Deaf Smith Canyon

This was a "Hike of the Week" in the Salt Lake Tribune on 8/14/14.  It is a fun little hike, but  it is not heavily travelled and there is not much of a trail for a lot  of the way. I did not see a single piece of litter on this hike, and that is very rare!  The trail is  less than 2 miles each way, but seems a little longer! You have to go over/under several fallen trees, and you will swear  that you have lost the trail, but as there is no other option, you keep going, then find remnants of a trail again.  If you are too preoccupied  trying to follow the trail, you may forget to look up at the gorgeous huge, towering pines and aspen.  If you bring small children, you will be helping them much of the way.
     To get to the trail head, from the stop light at the bottom of Big Cottonwood Canyon, head toward Little Cottonwood Canyon along Wasatch Boulevard.  After about 1 1/2 miles, you will see a fire station on the left.  Just past the station, turn left onto Kings Hill Drive. Drive 1/2 mile, then turn left onto  Golden Oak Drive.  Park along the road, and go through the gate at the end of the road.  There are "No Trespassing " signs all over, but the trail is open to the public, so don't let that deter you, just stay on the trail.  After a few minutes of trail, you will come to another neighborhood.  I guess somebody in this neighborhood had some influence to have the trail start in the other neighborhood!  Turn left up the paved road for a short distance, and you will again be on dirt trail, headed up the canyon.  A short way up the canyon, the trail splits. Stay to the right to go up the South fork.  Part way up, maybe 3/4 mile mark, I saw a lone apple tree with a nice crop of apples.  They looked very tempting, but they were just out of reach, even with my trusty trekking poles.  I wonder if some miner many years ago stopped to eat his lunch and threw his apple core there!  You will cross a couple of rock piles, again thinking you have lost the trail, but keep going, you are almost there.  When you come to a small bridge, you have made it.  There is a fire pit, wood bench, a place where the stream is dammed up to form a tiny pond, and a  cave with a rock wall to shelter it.  When you head back the way you came, you will see a trail off to your right that takes you to a nice view of the valley. Then you have to make your way back down to the trail.
     The rest of this blog is not about the hike, but here is an interesting story:  As I was about to return to my car, I heard a voice reading the description of the hike in the previous day's Tribune.  So I waited for them to arrive, and had a nice visit with  a retired pediatrician and his daughter.  When he told me his name, I asked if he knew anyone with his last name, and first name Rich.  He told me Rich was his brother.  It turns out that 23 years ago, during the Gulf War, I was stationed in the Army in a small town in Germany.  On Christmas Eve, I went to to the base to check my mail.  The place was locked up, and there was a soldier looking lonely and cold, sitting on his bags. I asked him what he was doing there, and he said he was a Reservist from Utah, activated for the war, and a bus had dropped him off, and left before he realized the place was locked up for the holiday!  So I took him home with me, and he spent Christmas with our family, staying two nights with us. We became good friends for the few months he was there, hiking to castles and doing Volksmarches on weekends. We lost contact with him when he went back home, and I was amazed to run into his brother on a remote hike in Utah!
     One cannot help but wonder where the name "Deaf Smith" came from.  I did a little research. In an excellent book by Charles L. Keller, called The Lady in the Ore Bucket, he says that nobody knows for sure, but the name was changed from Little Willow Canyon to Deaf Smith Canyon between 1952 and 1962. There is a Deaf Smith County in Texas, named after a deaf man that played an important role in the Texas Revolution.  There were many pioneers with the name Smith; maybe one of them was deaf.

The tempting apple tree

On the way up

Almost there

Bench and fire ring

Rock wall

Left by the person who built the bench?

View from detour on the way down

A beautiful hike!

Red Pine Lake (again)

I blogged this hike in August 2012 but decided to do it again.  This hike begins 7.2 miles up Little Cottonwood Canyon. The trailhead is on the right side of the road, and a sign says "White Pine Trailhead."  The trail starts behind the restrooms, and crosses over a bridge.  Along the sides of the trail were delicious ripe raspberries, so we spent 20 minutes eating them.  The first mile is quite level and scenic.  When you have gone not quite a mile, you will see a junction, where a dirt road on your left makes a sharp turn. This is the way to White Pine Lake, but continue another 20 feet or so to a trail that heads up, also to the left.  This is the trail to Red Pine Lake.  At about 2.5 miles, you will see an inviting bridge on your right. Do not take this. That will take you to Maybird Gulch.  As you approach Red Pine Lake, you keep thinking you are almost there, expecting to see the lake any second, but it is a little farther than you expect.  You reach the lake after hiking 3.3 miles, and it is worth the effort!

Bridge at beginning of hike

Delicious ripe raspberries

Bridge along the way

Almost there

Trekking Poles taking a rest

Red Pine Lake

Water is very clear and looks pretty deep

Lake Solitude

I have included Lake solitude in older posts, but have not done a post on this lake alone.  I have a geocache by this lake that I hid 9 years ago, and it was finally time to place a new paper log in it, as the old one was full and a bit damp after all those seasons covered by several feet of snow!
This is the hike that inspired me to do a hiking blog, as my wife and I hiked up to this lake and she asked if I would like to get some new trekking poles, and I responded that theses poles had a lot of stories to tell!
     To get to this scenic, easy hike, drive 9.6 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon, park in the parking lot for Silver Lake, which is on your right near the beginning of the loop.  Take the boardwalk that goes around Silver Lake.  I went to the right, which is slightly shorter than the other direction.  At the far side of the lake, about 1/3 mile, you will see a trail and sign on the right. Take this trail a short distance to another sign that shows Twin Lakes to the left, and Lake Solitude to the right.  Go to the right, enjoying a beautiful, mostly shady trail. After maybe 3/4 mile of fairly level trail, the trail turns left and becomes steeper for about 200 feet.  Then you are treated to a beautiful lake, with majestic peaks in the background, plenty of rocks to rest on under the shade of huge pines.  You can walk completely around the lake and poke your head in an open mine shaft on the other side, and get a face full of cool, musty air.   If you have a gps you can search for my geocache, called Rock Solidtude,

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCQ6DG_rock-solidtude?guid=e40a7151-207c-4038-9949-191b2a35388a

The underside of my geocache

Trekking poles enjoying the view of Lake solitude

The inviting trail to the lake

Some nice wildflowers

Couldn't resist stopping for breakfast on the deck of
Silver Fork Lodge

Perfectly cooked bacon. (The sourdough toast arrived
after I took this picture)

Silver Lake (American Fork Canyon)

Ok, this hike is one of my all-time favorites!  It is difficult to imagine a more scenic hike, with beautiful lakes, pines, aspens, waterfalls, wildlife, and a chance for some great fishing!  My brother-in-law told me about it, and I couldn't wait to try it out!  Do not confuse this lake with the Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon that has a boardwalk around it.  The trailhead is less than an hour away from the Salt Lake Valley.  The hike is 4.25 miles round-trip, but the views are so spectacular that it seemed much shorter to me.  Families with smiling young kids carrying fishing gear and dogs on leashes were seen on our way back down.  From I-15 take the Highland/Alpine/Cabella's Exit and head East on UT 92 up American fork Canyon. (You can follow the Timponogos Cave signs).
At the mouth of the canyon you will need to stop at the booth to pay the $6 for a 3 day pass, then head up the canyon past Timponogos Cave. When the road splits, turn left and enjoy the gorgeous drive up to Tibble Fork Reservoir.  Keep going on the paved road following the signs to Granite Flats Campground.  Just as you see the Granite Flats Campground pay booth, you will see a dirt road on your right.  Turn right on this dirt road and follow it for 3.2 miles.  The road can be travelled in any vehicle, but you will need to steer around rocks in a few areas and take it slow.  At the end of the road, you will arrive at beautiful Silver Lake Flat. ( GPS  coordinates N 40* 30.419' W 111* 39.389') Park in the large parking lot, get out and stretch, enjoying the view of the lake with Mount Timponogos in the background.  The trail begins to the right of the restrooms.   It is one of those irresistibly- inviting trails that you just can't help but explore.  The trail is quite shaded with beautiful Aspens and Pines for the first mile, and lined with amazing wildflowers.  After the trail crosses the bubbling brook in about a mile,  you arrive at some switchbacks, and the trail is a little steeper, but the views are so spectacular that you don't even notice.  As you gain in elevation, you see several waterfalls streaming down from the majestic granite cliffs.  Before you know it, you are on the shore of Silver Lake  with a huge smile on your face, breathing the fragrant Alpine air! (GPS coordinates N 40* 31.302 W 111* 40.299)

Silver Flats Lake

An inviting trail

View along the trail

Silver Flats lake and Timp in the background.

One of several waterfalls

Trekking Poles resting on granite boulder at
Silver Lake.

The Livingroom

This is a fun, fairly short (3.75 miles round-trip), fairly steep hike.  There is not much shade, so early morning, or during cool times of year would be best. I hiked mid day and it was a bit warm, and I used all of 2 liters of water that I brought. This was the "Hike of the week" in the Salt Lake Tribune for June 12, 2014.  I have also heard this hike called  "The Flintstones Livingroom" or "The Furniture." The trailhead is just to the right of Red Butte Gardens. (gps coordinates are:               N40* 45.723' W 111* 49.435')  To get there  Take Foothill Boulevard to Wakara Way all the way to the top, and turn right on Colorow Drive. You can see the trailhead immediately on your left. Just park along the road and head up the trail.  The trail zigzags through some trees for a few minutes, then crosses the Bonneville Shoreline trail. A short distance after crossing the Bonneville Shoreline trail, take a left, heading North, then East. you will be just outside Red Butte Gardens property for a while. At the back of Red Butte Gardens you will see trails headed in many directions. Backtrack maybe 50 feet, and head up a trail that zigzags up to the ridge line. When you get to the ridge line, you will see a prominent outcropping of rock, called "The Finger." (Gps coordinates N 40* 45.888' W 111* 48.986.')  Follow the ridge line up towards the finger.  The trail goes near the finger, so you may just as well scramble up the rocks to the finger, to see a great view. Then get back on the trail and head farther on up the ridge line until you get to "The Livingroom."  Have a seat on some of the surprisingly -comfortable furniture and enjoy the view! The love seat was taken up by a couple apparently on their first date from the snatches of conversation that I heard. They did not leave until a bug crawled on her and she screamed, but by then I was also ready to leave! This would be an incredible place to watch the sun set, but you would need a good light to get back down!  You can go back the way you came, but I found a trail that went down to the gulch to the South and went that way instead. The area is full of cool geocaches you can do along the way.  A geocache called "The Furniture" GC445 is above the Livingroom. It s a good one, and has a great view.

View from a point before climbing up to "the Finger."

The Finger

Trekking poles taking a well-deserved rest on chair.

View of Kennecott Copper Mine in the distance

Bonneville Shoreline Trail

This is a hike I read about in the April 17 edition of the Salt lake Tribune. It was the hike of the week, and is called the Thousand Oaks Section of Bonneville Shoreline Trail.  It is a nice hike if you have a little time before or after work, etc.  and want to do a little hike or run.  You have a view of the West for pretty much the whole time, so it would be cool to do a sunset hike, then bring a flashlight or headlamp to get back.  This section of the trail was completed last Fall.
     It starts at the Mount Olympus Trailhead on Wasatch Boulevard and about 5200 South.  My trekking poles reminded me that this was the first hike I took them on over 20 years ago! You can park on Wasatch Boulevard or up in the small parking lot.  Go up the steep wooden stairs. At the top of the stairs is Pete's Rock.  This is a popular spot for teens on dates to "watch the sunset."  A funny little story:  My son and some of his friends,  high school seniors, went  to the Senior Dinner Dance. After the dance, about 10 pm, he went with three other guys, still dressed in suits and ties, and climbed up to Pete's Rock, just because it is a fun place to go when you are not quite ready to go home for the night.  There were some other hikers up there, and one of them said, "So I take it Prom didn't go so well?!"
   Anyway, when you get to Pete's Rock, it appears that the trail ends, but just scramble about 10 feet up a few rocks, and you will see the trail again.  Continue on for less than 1/2 mile, and you will see a trail branching off to your left. This is the Bonneville Shoreline Trail.  It has a few switchbacks to get around a large rock field. As I was passing the rock field, I heard the sound of falling rocks, and noticed a young deer going right up the middle of the rock field! It was really struggling, sliding back, etc. but finally made it to the top. It quickly climbed onto the top of a small peak, then just stood there majestically, enjoying the view! As you head North, the trees are more plentiful and you reach some beautiful pines. At about 2 1/2 miles into the hike, the trail splits. Many people turn around here. I went left, and ended up in a neighborhood of Olympus Cove. So you could start here  and hike South instead.  My GPS said that the address here is 4594 Thousand Oaks Drive.   I then hiked back up to the split, and followed the other direction for a while. It appears to go to Neff's Canyon, but I will have to explore that more another day. With my extra exploring, I hiked just under 7 miles.

Trailhead

Stairs up to Pete's Rock

View from base of Pete's Rock

Bonneville Shoreline Trail

Ambitious young buck

Colorful rock typical of Mount Olympus

Flowers exploding in yellow. I looked these up, and
I believe they are Oregon Grape.

Kennecott Copper Mine in the distance
Mountain Mahogany in foreground.

Many early Spring flowers

This spring escaped the confines of
rusty pipe many years ago.

Snow Cave

Friday was a gorgeous day with a clear blue sky. I drove up Big Cottonwood Canyon just as dawn was breaking, and snowshoed up Guardsman's Pass to check out conditions for a winter camp with some scouts next weekend. I brought a shovel and a handsaw(to cut out blocks of snow), and dug a decent snow cave in 45 minutes. The temperature was 20 degrees. If I had not already committed to taking some boys up to Crystal Hot Springs that night, I may have been tempted to spend the night in the snow cave, but that will have to wait until next weekend.  On the way down the Canyon, I stopped by Silver Fork Lodge and warmed up by the wood fire as I sipped a cup of hot chocolate and ate a delicious cinnamon roll; a great way to spend a Friday morning!