Tales From My Trekking Poles: Terraces to Elbow Fork Snowshoe Hike

Sign at top of Terraces picnic area

Today I had a gorgeous snowshoe hike in Millcreek Canyon. I drove about 3.8 miles up the canyon (from the fee booth) and parked on the left side of the road across from the Terraces picnic area. You can get to Elbow Fork by going up the road about 1.5 miles from this point, but I took the long scenic route, which made it just over 3 miles to Elbow Fork. I followed the road up to the top of the Terraces picnic area. This is only about 1/4 mile, but it gets your heart beating, as it is pretty steep. Just past the restrooms (they are locked), you will see a trailhead sign. If you go to the right, you will go to Bowman Fork, which I have done before. But today I went to the left. It is level and easy at first. Then it goes up some fairly steep switchbacks up to a ridge. I was glad others had made tracks before me, as I am not sure I would have been able to stay on the trail with this much snow. It was fun to be on a hike where I actually needed snowshoes. The view from the ridge is fantastic. You can see down into Porter Fork, down into the Salt Lake Valley, and you can see across Millcreek Canyon where the pipeline trail runs. The ridge has many ups and downs, but is fairly easy. There is one spot where you have to climb over a rocky spine, but there is nothing dangerous or difficult, and there are no areas where you need to worry about avalanches. At the top of the ridges, you finally go down some switchbacks to a bridge near Elbow Fork. I did not start hiking until 1 PM, and went a leisurely pace, taking lots of pictures. It took me 1 3/4 hours to Elbow Fork, then 35 minutes to go down the road to my car. I saw a lot of deer tracks along the way, and one set of moose tracks. I was glad I remembered sunscreen and chapstick, which I often forget. I wished I had worn my gaiters, as I kept getting snow down my boots. I also wish I had brought my thermometer, as I wondered what the temperature was. It was 24 degrees in the valley, and a bit cooler in the mountains, although I was plenty warm with just a light jacket and gloves. I brought a hat but did not wear it. Many people were bundled up like Eskimos.
The weather could not have been more perfect. Along the way, I remembered that today was the day some people thought would be the end of the world (The end of the Mayan Calendar). I decided that if this were the end of the world, other than having my family with me, I could not think of a better way to spend a last day! I did this hike again on Dec 29 with two of my sons and a nephew. The day was gorgeous again, and we placed a geocache on the ridge.
See http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=17d63d13-6bf0-4460-865a-51f70f595604.