Rattlesnake Gulch Snowshoeing

This morning I drove up Millcreek Canyon, just under one mile from the pay booth. I parked on the left side of the road near a sign that said Pipeline Trail.  It was still dark, so I took my time putting on my snowshoes, so I would not have to use my headlamp.  I headed up the gulch following some large switchbacks on a moderately steep trail.  I remember hiking this trail with Lizzy one summer, and we took a "shortcut" that was almost impossibly steep and difficult to get up. It took us near a cave entrance that smelled very strongly of dead animal, and we did not go in there, not only due to the odor, but due to the fact that this is mountain lion country, and I suspected that may be a mountain lion den.  I  stayed on the main trail today, but saw mountain lion tracks in the snow crossing the main trail toward the cave.    About .7 miles up the gulch I came to a sign pointing to Grandeur Peak to the right, and Pipeline Trail to the left. I went to the left. At this point the trail levels out and follows the old pipeline bed. There are a few pieces of pipeline fittings along the way. There is also a very sturdy old metal sign with the lettering long-gone. Perhaps it said, Do Not Walk On Pipeline?  The cool thing is if you hit it with your trekking pole, it sounds a great gong, exactly like a church bell!  You can hear it reverberating for about 20 seconds.
     As I continued along the trail, the sky was gorgeous in the East with the rising sun.  Just as I rounded a curve in the trail, the sun struck the Oquirrh Mountain peaks across the Salt Lake Valley, illuminating Kennecott Copper Mine.  The entire hike took me about 2 hours and was 3.5 miles long.

Map at trailhead

Trekking poles resting after steep hike

trekking poles had a competition
to see which could make the
loudest gong!

Still dark enough to see the waning moon

I saw 7 mule deer

rounding the curve

Kennecott Copper Mine to the West

Sunrise in the East

Interesting geological formations, look like geodes