Now that
we're finally mostly settled into our new house, it's time to start
hitting the trails again. Even though it seems like this summer will
never end, one day it will. And, really, it's going to end fast.
There's not much time left to get in some good hiking.
Today
I had pretty much all day to devote to hiking, which was really nice. I
didn't have any obligations in the afternoon or evening so I didn't
have to hurry back. So, with lots of time, I decided to do a longish
hike and ended up on Desolation Peak (I don't think that's its
"official" name, but that seems to be what most people call it. It's
also commonly known as Peak 9990 because of its elevation.)
The
trail starts at the Mill D North Fork Trailhead, which is most of the
way up Big Cottonwood Canyon. Surprisingly, it's on the North side of
the road.
The route I took is shown below. It was quite a climb.
I
started hiking at about 6:45am and it was COLD. Really cold. Well, it
could have just seemed cold because it has been so hot this summer. I
had to get started quick so my hands didn't completely freeze up.
One
thing I loved about this hike was all the trees. I think I was in the
trees for 80-90% of the hike. The sun would peek through from time to
time, but just long enough to let you know it was still there.
Another
highlight of the hike was following right next to a stream for about a
half mile. It was nice to hear water running so near the trail for so
long. It was also reassuring that there was still water in the
mountains even with the low snow year.
About
1 3/4 miles from the start, the trail splits. You can continue to the
left to go to Dog Lake, or to the right to go to Desolation Lake. I
considered going the short distance up to Dog Lake after coming back
down, but wanted to leave myself a reason to come back to the trail one
day.
The
trail isn't too steep up to the split. It's not an easy trail, but
it's certainly not difficult. Most people, regardless of fitness level,
could probably make it up at least to that point.
At
the split it starts to get steeper, and remains pretty steep for at
least a half mile. I took a lot of short rests to get up that part.
Fortunately, the trail levels out and hardly climbs much at all after
that. There are quite a few level places, and even a couple places
where the trail goes back down.
After
the steep part after the split the trail goes through some beautiful
meadows. It was so incredible. The meadows would probably be even
prettier earlier in the summer when the wild flowers are blooming. Even
still, it was pretty. And check out how green it all still is.
About
3 1/2 miles in there's a steep hill that climbs about 50' up. Then,
after just a hundred feet or so, it drops back down. Just around the
corner is Desolation Lake. It's not much to look at--especially this
year--but it was nice to arrive at where I'd planned to go. An
interesting thing about Desolation Lake is that there's no outlet. Snow
melts in the little basin there and just stays. It's kind of cool.
Annie
always gets mad at me for taking pictures of things rather than
people. So here's a shot of me at the lake just to prove that I was
actually there and not just pulling random pictures from the internet.
My
only goal was to get to the lake. Once I arrived there, though, I
still felt really good. My knees were holding up, I still had plenty of
water, and it wasn't even 9:00am, so I decided to go higher.
From
Desolation Lake, the trail continues up to the Wasatch Crest Trail.
It's primarily used by mountain bikers, from what I've been able to
tell. I think I saw close to 50 bikers up there. Up above the Wasatch
Crest Trail I went a little off-trail headed directly toward the peak.
The peak was about 300 vertical feet above the trail. It took a little
work, but I finally made it to the top. From the top I could look down
on the Salt Lake Valley to the West and Park City to the East. In fact,
that ski lift in the above picture is part of the Park City ski
resort. Pretty wild.
It
was nice to just sit on the peak all alone for awhile. Well, all alone
except for the ants. I flipped quite a few of them off (of me).
The
hike back down was just as pretty as the hike up, but I got to see
everything from a different perspective. The above picture is one of my
favorites. My only complaint about the hike back down was all the
bikers riding down. All but just a couple were extremely courteous and
friendly, but only a few of them told me how many more people were in
their group. It was great when they told me because I'd know how many
more people to expect. When they didn't tell me I had to keep looking
over my should for the next couple hundred yards wondering if another
one was headed for me. Not a big deal.
Anyway,
it was a great hike. It was nice and cool, not too crowded, and the
scenery was absolutely what I needed to see today. In all, I walked 9.6
miles and climbed nearly 3,000 feet, making an average slope of about
12%. I would recommend the hike to anyone. And, if you don't think
you'd be able to make it the 3.7 miles to Desolation Lake, you could at
least do the 2.4 miles to Dog Lake. It's probably just as pretty. :)
