Yellow Fork Canyon

Tonight I went for a short walk up Yellow Fork Canyon in Herriman. I'd never heard much about the trail, and still didn't know much about it when I got there. After just a few miles of hiking up there I know I'll have to go back for more.

I took Titan along to give Annie a couple hours of girl time, and we made our way up the windy Rose Canyon Road.

The trail is sort of a choose-your-own-adventure kind of trail. There's a dirt road that goes up the canyon pretty straight and even, and then there is a smaller trail that parallels the dirt road that has a little more elevation change and tree cover. I took the trail on the way up, and the road on the way back (they intersect at many points).

The trail (and the road) follow alongside the creek at least as far up as I went. We didn't make it more than a mile and a half up, though, before the 30 pound weight on my back started kicking my kidneys in open rebellion.

There were a lot of people up there tonight. All of them nice. There were also a lot of signs that a lot of people like to hike in the canyon, like these snowmen made out of rocks.

I really enjoyed the scenery. Maybe it's different in the late summer after the sun melts all the trees, but it was one of the prettier hikes I've been on.

After Titan decided he was done, we turned back and stopped at some picnic tables to have dinner. He really is trying to smile in this picture; he just has a mouthful of peanut butter sandwich.

We ended up hiking almost 3 miles total, with only about 300 feet of elevation gain (it almost didn't seem like there was any slope at all; it was GREAT). We saw people on horses, people on bikes, people with dogs; scout troops, young women's groups, and a snake. It was a great hike, and only 20 minutes from home. We're definitely going back.