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!

   

Lisa Falls (Easy, .26 mile round-trip!)

Description:  I drove past this Little Cottonwood Canyon trail for many years before a friend told me about it. It is a very short, very easy, shady hike to a refreshing waterfall, and a great way to cool off on a hot day. Even small children will love the short hike. No dogs, though, and No trailhead restrooms.    There is one geocache along the way.

Directions to Trailhead: From the intersection  of Wasatch Boulevard and Big Cottonwood Canyon road, (The 7-11 Store) head South up Little Cottonwood Canyon 6.7 miles to the small turn-off on your left. (There is also a turn-off on the right, if the other one is full, but you will have to cross the road on a curve, which is nice to avoid if possible.)   The turn-off is between mile markers 6 and 7, just around the bend from a large brown pole with a traffic camera mounted on it.  The gps coordinates of the trailhead parking are: N 40* 34.364' W 111* 43.596'.  There is not a trailhead sign, but there is only one trail, and it is to the right of a dry stream bed. (Don't worry, there will be water at the Falls!)  Just hike up the short trail, enjoy the cool spray of the water mist, or go ahead and dunk your head in the stream!  I had the place to myself at 7 A.M. but I'll bet it gets rather crowded on a hot summer day. There is plenty of space and there are plenty of rocks to have a nice picnic meal.  If you are a geocacher, be sure to find the Lisa Falls Micro Cache: http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1CRNC_lisa-falls?guid=3af3e3ba-07f4-4745-921a-616942410f7a.  I also found a unique cache down the road a bit called Shaker-slc Cache: 
http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCZ684_shaker-slc?guid=6c0012a9-7d4a-414e-aa34-9109cf772cc2.  A good way to get to this cache without a lot of bushwhacking is to first go to a fairly large hut made out of sticks at coordinates: N 40* 34.350' W111* 43.765'.

The shady trail.

Almost there.

Lisa Falls

Flowers below the Falls.

                        

Jack's Mountain Mailboxes (Moderate, 3.2 Miles round-trip)

Description: This is a fun hike I found in the Salt Lake Tribune Hike of the Week archives from May 28, 2010.  This hike is not on standard topo maps but is listed as Jack's Mountain on a Wasatch Front Trail map that I purchased at REI.  Two mailboxes were placed on a mountain peak in 1995 as a memorial to a toddler named Jack.  The mailboxes are full of Journals containing comments of people who have done this hike.  The hike starts above Foothill Blvd, near the 'H' on the mountain (for Highland High School) I expected the hike to be just rocks and sagebrush, but after the first 1/2 mile, there are beautiful meadows and abundant wildflowers,( at least in the Spring!)

I also expected to see lots of snakes, as there have been reports of many snakes this year on other trails. But I did not see a single snake. Perhaps they were all over in Rattlesnake Gulch for a convention!  I did see one jackrabbit though.  I would recommend avoiding hiking in the afternoon, because the heat would be unbearable in the summer, although the lights of the city would look awesome at night, so a sunset hike might be nice.  There are no trailhead restrooms. Dogs are allowed on leash. Max. Elevation 6, 475 Feet.

Directions to trailhead:  If entering Foothill Drive from I 80, turn right at I think the second stoplight, Thunderbird Drive (About 2200 South).  Drive .2 miles and turn right on Scenic Drive, then left on Lakeline Drive and continue to the end and park in the cul-de-sac.
 (GPS coordinates N 40* 43.738' W 111* 48.379')

The Hike:  Enter the Bonneville Shoreline Trail from the Northwest part of the cul-de-sac. Follow the trail West for about .3 miles until you see a large black post, (GPS coordinates N40* 43.762' W111* 48.677) Near the post, take the steep trail to the right that will take you up above the rock 'H' on the mountain.  There are a few trails at this point, but take the one that goes northeast about .2 miles where the trail takes a sharp right. (GPS coordinates N40* 43.891' W111* 48.565") Follow the trail up to the ridge and continue along the ridge to the large Communications Tower. (GPS Coordinates N40* 43.976 W111* 48.141) The tower is painted camo, but trust me, you won't need the GPS coordinates to find it!  From here, the trail goes downhill for a short distance, then climbs up to the summit, which is 1.6 miles from the trailhead.  Just before the summit, a trail goes off to the left to the mailboxes.  (GPS Coordinates N40* 44.262 W111* 47.748).  

I did not spend a lot of time at the summit, as thunderstorms were rolling in, so I got off the ridge and took a different way back on a trail below the ridge to the South.  I came out in Carrigan Canyon, very near where I started, but saw a sign on the way out that said this was private property.
Geocaches I found:
Peak Above Beaniebabies: http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCHYJ9_peak-above-beany-babies?guid=eb2dc212-4152-4adf-9e3e-3d3480387d5f
The Ten Commandments: http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2X9M4_the-ten-commandments?guid=9f0943da-2013-43e8-b7c2-602a158ba390

Side view of the 'H' on the mountain.

These wildflowers apparently turn pink as they wilt.

One of many views of the Salt Lake Valley.

I had to laugh when I saw this camo-painted tower. maybe it is harder to spot by enemy aircraft?

Sego Lilly.  (One of the few flowers I could name!)

You can't beat nature's own flower arrangements!

Two mailboxes full of interesting journals.

These flowers made me hungry for buttered popcorn.

A hand-made journal with hand-made paper inside.

South Willow Lake (8 miles round-trip, moderate difficulty)

     My brother and I had intended to hike to Deseret Peak, but the road to the trailhead was closed due to a rock slide, with threats of a $5000 fine for entering the area, so we parked at another trailhead, started doing some geocaches, noticed a small lake on the gps map, and ended up at this beautiful alpine lake with an elevation high enough to look over the Ocquirrh Mountains and see Twin Peaks, Lone Peak, etc. in the Wasatch Mountains.

Directions:     To get to the trailhead from Salt Lake City, take I-80 West to the Grantsville Exit (Exit 84). Head to Grantsville on UT138 for 9.5 miles.
Turn right on 400 West and continue for 5 miles to South Willow Canyon.
Go West on South Willow Canyon road  for about 5 miles to a place where a Boy Scout Camp is to the left, the gate (closed, in our case) that leads to the loop campground is straight ahead, and the Medina Trailhead is to the right.
Turn right, and go a very short distance up a hill and park at the Medina Trailhead.
(gps coordinates  N 40* 29.754' W 112* 34.618')
The trail starts to the right of the outhouse.
 Follow this trail, and after about 1/3 of a mile, you will come to an old mining road.
 (gps coordinates N40* 30.160' W112* 34,787')
Turn left (West) and follow this road which becomes a trail as it enters the Deseret Peak Wilderness Area.
Enjoy the beauty as you ascend for a few miles, and don't forget to look back occasionally at the view of Tooele Valley behind you!
You will arrive at a wooden trail sign (gps coordinates N 40* 29.541' W 112* 37.130').
 Follow the trail to the right that leads to South Willow Lake.
 
     The lake is at the base of the steep cliffs. We went off trail in places to avoid some deep soft snow.  The lake is small but beautiful, and a great place to take a rest.
Near the lake is an incredible spot with a rock campfire ring, where you can look West at the lake and feel like you are deep in the wilderness, or look East at the Tooele Valley, and see the beautiful Wasatch Range in the distance, above the Oquirrh Mountains.
We went back down the way we came.
Our gps said we had gone 7.8 miles, so we continued down to the Boy Scout Camp to find another geocache, to make this an 8 mile hike, almost the same distance as the hike to the top of Deseret Peak will be once the road is open!  

     Geocaches I found were: 
Medina Trail Cache:http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC305TJ_medina-trail-cache?guid=e910f185-419c-4057-8857-e68fac0c485b,
Take a Break: http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC4BXWB_take-a-break,
By the Boy Scout: http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC3GFAK_by-the-boy-scout

The lake is at the base of the cliffs about 3 miles ahead.

Entering Deseret Peak Wilderness Area.

South Willow Lake still a bit icy.

View from the lake with the Wasatch Mountains behind the
Oquirrh Mountains.

View from Mormon Trail Road, about 8 miles from
the lake. South Willow Lake is at the base of the
large snow area.

Parrish Canyon Trail (Easy, 5 miles roundtrip)

     This was the "Hike of the Week" a couple of weeks ago in the Salt Lake Tribune.
 This is a fun, relatively easy hike that you can do with dogs or  mountain bike, with lots of wildflowers, and the destination of a beautiful meadow or  a very nice fire ring with plenty of firewood and a place to sit and enjoy the view!

     The weather has been so rainy that I had not hiked for a couple of weeks. Rain was forecast again, but I woke up early, peeked outside, and it was not yet raining, so I decided to go for it.

Directions:  Drive North on  I -15 from Salt Lake City, and in less than 20 minutes, take the Parrish Lane Exit and head East. At the top of Parrish Lane, turn left on a narrow paved road that takes you to the trailhead (gps coordinates N 40* 55.337' W 111* 51.970').

The Hike:  There is a large wooden trail sign on the North end of the parking area. This is the beginning of the trail.  At .15 mile keep going straight across the firebreak road.  Follow switchbacks up the mountain. At times you will see and hear waterfalls from Parrish Creek on your North.  Be sure to take frequent rests and admire the great view of the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island.  At about 1.7 miles you will come to a fork in the trail. Either one will work, but I stayed to the right, which provides the best view of a rock outcropping that looks like the profile of a dog's face.  Just past the dog face, the trail steepens and fades, but soon rejoins the main trail that you would have been on if you had taken the left fork.  At just over 2 miles, you come to a beautiful meadow rimmed with Mountain Mahogany trees, and a beautiful view of a canyon of pine trees. But don't turn around yet, keep going for another .4 miles and you will be rewarded with a great resting area complete with a very nice fire ring, places to sit, and plenty of dry firewood  to roast marshmallows and make S'mores!  (The gps coordinates are: N 40* 55.339' W 111* 50.598')

      I was sorely tempted to start a campfire, but the promised rain was arriving, so I  headed back to the car, but made a mental note to make this an evening hike sometime, and roast marshmallows before returning by the light of the moon or headlamp!  I had not loaded Geocaches into my gps but had scribbled the coordinates of one that I thought would be near the trailhead, so I found that one before heading back home.

Geocaches I found:
 WizMedic's Quickie Cache UT: http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCMTQW_wizmedics-quickie-cache-ut?guid=8c305fb0-2cc2-4987-a2de-91d02f16eeee

Trailhead Sign

Great views for most of the hike

Parrish Creek

Can't get enough of the view!

Vibrant wildfolwers

Dog Face Rock

Mountain Mahogany and Meadow

Fire Ring. A good Destination!

Holbrook Canyon 6 miles round trip, Easy to Moderate Difficulty

I read about this nice hike in yesterday's Salt Lake Tribune. It is the "Hike of the Week."
It is scenic, fun, and you can make it longer or shorter, depending on how much time and energy you have.  There is a nice little stream the entire hike, and you cross several little bridges and log/rock crossings.  It is relatively safe and not too difficult for small children, as I met several on my way back down.  The wildflowers are beautiful and there are some very large pine trees, especially 2 to 3 miles up.   The Tribune hikers went up the canyon 2.5 miles and were stopped by snow. I made it around the snow, and went another half mile before the wind picked up, and the predicted storm looked like it was rolling in. I am anxious to explore this canyon farther in the future!
     To get to the trailhead, take I 15 to the Bountiful 400 North Exit, and head East. This road will take you up to Bountiful Blvd. without making any turns until you see the Bountiful LDS Temple on your right. The trailhead is just past the Temple, and you turn into the well-marked parking lot on your left. Gps coordinates are:  N 40* 52.898' W 111* 50.660'.  There is a restroom with flush toilets at the trailhead.  Dogs and horses are allowed. Wheeled vehicles are not.
     From the parking lot head downhill and follow the stream uphill as far as you feel like going.  About .43 miles up, you will come to the first stream crossing.  I had to laugh at myself, because I crossed on logs and rocks, then saw the nice bridge  just around the bend that I could have taken.  So when you get to the first crossing, just go up the bank a little way and you will see the bridge!
     There are many places to rest and relax, and several places where you could backpack in and spend the night if you desired.  Nothing better than falling asleep next to a bubbling stream!
By the numbers:
Distance hiked: 6 miles
Hiking (moving) time: 2 hours 43 minutes
Stopped time: 2 hours 3 minutes
Total feet ascended: 1868
Max. elevation: 6670 feet
People seen on the way up: 0
People seen on the way down: 16
Dogs: 4
Bridge crossings: 6
Log/rock crossings: 5
Extremely large bucks: 1
snakes: 1 (small, greenish gray, smooth)
bumblebees: 1
Geocaches found on this hike: 3 (http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCWH2E_a-hike-for-you?guid=cd3c869e-4b77-47f2-a657-ee2773a0cc44, http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCY90A_rivendell?guid=83ce2bcf-e298-4ff2-bded-767bf111c675
http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC57C89_above-rivendell?guid=514421c5-b0f1-4456-b94c-0c5c818542a6
Deep thoughts while hiking: Do Rolypoly bugs enjoy a beautiful spring day as much as I do?

One of the bridges

3 miles up. End of the trail for this day.

How did this lone  Fall leaf survive the winter?

Lots of interesting rock formations

A geologist would like this hike

Nice trail most of the way.

Many wildflowers in early Spring

The creek is along the entire trail.

I used to know the name of these.

More wild flowers.

The hill back up to the trailhead.

The parking lot