deer/Dry Creek Trail #43. The book I was using to navigate recommended taking the Deer/Dry Creek Trail, so I decided to take that trail. I think I saw the point that the Box Elder Trail connected with the summit trail later in the hike, although I can’t be positive it was the same trail. If that was the trail it would have cut a mile or two off the hike and much of the elevation gain and loss that I experienced later. The main trail for much of this part of the hike looks like it follows maybe an old miners wagon trail because of the dual trails that exist for part of the way.
At about the 5 mile mark and at about 9600 feet, you reach another huge meadow with signs pointing the direction of White Canyon trail #188, Box Elder Trail #44, Deer/Dry Creek Trail #43, and Granite Flat Campground. At this point, Box Elder Summit which has been hidden for most of the ascent, is in clear view and it is clear that you should take a right to follow the trail heading in the direction of the Peak.
It is at this point that you have to loose a lot of elevation (at least it seemed like a lot) to get to the final ridge. There is another tricky point here. After about maybe a half mile, you come to a post in the trail that probably used to have a sign on it. The sign is long gone but trails go to both the left and the right of the post. Follow the trail to the left. (I believe the one to the right is the Box Elder Trail #44) After a few hundred yards, a small, faint game trail breaks off to the right and starts heading up the ridge. Follow this trail.
This is where the steep climbing begins. This part of the hike reminded me a lot of the ascent of Provo Peak. Another note to prevent making life extremely miserable for yourself - For the most part, the steep trail stays on the ridge. At a few points along the way, game trails break off to the right and look like much easier going - they are not! Stay as close as you can to the ridge to avoid having to climb on your hands and your knees up the steep side of the mountain later (personal experience). I spent a few MISERABLE hundreds of yards bushwhacking on the steep right side of the ridge and even thought about turning around and heading home for a while.
I felt a little altitude sickness at about 10,500 feet until I descended back below that elevation on the way back which made the final ascent that much more difficult. I stopped to rest much more along the way than I usually do. The summit comes into view but always seemed very far away. It wasn’t until I reached the final few hundred yards, which contours right that I realized that I was almost there.
I finally reached the summit at about 1:20pm and spent about 15 minutes enjoying the views of surrounding peaks. While at the summit I took time to sign the log book, take pictures and spot a couple of mountain goats off in the distance. I actually heard them before I saw them (they started many little rock slides down into the Box Elder cirque).
The decent was pretty uneventful. I did see a huge buck off to the right side of the trail which ran when I grabbed for my camera. I arrived back down at the trail head at about 4:15pm tired and ready for a good meal.
This hike was definitely the most difficult I have attempted to date. There were many beautiful meadows, some with purple wild flowers in contrast to white granite boulders protruding out from the meadow. The water flow is much greater in the early summer months which makes the waterfalls much more picturesque but also makes crossing the streams a little more scary (even though you cross on logs). All and all though, this was a brutal hike from Dry Creek, and probably a one time hike for me. The hike totaled about 14 miles and took me about 7 hours and 15 minutes to complete.

A couple pictures of the trail signs:

Mt. Baldy and Sugarloaf, elev 11,068' & 11,051' July 2006

2009-06-22T13:13:00.000-06:00

After a week of teaching Junior Golf Camp and with another week of it this week, I thought I better stick to a relatively easy hike. Mt Baldy and Sugarloaf were just what the doctor ordered.
I left my house in Provo at about 8:30 and arrived at the trail head at the Albion Basin Campground around 9:40. After getting my gear ready, I was on the trail at 9:45. The hardest part of the whole hike, was trying to stay on the right trail. There are a few signs that point you in the right direction but, not being familiar with the area, there were other spots where I was lucky to stay on the right path.

The first little bit of the hike follows an interpretive trail with signs along the route that discuss geology, hydrology, and animal and plant life in Albion Basin. The trail crosses several little streams, which added a small since of adventure for a relatively tame beginning.
Once arriving at Cecret Lake, I opted to continue following the main trail to the right because I couldn’t immediately spot the trail I had read about that meanders around the east side of the lake. This decision added a total of about .75 miles to my hike.
Once past the lake, the faint trail runs into a dirt service road that heads up the mountain. If you are not familiar with what the peaks look like, continue following the road uphill - there are spots where other roads connect with the road the trail follows. At one point, the road actually takes you right under some ski lifts.
The road finally T’s after a short while with the trail which leads to the saddle between Sugarloaf and Mt Baldy, to the left. After turning left here, the Sugar loaf ski lift station is directly ahead of you in sight. I hiked Sugarloaf first, so I continued just about to the station, taking a small faint trail that leaves the service road to the right a few yards before actually arriving at the station.
This is where the hiking begins. Even though there isn’t much farther to go at this point, the last 600 vertical feet are much tougher than the rest of the hike to this point. The trail climbs through a rocky area before the summit comes into view.
I arrived at the summit just before 11:00. Once at the summit, I could easily see the trail that I had read about that meandered around the east side of Cecret Lake, and I wish now that I had spent a little more effort in finding it so I wouldn’t have had to backtrack over a trail I had just been on.
After a few minutes on the summit of Sugarloaf, (there was no summit log) I decided to get going to Mt. Baldy. The decent was relatively easy as the grade was steep, but not insane. It was easy from here to spot the "Baldy Express" ski lift station and the trail that ran up Mt. Baldy behind the station.
I reached the saddle again and continued under the ski station where I found the faint trail. At first I wasn’t sure if this was the trail because the first part of the trail goes straight up the mountain where climbing, albeit easy climbing, is required. After just a few hundred yards, the trail once again regains it’s relatively gentile grade all the way to the top of Mt. Baldy. At the summit, again there was no log, but there was an emergency toboggan turned upside down. I was met at the summit by a group which I had passed on my way up to Sugarloaf and again on the way up to Mt. Baldy. They were able to help me identify many of the other 11,000 foot peaks in this area.
The American Fork Twin Peaks looked very accessible from here, (although I hear there is a pretty ferocious knife ridge that has to be negotiated) and views of Pfeifferhorn, Lone Peak, and the back side of Timpanogos were outstanding. I could also see Provo Peak and East Provo Peak. To the north, the Cottonwood Traverse looked extremely daunting.
All in all, the hike was 5.58 miles round trip and took me a total of about 2 hours and 45 minutes. If I had needed to, I probably could have made it in less time, but I decided to take my time and enjoy all of the unfamiliar peaks around me. The scenery on the hike wasn’t as spectacular as many other hikes I have been on and the hike it’s self was much less physically demanding than all of the other hikes I have been on. But the views of the surrounding peaks made it all worth it. Two more eleveners down!

Spanish Fork Peak, elev 10,192' July 2006

2009-06-21T22:58:00.000-06:00

With the next two weeks not looking very conducive to hiking with my work schedule, I thought I better get another mountain under my belt. Spanish Fork Peak seemed like just the place. After reading about other hikers’ trip reports on the Internet, I thought I’d make the attempt.
The trail head was pretty easy to find. I just headed up Maple Canyon until I came upon Whiting camp ground. I drove through the camp ground until a dead end where there is a small parking lot with a noticeable trail at the end (trail #006).
I got to the trail head a few minutes after 10:00 and left around 10:10 for the summit. The beginning of the trail is on what appears to be more of a four wheeling track. After about .25 of a mile, the trail to the summit splits off to the right and crosses a river (trail #007) .
I crossed the river and began climbing at a steady pace which really didn’t ease much the remainder of the hike. The scenery of the hike was spectacular, with pretty much every landscape available in the Wasatch range. The trail took me along side the river for quite a ways, though pine forests, meadows, aspen groves, desert landscapes, and lush vegetation. I also came across a couple of places that had been recently used as makeshift camp spots.
The first point of interest to me was Maple Canyon Lake. This was a small lake surrounded by large meadows on the West and pine trees and cliffs on the East. Looking at the top of the lake, I could see swarms of Mosquitoes, that fortunately were more interested in staying in their formation of flying around in circles than they were in using me as a meal. Still, I hiked past the lake quite quickly as I didn’t feel like donating blood. It was actually from the lake that I had my first views of the summit and the triangular summit station.
After leaving the lake, I quickly came upon a spectacular view of the Spanish Fork Peak Cirque. I couldn’t see how I could possibly get from where I was at the bottom to the ridge. Making matters a little more challenging, was the large amount of snow left in the bowl that was left over from the winter. It covered the trail in a spot for about 50 yards. When I crossed the snow, I could not find where it picked up on the other side. I took out my GPS which indicated that I was quite a bit off course. I tried to get to where my GPS said I should be, which amounted to quite a bit of bushwhacking and wasted energy. It wasn’t a total waste, though, because when I got to the spot where my GPS indicated the trail should be, I turned around to see where I had just come from and I could faintly see some switch backs leading from the cirque to the top of the ridge that I couldn’t see from my vantage point on the trail. A quick note to future hikers: at the point where the snow blocks the trail, cross the snow and start hiking steeply up toward the ridge. You should stumble upon the switch backs.
After getting to the ridge, a trail comes in from the right, but the trail to the summit goes off to the left. Instead of taking the ridge line to Spanish Fork Peak, the trail descends to the north/west side of the summit. Here I had my first view of the city below. The trail then winds through a beautiful pine forest. The trek was made a little more difficult by some downed trees that were blocking the trail, but it was easy to find a way around these trees.
Next, the trail takes a sharp left and goes from a lush forest setting to a desert landscape where I actually stumbled across a rattle snake on the trail. One final small snow field crossed the trail but it was easy to navigate around.
The final climb to the summit was steep and I found myself resting far more than I had previously on the hike. Finally I reached the summit at 1:24 and had terrific views in every direction. I took some time to sign the summit log, eat a couple of granola bars while swatting at the many flies on the summit, take some pictures, call my wife, and then decided to headed back down the mountain.
The descent was rather uneventful, but I did realize how rocky the trail is in some spots, which made it very hard on my ankles and knees. Also, it seemed to take forever. After 5 hours and 17 minutes and 10.6 miles (I went .2 miles out of my way trying to find the trail) I made it back to my car.
It was a very tough hike for me because of the altitude gain and the total milage of the hike. But the views along the trail and from the summit made the trip very much worth it. A very beautiful hike!

Near the small lake pictured below, I saw this bear paw print. A reminder that I wasn't alone out there!

Provo Peak, elev 11,068' Jun 2006

2009-06-21T22:47:00.000-06:00

Since most of the snow had melted on the higher peaks, I thought that on my next day off from work, I should attempt my first 11,000er. Since Provo Peak is the closest to me, I thought I would start there.
Although eventually I would like to make an attempt from the valley floor, until I gain my hiking legs for the season, I thought I better make the attempt from the trail head off of Squaw Peak Road.
A Spring avalanche, still blocking the road, made the hike just a bit longer - about 1.2 miles longer round trip. Hiking the Squaw Peak Road, however, actually turned out to be a good warm up for what was in store for me.
About 3.9 miles from Rock Canyon Campground there is a small turnout/parking area. Across the road (to the east) is where the trail to Provo Peak starts. Although unmarked, it is impossible to miss as it actually starts as a four wheeling trail.
The trail starts east - northeast for a little bit and is pretty easy to follow. It eventually runs into a terrace which was carved by the CCC in the 1930's to prevent erosion. The terrace heads north - northeast and was a sharp left from the four wheel drive trail I was just on. The terrace made for easy hiking on a steady uphill grade, but nothing overwhelming.
At about 8800 feet altitude, a cairn and an arrow made with rocks stand in the middle of the terrace apparently to mark the place to turn east off the terrace and start up the hill. I followed the arrow and left the terrace, but didn’t see anything that remotely resembled a trail so I went back to the terrace and continued on for about 60 more yards. Sensing that I needed to start heading east, up the mountain, I decided to leave the terrace here since it appeared that other people had done the same in the past.
Still, even at this point there was no apparent trail. It was pretty obvious where I needed to go to gain the west ridge, so I decided to try my first attempt at bushwhacking. It was pretty easy to navigate my way through aspen trees and other shrubs as it was still pretty early in the season and the bushes and shrubs hadn’t grown very big yet.
At about 9300 feet, I found the trail again. This gave me peace of mind knowing I was going the right way, despite the fact the trail let me straight up hill at an insane grade. This is how the rest of the climb would be - straight up the west ridge of the Provo Peak. This trail made the "Y" trail look like a piece of cake. There were, however, several small break off trails that all seemed to reconnect a few yards later.
As I approached the summit, the wind started gusting so I took my hat off, stuffed some large rocks in it and left it on the trail to pick up on the way down. At this point also, my hands were just about numb as the temperature was dropping and clouds were rolling in. I knew I better hurry before the weather really started to deteriorate.
I reached the summit about an hour and a half after leaving my car. Unfortunately because of the clouds blowing in, the views of Timpanogos and other mountains were obscured. Actually seeing the clouds blow by me was quite a scary sight. They were moving fast and although obviously they wouldn’t hurt, the velocity at which they blew by my face was a little unnerving. It also started to sprinkle. So I grabbed my camera, snapped a few pictures, signed the logbook which was stowed under a pile of rocks at the summit, and hurried down the mountain.
It started raining hard for a few seconds which made me a little uneasy as the down-climb was very steep and I was nervous as to the condition of the road since my pathfinder is only a 2 wheel drive.
I ended up losing the trail again at the same spot that I picked it up on the way up, but accidently ended up taking the same route down as I did up, judging from spotting a couple of my footprints going up the Peak.
I made it back to my pathfinder and started the bumpy trek back. The longest part of the whole trip was having to wait four hours while construction crews worked on the Road. I guess there are worse places to be stranded, but I was too worn out to do any more exploring.
My original plan was to also climb to East Provo Peak but because of the deteriorating conditions and the steepness of the down climb to get over to the peak, I decided not to make the attempt. I was caught a little unprepared on this hike, as I didn’t expect the temperature to be so cold at the summit.

Y-Mountain, elev 8,568' March 2006

2009-06-20T21:42:00.000-06:00

My Brother-in-law Jeff, and I had planned this trip to the top of Y Mountain for quite sometime and had actually tried it unsuccessfully about a week and a half earlier. This time, equipped with snow shoes and with a better knowledge of where the Y Mountain trail broke off from the Slide Canyon trail, we hoped we would fare better.
We got to the trail head just a couple of minutes past 8:30 in the morning. We had just had two large snow storms two and three days before we went, so we wanted to get an early start before the ground thawed and the switchbacks to the Y became extremely muddy. It was supposed to be a warm day, with highs reaching into the 60's and when we got started, it was well on it’s way.
The switch backs to the Y are the most difficult and probably the most boring part of the hike, aside from the excellent views offered of the valley below. They are also the most tedious in the spring after a snow storm because of the before mentioned mud and occasional ice that freezes over night. We hit the switchbacks with full force, not resting until "mile marker 4" (there are signs marked with numbers 1 through 12 to mark your progress to the Y. They obviously aren’t mile markers, but we called them mile markers at one point and the name stuck). We made it to the Y in 36 minutes which wasn’t bad considering the slick hiking conditions and factoring in that we still are in winter shape.
Once we passed the Y, we could tell that someone had already started up the trail before us which meant that we wouldn’t have to break the trail. We took the trail to the south of the Y and up through Slide Canyon. A few hundred yards after we started heading east through the canyon, we saw a recently killed dear carcass. It was a rather eye opening reality check for both of us as to the fact that we weren’t alone in the wilderness.
The trail through the pine forest was especially pretty as there was still snow on many of the branches. Once we made it to Bear Flats (sometimes just referred to as "The Meadow"), we decided that it was time to don our snow shoes. It was the first time I had ever worn them and although at first I was skeptical as to how much of a difference they would really make, I soon discovered that if I wanted to do a lot of snow hiking, they would be a great investment.
Soon after Bear Flats, you enter an aspen grove and it is in this grove that the trail to the Y Mountain Summit breaks off to the left. We missed the turn off in our previous attempt but on the way back, noticed where we should have turned. This time also helping us out was the hiking party that was already on the trail before us. Because the snow level was so high, after turning onto the summit trail we had to veer to the right of where the normal trail goes under the trees up a dry creek bed. Though steep, it meant less bending over to get under the tree branches and, besides, the other party had already broken the trail for us. It was at this point that we passed them on the way down. A man, his daughter and their Malamute.
We soon got to another snow covered meadow that I call the Meadow of Death (I’m not sure if it actually has an official name). I call it this because in the summer time, the meadow is filled with wild flowers and the sound of bees all around you is so loud it is very intimidating. The meadow also has a pretty steep grade So the combination of trying to hike as fast as I can through a bee infested steeply graded meadow is enough to warrant the name. This time, though, there were no bees to worry about and we could take our time as we made our way through.
There are two summits on Y Mountain, one to the east and one to the west. The trail takes you to a saddle between the summits and the more defined trail in the summer takes you over toward Rock Canyon and then up the West summit. The East Summit is actually a bit higher (maybe about 40 feet according to my GPS) and has better views of the surrounding mountains and valleys to the East. The West Summit has better views of the Utah Valley below. I had never been to the East Summit before, but since the party before us went that way, we decided we would follow since we wanted to hike both summits anyway. The views were spectacular! We also stopped and ate lunch on the East Summit.
After about 50 minutes of eating and enjoying the beauty, we decided to head over to the west summit. For this trip, we would have to blaze our own trail. Because the summits are so close together, knowing what way to go wasn’t an issue; the issue was walking through the deep snow. This is where our snowshoes saved us from probably turning back. We went straight down the east summit, hiked north toward Rock Canyon, where the normal trail goes, and then started the tough hike up the West Summit. Once we reached the summit, we called our wives so they could take out the binoculars and look for us from our homes (we live across the street from each other). Once we were spotted, we decided it was probably time to head back home.
The decent was quick and uneventful other than the occasional face plant in the snow as we were running down the West Summit, or the joint pain we experienced as we went back down the switchbacks after passing the Y.
It was a very fun hike that gave me my first experience in wearing snow shoes, and was made even more picturesque by the snow covered mountains and trees surrounding us. We finished the hike in about 8 hours, taking about and hour and a half total resting time on top of both peaks.

Squaw Peak, elev 7,876' Feb 2006

2009-06-20T21:20:00.000-06:00

I talked my brother-in-law, Jeff, into going with me which wasn’t very difficult since he’s always up for an adventure. We had some things to take care of before we left so we didn’t actually leave for the trail head until about 11:50. We decided to hike Squaw Peak by the trail up Rock Canyon, even though I had heard rumors of another trail that reaches the summit from the west. Since I’m still a bit of a novice and the other trail requires a bit of bushwhacking and scrambling, I thought I better stick to the road more traveled.
We arrived at the Rock Canyon trail head at about 12:10. When we left my house in Provo, I had 3 inches of snow on my lawn so we knew we’d need to bring our hiking poles to have any hope of stability hiking through what we expected to be fairly deep snow.
The trail starts fairly flat on a paved trail for the first few hundred yards and at this point there was only intermittent snow and ice. Once we got to the gate, the trail steepened slightly and we were on constant snow. The hike was as pretty as always, meandering by the snow covered riverbed that runs down Rock Canyon. We crossed the river a few times and after about 1.57 miles (according to my GPS) we found the turn off to Squaw Peak.
The turn off is marked by a sign with a hiker pointing to the left, even though the trail to Rock Canyon Campground was much more traveled and continues off to the right. This is where the hiking got a little harder for us. Thankfully, it was apparent that a few snowshoers had been up the trail a couple of days before and had packed down much of the snow which made life a lot easier. Occasionally, we would still sink a few inches but for the most part, aside from a few steep ascents, the hike was still pretty easy going.
We continued hiking north along this trail for about 1.5 miles (my GPS unit was in and out of satellite range for a time so this is a guestimate) until the trail suddenly turned west and brought us to what looked like would be a fairly big meadow in the summer. From this point on, it was fairly obvious where we would need to go to reach the summit but we didn’t dare veer off the trail because the snow levels were about chest deep according to our unscientific method of measuring by sticking our hiking poles in the snow off to the side of the trail. The trail continued west and then south with occasional views of the valley floor below as we climbed up the ridge to reach our final destination - the summit!
Once on the summit we had an outstanding view of the valley below and could also see Y-mountain’s twin peaks just to the south, Cascade just behind us to the north and Timpanogos looming a little farther north, it’s high peaks in the clouds. We rested for a while at the top, had a little snack and some hot chocolate, which really hit the spot, and called our wives to tell them that we were at the top. They took out the binoculars and could see us on the summit when we were standing in front of a snow bank.
It took us about 3 hours total to reach the summit (1.5 hours hiking and 1.5 hours resting and taking pictures), though without the snow it would have been a much faster hike. It was getting a bit late so we thought we better get moving. The hike down was much easier aside from a few slips here and there going down the steep sections of the trail covered with snow. We made it down to our car in about an hour, knowing that we would be plenty sore in the morning!