Here it is almost Christmas, and there is still not enough snow to snowshoe, but my trekking poles were begging for a hike, and I wanted to try out my new "Icetrekker" boot chains that I picked up on sale at REI for $13.99. I have done this hike at all times of year, and winter is my favorite. OK, there are not actually church bells in Rattlesnake Gulch, but there is an old metal sign at about 3/4 mile that sounds exactly like a church bell when you throw a rock at it or hit it with your trekking pole. It sounds really cool, and reverberates for about 20 seconds. One advantage of hiking solo, is that I can ring the gong for as long as I want to! I want very much to know if it can be heard from the trail head!
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| The "gong" sign |
The trail head is just under one mile from the pay booth in Millcreek Canyon. (If you don't have an annual pass, and you hike early, nobody is in the booth, and you will save the $2.25 fee on your way out.) The trailhead is on the left side of the road, a very wide area with a sign and room for several cars to park. I was surprised that I was the first car to arrive, but I guess I should not be so surprised, because it was still quite dark! You almost never need snow shoes on this trail, as it gets packed down quickly, but you should have some kind of cleats or chains on your boots/shoes. On my way back down, I saw a mom carrying a baby in a baby back pack, and all she had on her feet were plain old running shoes; kind of scary!
The trail starts out at a slight incline, then steepens into some long switchbacks. After about 15 minutes you will come to a T in the trail. Go to the left to get to the gong, and the Salt Lake Valley overlook. A few more switchbacks, and you will be on a level trail the rest of the way. At 3/4 of a mile from the trailhead, you will see the rusty but sturdy sign on your right. Go ahead, hit it a few times; The gong sounds long and clear in the cold, dense mountain air! I continued on the trail another mile to a great view of the valley, then nabbed a geocache on my way down:
http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC3C8GF_pipearazzi?guid=2f99b815-6304-4b9b-93e5-cb460d6496e9
So, this was a successful little winter hike as my trekking poles and I got a good workout, my new boot chains worked well, I found another geocache, and best of all, I got to ring the gong in the cold mountain air! Is anybody up for a New Year's Eve hike up Rattlesnake Gulch to ring in the new year?
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| Turn left at this sign |
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| View of Salt Lake Valley |
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| A cool large rock at base of switchbacks |
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| "Icetrekker" boot chains |
