Maybird Lake (8 miles round-trip, Moderate Difficulty)

Description:  This is a beautiful small alpine lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon. It is a way to find solitude even on a holiday weekend, once you split off of the popular Red Pine Trail.  There were hundreds of hikers on the Red Pine and White Pine Trails, but on the Maybird Trail, I saw two  Forest Rangers coming down after doing some maintenance work, and one solo female hiker as I was headed back down, and that was it.   When I make a list of my favorite top 10 hikes, this will be on it!  I did this hike on July 25, and the wildflowers were amazing, especially at the 9000 foot level.  The wild raspberries were just getting ripe.  I ate a couple and they were delicious.  The trail is shaded much of the way, and offers  magnificent views of Snowbird, the Salt Lake Valley, the Pfeifferhorn, Sundial Peak, and Salt Lake Twin Peaks.  There are a couple of perfect places to pitch a tent shortly before you reach the lake.   I recommend 3 liters of water, and there are several good places to filter water. The elevation gain is 2, 247 feet over the 4 miles. This was the Hike of the Week in the Salt Lake Tribune for July 23 2015.  In that article the mileage is incorrect for the Maybird Junction.  There are several geocaches along this trail that I have done previously, but I did not have time to look for any this trip.

To get to the Trailhead:  From the bottom of Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon, (The 7-11 Store), go South up Little cottonwood Canyon for 9.3 miles.  Turn into the large parking lot for the White Pine/Red Pine trails, or park on the road if it is full.  (gps coordinates N 40* 34.528' W 111*40.862'). There are trailhead restrooms, and the trail starts right behind the restrooms. You will quickly cross a large  bridge and head West. This is a good place to look for wild raspberries.
     At 1.4 miles you will come to a junction.  The dirt road to your left with the missing sign goes to White Pine Lake.  Just past this is a large sign with directions to either lake. Past this sign is the trail up the hill to  Red Pine Lake. This is the trail you take to get to Maybird Lake.  Follow this trail for another 1.2 miles to the 2.66 mile point.  (GPS coordinates N 40* 33.190' W 111* 41.729) Here you will see a small wood bridge on your right, and a wood sign on the left of the trail that points to Red Pine Lake.  At this point you have already climbed over half of the elevation gain.   Cross the wood bridge, and you are on your way to Maybird Lake!  From here it is 1.66 miles to the Lake.  When you get to the lake, you will see there is actually an upper and lower lake.   The upper lake has a small island covered with pines.  The coordinates to the upper lake are:  N 40* 32,700' W 111* 42.224.'  

View of Twin Peaks across the Canyon

Indian Paintbrush

View of the Pfeifferhorn as you approach Maybird Lake

Pfeifferhorn

Sundial Peak across the Canyon

The bridge to peace and solitude!

The sign by the bridge to Maybird Lake (2.66 mile point)

View of the Salt Lake Valley

No campfires here.

The sign at 1.4 miles

Alta Ski Resort to Cecret Lake ( Easy, 5 Miles Round-Trip)

Description:
     This is an easy, scenic hike, especially during wild flower season.  It is good for any age. I even saw small children that did not look old enough to be walking, but they were hiking this trail!  The first part of the hike has several signs along the way with  pictures of  various forms of wildlife and a question about them, then an answer and interesting facts about that animal when you flip the picture over.  If you do not want to go all the way to Cecret Lake, the trail to the Albion Basin Campground would make an easier but pleasant hike, complete with benches made out of old ski lift chairs.  This hike was inspired by the Salt Lake Tribune Hike of the Week of July 2, 2015, but when I went to do it, the Parking Lot for Goldminer's  Daughter Lodge
was closed for repairs, so I made up my own Hike of the Week! This is a watershed area, so no dogs allowed.  There are plenty of geocaches in the area, but I did not look for them on this hike.

Directions to Trailhead:
     Drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon to the Albion Day Lodge  (gps coordinates N 40* 35.465' W 111* 37.718')  I believe it was 9.9 miles from the 7-11 Store  at the bottom of the Canyon. Park anywhere in this parking lot.

The Hike:
     The trail starts between the Albion Day Lodge and the Alta Ticket Office.  The trail goes downhill from the Parking Lot, then heads to the left (East)  At .25 miles, stay on the wider of two trails at a sign with an arrow that says Albion Meadows. When you get to Alf's Restaurant, go to the left. At 1 mile, you will come to a sign that says: Germania Pass 2.5 Miles, Cecret Lake 1.5 miles, Albion Basin Campground 1.5 miles.  Follow the path toward Cecret Lake and the campground.   At mile 1.6 the trail splits, but there is no sign. The trail to the campground goes to the Left, and has a bridge. I went to the Right, which goes to  Cecret Lake.  At mile 1.88, the trail joins the wide Cecret Lake trail.  Go to the right to get to the Lake.   If you plan to return the same way you came, look around carefully for landmarks so you can find this trail again, as there are no signs.  (I went down to the campground from Cecret Lake and went back a different way).  You will reach the Lake at mile 2.44.
     You can go back the way you came, but I went down the the Albion Basin Campground, walked around the campground loop to scout it out for a future camping trip.  Near the parking lot outside the campground, are some restrooms.  Just West of the restrooms is the trail to take you back to your vehicle.  This trail is at waypoints N 40* 34.660' W 111* 36.883.'   Keep you eyes open and you are likely to see deer and Moose in this area.
   

Mostly yellow and white flowers at lower elevations of the hike.

Higher Elevations brought more reds, blues, and pink  flowers.

The sign at mile 1, just past Alf's Restaurant.

Seems to be peak wildflower time at this elevation. (About 9000 feet)

Cecret Lake. Not quite peak wildflower season here. I actually saw
the Ranger posting this sign about 10 years ago.

Colombines

A deer checking me out from a distance.

A moose bedded down for the day west of the Campground.

Red White and Blue appropriate for July!