Red Pine Lake

 This morning I hiked to Red Pine Lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Right at the start of the trailhead was a huge female moose. I stopped to get my camera out, but the moose looked kind of nervous, so, with my lifelong goal to never be on the evening news, I continued up this inviting trail, without a moose photo.  The hike was exactly 3.3 miles long, (one way) and took me one hour 38 minutes to get to the lake. (My trekking poles arrived slightly ahead of me!)
  On the way up I found a geocache called Pick-A-Trail Junction at N 40° 33.195 W 111° 41.720 .  
This is near the trail that branches off to Maybird Gulch.  That is a hike for another day.
     On my way back to the trailhead, I met up with an inspiring elderly hiker. He was making his way up a steep part of the trail and was not even breathing hard.  I commented on how well he seemed to be doing and he said he was far ahead of his two younger friends.  ( I met up with them also, and they were ages 78 and 83!) This gentleman was 87, and likely shopped at the same store as the 89-year-old that I met at White Pine, as they were dressed exactly alike!  I asked what his favorite hike was, and he said it is the hike from Brighton to Albion Basin with a side trip up Sunset Peak. (My previous post) I was surprised by one thing he said; he said he thought the hike up to White Pine Lake was boring!!  I loved that hike! Maybe it was too easy for him?
As I continued down the trail, I wished I had asked permission to take his picture, to remind me what I want to be doing at his age!
     His younger friends were headed back down, as it was raining slightly, and they had had enough for the day. I asked my usual question about their favorite hike, and one of them said, "Bear Trap Fork," which I have not hiked since I was in high school,  so I think I'll plan that hike soon.

     I saw quite a few squirrels  today, and  I was wondering how fast they run. I estimated 10 miles per hour, and when I looked it up on Google when I got home, they said 12 to 14 mph so I wasn't too far off.

Brighton to Albion Basin

This is an awesome hike I did with the Scouts. It is a fantastic hike around mid-September for Fall colors.  We got dropped off at Brighton Ski Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon and hiked to Lakes Mary, Martha, and Catherine. From there we made a detour to the summit of Sunset Peak. The view is amazing, and this is the point where the boundary of three counties meet. I think this is the only place in the State where this occurs. You can probably imagine what a bunch of Scouts would do at a point like this.  From there we hiked over Catherine Pass down into Albion Basin, where our drivers had brought our camping gear, and we camped in Albion Basin Campground for the night. I think the entire hike was 4 1/2 miles, and the views were so incredible that even the most reluctant hikers loved it.

Lackawaxen Lake

A couple of years ago, while looking at photo contest entries at the Utah State Fair, I asked a man what his favorite hike was, and he said, without hesitation, "Lackawaxen Lake."  I thought I knew all the lakes in the area, but I had never heard of that one.  Needless to say, I had my next hike planned!  This is a beautiful alpine lake tucked away in a seldom-hiked, yet easy-to-get-to area. It is a 3 mile round trip hike, which includes a loop that takes you to Bloods Lake. To look up the geocache, go to www.geocaching.com   and click on "find a geocache" and search for geocaching code GC349PK.   This is a geocache that I placed near the lake.   If you don't know what geocaching is, look at this site.  Geocaching is a fun way to explore areas you would not likely get to otherwise.  I have found over 600 geocaches, and hidden about 30 myself.   To get to this lake, Drive up Big cottonwood Canyon almost to the top, and turn left on Guardsman's Pass.  Go to the very top and park. I parked at N 40* 36.395 W 111* 33.294. At the large ugly white sign that says "ATTENTION" I headed uphill to the right. This takes you to a beautiful ridge hike where you can see several lakes. After reaching a couple of peaks you will get to the bottom of a trail to the largest peak (Clayton Peak, I believe). Instead of going up the peak, take the little trail that branches off to the left. In the bottom of the draw, you will follow an easy trail along a sometimes-exposed 2" pipe. Eventually the trail will bring you to a boulder field maybe 40 yards long, that you will cross. A little farther, and you are at a beautiful alpine lake! When you return, instead of going back up to the peaks trail, keep following the pipeline trail and you will arrive at Bloods Lake and can find "Walk The Plank" Cache at N40* 36.106 W 111*33.033. From there it is less than 1/2 mile back to the parking lot. Round trip hike is 3 miles. 

White Pine Lake

This is one of my new favorite hikes! The trailhead is in Little Cottonwood Canyon.  From where I parked, the hike was 11 miles round trip. I met some interesting fellow hikers. On the way up, I met two elderly men. The younger one was 83 years old, wearing a 1970's blue jumpsuit. The older one was 89 years old, wearing Khaki pants and matching long sleeved shirt. The younger one had hiked King's Peak, (the highest mountain in Utah) 13 times! I related to him the story about my son-in-law's scout troop hiking up to King's Peak a couple of years ago. One boy, usually very energetic was looking very tired, and resting more than the others. When they got to their first night's camping spot, he unloaded a GIANT watermelon from his backpack to share with the troop!
     When I reached White Pine Lake, there was a girl, maybe 25 years old, 125 pounds, (you will see in a moment why this is significant), that had hiked up there alone, and was setting up her tent. She had all brand new high quality equipment; Big Agnes 3 man tent, Gregory backpack and sleeping bag, butane stove with HUGE canister of fuel (enough for an entire scout troop for a week!), water pump, CANS of food, and a cot. I asked her how much her pack weighed and she said 80 pounds! I am amazed that a 125 pound person could haul up a pack that weighed 2/3 her weight!  (The recommended max is 1/4 your body weight).  She told me she is going to study up on lightweight backpacking!
     On my way down, I encountered the two elderly  hikers again. The older one said, "Why the heck is everyone taking these zigzag trails?! When I hiked up here as a scout 74 years ago, we just went straight up the mountain, and that's just what I am going to do this time!" I did not read about them in the Sunday paper, so I assume they made it ok. I hope I am hiking at that age!