Mule Hollow

     I had an unexpected couple of hours available today, so of course my trekking poles and I took off for  a quick hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon.  This is a 1.2 mile hike (2.4 miles round trip) up to what used to be a miner's cabin.  There is still plenty of mine stuff around, like rails from the ore cars, etc. The hike is pretty scenic, but the real scenery is behind you as you are  ascending the gulch;  across Big Cottonwood Canyon is an incredible view of  Stairs Gulch, the steepest longest avalanche pass in the Wasatch Range!  It has a 5000 feet vertical drop, which you  can't see well from the road, but have to hike up this trail for a good view. At the top is a virtual geocache, that gives some good info: http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCJJJW_deadly-monster-view?Submit6=Go
     To get to the trailhead, drive 3 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon.  If you have teenagers along, they may tell you that you have just passed through "Silent Rock," and it is bad luck if you are not silent when passing through here. It is an area where the road goes through a spot where there is rock on each side right next to the road. I am sure that ski bus drivers made that up to get a few precious moments of peace!  At the end of a new large concrete bridge, you  immediately turn left into a small parking lot. There is no sign, but this is the trailhead.  Head north up the trail, ignoring the many steep side trails you see, as these are accesses to the cliffs for rock climbers. The trail you want stays near the creek bed, and often is the creek bed. Today the bed was completely dry most of the way.  At about 1/2 mile, you will see a rock cairn with the best-looking trail going sharply up to the left. Do not take this sharp left, as it is another rock climber trail.  The trail is overgrown at times, but don't worry, you can't get lost, and when you get to the mine area it is extremely obvious; you can't miss it!  On the way down, if the going gets difficult, you may be in the stream bed, when the actual trail is to your right about 20 feet. (You can figure out how I know this!)

Looks like some old bunk bed frames

Looking south toward twin peaks
and Stairs Gulch

Tiny old rails

Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point

This Hike is in Grand Teton National Park.  We made a quick trip up there, leaving Salt Lake on Friday morning, and returning Sunday afternoon.  Friday we went horseback riding at Teton Village, and Saturday we went whitewater rafting and did this Jenny Lake hike.  One reason I wanted to do this, is that this gave me the opportunity to check out the beginning and end of a hike that I plan to do within the next year or two: Take the tram at Teton Village, then backpack along the Teton Crest trail, for about 30 miles, camping two or three nights, and then descend to Jenny Lake and take the ferry across to the Jenny Lake Visitors center.  Anyone want to join me?
     The word that comes to mind for Jenny Lake is PRISTINE!  As beautiful as photos are, they don't come anywhere near doing it justice.  The water is crystal clear, the giant pines are as aromatic as they are beautiful, and you have an incredible view of  the Teton peaks for much of the hike.
     When you get to the Jackson area, stop at the most amazing visitors center I have ever been to. They will give you all kinds of maps and directions for this hike.   From there, you drive about 45 minutes to the Jenny Lake visitors center.  The drive was beautiful, and we saw several moose along the way. You have to pay $25 for a seven day pass into the park, even if you are just spending the day.  From the Jenny Lake visitors center, we took the ferry ($7 one way or $12 round trip) across the lake.  It leaves every 15 minutes, and gives you a beautiful view of the area during the 1.5 mile trip. The hike up to Hidden Falls is just .6 miles, and it really is hidden! We missed the 100 foot detour the first time, and continued another .4 miles up to Inspiration Point, catching Hidden Falls on our way down.  We could have taken the ferry back, but opted to hike around the lake. The views are nothing short of  breathtaking!  The lower trail is closed for revegetation and repair, so we were directed to the upper trail, which was still very easy and probably much more scenic than the lower trail would have been. So taking the ferry one way,  our total hike was 4.75 miles.  If you have time, take the trail a little farther into Cascade Canyon for more beauty!

Jenny Lake from the ferry

The final ascent to Inspiration Point

Incredible Tetons

200 foot Hidden Falls cascade

View of Jenny Lake on return trail.

Willow Lake

This is a short, easy hike that I previously overlooked in the book, 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Salt Lake City.  It is beautiful, and you have an excellent chance of seeing moose, especially at dawn and dusk. There are some nice areas to backpack into for a short getaway, or maybe to test out some new backpacking gear, etc. Drive 11.2 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon. You can park just past Silver Fork Lodge where the road curves. There is a large rock that marks the Trailhead, but no actual parking area. A short distance past the large rock, you see a large trail sign. maybe 5 minutes from this sign you will come to a wooden bridge. At this point you have the option of two trails to Willow lake. One way is to not cross the bridge and take the trail to the right. A second option is to cross the bridge and take that trail. They are about the same distance and level of difficulty. the trail across the bridge gets you away from road noise more quickly. I like to take this way up, and take the other trail back, as that way you hit a beautiful aspen grove on the way back down. The hike through aspens and pines is beautiful. In summer, wild flowers are abundant, and I am looking forward to going there in the fall for the yellow aspens, and in winter for snowshoeing!   At .8 miles, you step across the small Willow Creek, and soon come to a large meadow.  I expected to see the lake here, but it is a little farther ahead. As you approach the willows, take the trail fork to the left for the quickest view of the lake. This lake is unusual for this area, because the willows hide the lake until you are right at the lake, or looking down upon it.  The topo map on my gps just calls it, "small lake." The book, The Lady in the Ore Bucket,  calls it Willow Lake, and says the area was originally known as Willow Patch Fork, around 1888, and later as Willow Heights.  I did two of 3 geocaches in the area: You light up my life http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=b52cab02-1a97-4d6a-aca9-6d8909f0452a and Sugar and Spice; http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=1faa0b8f-331a-4731-bd9f-1f58763d5f8a.

Some of the brightest colors I have seen

Willow Lake

Pretty fancy carvings, some from the 1940's

An enticing trail.

The trailhead

Mount Timpanogos from Timpooneke Trail

This is an awesome hike, especially this time of year with the wild flowers in bloom. If possible, do it on a week-day, as Saturdays are crowded.Be sure to pick up a pay envelope at the booth and hang a tag on your rear-view mirror to show that you have paid the $6 fee. There is a box at the campground that you can deposit it in. We drove up American Fork Canyon, right when the timp half marathon was going on. It was entertaining to watch the runners, but a slow process to get to the trailhead.  The parking lot was full, (and had been since 6 AM.), so we had to drive a mile past the trailhead to park on the road.  We signed in at the trailhead, and were rewarded with an amazing view, and blessed with a mostly overcast day.  The air was chilly at the summit, probably in the 40's, which felt great to me, but not to most people.  Clouds rolled in quickly, and it started raining fairly hard, and we did not want to experience lightning in the summit shack, even though it is grounded, so we descended quickly.  Shortly after leaving the summit, I was feeling pretty good, bounding down the rocks like a mountain goat, when some other hikers rounded a bend in the trail, and a girl said, "Wow a mountain goat!"  I was about to say, "Thanks," when I  followed their eyes over my shoulder, and a mountain goat was right behind me!  By the time I got my camera out, it wasn't too close, but I got a pretty good picture.
     The gps says our moving time was 7 hours 27 minutes, we hiked 17 miles, and our total ascent was 4,346 feet. (Some of that was the steep climb back to our car on the road.)  I carried 3 liters of water, but I still ran out, and this was a cooler day. If it had been warmer, I would recommend 4 to 5 liters. I had a water filter, but the only sources of water other than Emerald Lake, which would be a big detour, were streams about 3 miles from the trailhead, so I just continued on back.

A nest in a crag on a cliff. I wanted to put a peanut m&m
in for the picture, but didn't want to disturb it!

Summit looks a long way off!

The wildflowers alone were worth the hike.

Amazing view of Utah Lake from the saddle.

You feel like you are in an airplane at 11, 749 foot summit.

The mountain goat that snuck up behind me.

Albion Basin to Mount Tuscarora July 24, 2013

I woke up early on Pioneer Day, and headed up to get a good view of Pioneer Peak.  I drove 14.1 miles up Little Cottonwood Canyon to the Catherine Pass Trailhead.  I parked in the parking lot by the restrooms and crossed the road to hit the trail.  At about mile .78 the trail splits, and you stay to the left for Catherine Pass.  At Catherine Pass, I headed left up the ridge to the top of  Mount Tuscarora. Apparently a large buck had the same idea, but from the other direction, because we both reached the summit at the exact same time, and surprised each other!  He bounded away, leaving me to find the geocache up there: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=8d0e183f-0c37-4453-8f73-c60cc7c943c2.  The view was incredible, especially as the sun broke through the clouds reflecting on Lake Martha.   I headed back the way I came, ran into the retired Air Force Pilot and his English mother, whom I had met last Friday! They were looking for the father, who had become lost descending Sunset Peak.  When I returned to the trailhead, I had hiked 3.61 miles, a great start to Pioneer Day!

Daylight breaking in Albion Basin

Lakes Mary and Martha from Mount Tuscarora

Sunlight reflecting on Lake Martha

Trekking poles framing Pioneer Peak on Pioneer Day

Wildflowers reminded me of fireworks.

On the way back to the trailhead.

Sunset and Pioneer Peaks from Albion Basin

I began this hike from the Catherine Pass Trailhead near the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon, 14.1 miles from the 7-11 at the bottom of Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons.  It was an easy 2 miles or so up to Catherine Pass.  I then headed up the ridge to Sunset Peak, stopping to find a geocache, "By the Way," http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=f8b05ccd-fe89-4c2f-a279-20be59702b2d. The ammo box was open, so I signed the log and closed it up tightly. On the way, I chatted with a retired Air Force Pilot from Virginia, and his wife and, his mother who was from England.  The hike to the summit is not difficult, and exposure is not bad.  Shortly after I reached the summit, a 72-year-old man from Farmington came up behind me.  He was a retired plant pathologist, and he identified a patch of "Bearberry" bushes growing near the summit.  I then continued on to Pioneer Peak, and found another geocache, "Ten Year Hike," http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=1937e750-3449-48e0-a617-0afc3c82a267.
The view from here was great, and I stopped in the shade to eat an early lunch.
     I then returned back the way I had come, reascending Sunset Peak.  On the way down Sunset Peak, I saw what at first appeared to be a young woman helping an elderly couple slowly down the trail, but when I got closer, I found that the elderly couple were helping the young woman down the trail! She had fallen, and injured herself.  I got out my first aid kit and patched her up.  Instead of going back to Catherine Pass, I cut over to Supreme Peak and did 3 more geocaches, ending up just below Cecret Lake. I then returned along the road to my original trailhead.  I had hiked 6.21 miles and ascended 2,655 feet in a leisurely  4 1/2 hours (3 1/4 hours moving time), a very enjoyable hike.

Trekking Poles resting on some interesting
geology along the trail.

Wildflowers illuminated by the rising sun.

View of Lakes Catherine and Mary on the way up
to Sunset Peak. (Martha is hidden from view)

View of Sunset Peak and Mount Timpanogos
from Pioneer Peak.

View of Lakes Martha and Mary, with Silver Lake in the back,
taken atop Pioneer Peak.

Returning to the trailhead.

Brighton to Lakes Mary, Martha, and Catherine

July 13, 2013
     The wildflowers were amazing on this hike! We started at the Brighton Parking lot, at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon. The trailhead is just to the right of the ticket office, by the large map sign.  This is an easy hike, with continually-changing views, and you eagerly anticipate the view around the next bend or over the next rise.  You reach Lake Mary in the first mile, and Lake Martha shows up quickly. Before you know it, you arrive at Lake Catherine. As you approach like Catherine, the trail splits; the right goes to Catherine Pass, sort of bypassing the Lake. We took the left path directly to the lake, and were rewarded by an amazing display of wildflowers in granite boulders on the lakeshore, where we ate our lunch of Harmon's bakery's multi-grain rolls, provolone cheese, grapes, cherries, and a delicious sweet, crisp apple called "Jazzy."
     If you have time, you can continue up to Catherine pass and to the summit of Sunset Peak where 3 county boundaries meet.  We headed back the way we came, with a total  of 4.4 scenic miles.  On our way down the canyon, we had to stop for a large bull moose that was crossing the road.

Almost to Lake Mary

My old trekking poles mingling with my wife's sexy new
model at Lake Mary

I know exactly how old this hiker is, but I wonder about
the age of this fallen tree. Next time I'll have to stop
and count the rings.

A little bit of Lake Martha with
Mount Tuscarora in the background.

Lake Catherine with Catherine Pass
in the background on the right.

Lake Mary in the distance with Lake Martha
in the foreground, viewed from a point
nearLake Catherine.

Thunderclouds building near Lake Mary.

A great treat to end the trip!