Red Pine Lake...in a Kilt

It has been a month since this hike and I can't remember all the details, but it's slowly coming back to me as I look at the pictures.

Since I started hiking a few years back I've always wanted to see Red Pine Lake up Little Cottonwood Canyon. I came close last year, but the snow got too thick about a quarter mile short of the lake. My first thought on this trip was to spend the night at the lake, but with the limited daylight in October, and the fact that I'd have to leave for the canyon after work, (and the possible cold temperatures) I decided to just head up and back.

Another reason I was excited about this hike is that it would be my first opportunity to hike in my new kilt. I was a little nervous stepping out of the car with a kilt, but by a mile in I felt completely comfortable. I would estimate that only 10-20% of the people I passed even noticed I was in a kilt, and not one of them said a thing. It was a busy day on the trail, too; I probably passed more than 100 people.

The trail to Red Pine Lake is very easy to follow with the exception of the part with an actual sign. About a mile in there trail splits: The trail on the left goes to White Pine Lake, and the trail on the left goes to Red Pine Lake. Technically, the trail to Red Pine is the second left, but it's not real clear unless you've been there before.

I passed a couple looking at the sign trying to figure out which trail to take. I would have stopped to help, but it sounded like they just weren't sure which lake they wanted to hike to. I took the second left up the switchback, crossed the bridge over the creek, and kept heading up the trail. As I recall, it was about 3.5 miles to the lake, give or take a half mile. There were steep parts and less-steep parts.

I wasn't entirely impressed by the lake at first: it was October so the level of the water was pretty low. After passing to the other side of the lake and looking back, though, it impressed me much more. There were great reflections of the surrounding peaks in the lake and, well, maybe it was because the trail was flat as it passed to the other side of the lake.

As I started climbing the hill toward Upper Red Pine Lake I came across a dozen deer just hanging out. They just stayed there no matter how close I got. I probably could have jumped on top and rode one of them. It was crazy how close they let me get. I came across the whole herd again on the way back down. (I think this picture is from the way back down).

I came up a little short of Upper Red Pine Lake. The sun was setting too fast and the last half mile of trail was a bit more cross-country than I wanted to navigate in the dark. So with the lake almost within view I turned around and headed back down the mountain. It got cold as soon as the sun set, too, especially wearing a kilt. I had to put on my headlamp about 2 miles from the car, and couldn't see past the light reflecting off my breath in front of me.

I made it back to the car in complete darkness and went home. The total distance was about 8.3 miles with about 2300 feet of elevation gain. I'll definitely be back to spend the night some time. And I'll definitely be wearing my kilt.

Not Everybody Loves Raymond

A couple weeks ago Annie and I set out to hike Mount Raymond. Well, our first thought was Timpanogos, but as it got closer and more obligations set in both before and after the hike we knew our time would be more limited than we would like so we opted for a shorter (though maybe not much easier) hike up Butler Fork to Mount Raymond.

The trail starts at a smallish commonly overlooked parking lot just before the dogleg in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It's on the North side of the road and there are usually enough parking places for everyone hiking the trail. From time to time you'll see cars parked on the other side of the road, but not very often.

The Butler Fork trail, like most other trails in the Wasatch Mountains, starts out steep and gets steeper. There is a section in the first half mile of the trail that really makes you question your sanity, but it also lets you know why they've never bothered to build a bigger parking lot.

The trail goes about a mile (I can't remember exact distances and I'm too lazy to go get my GPS) and splits. The left fork continues up toward Mount Raymond (the Mill A Basin, specifically), and the right goes up toward Dog Lake. I've taken both trails. They're both steep but beautiful.

There are many (I lost count) switchbacks another half mile up the trail that seem to go on and on. At the last switchback there's a trail that goes south toward Circle All Peak. We didn't go that way this time, but I describe it pretty well in one of last year's posts.

After the switchbacks end the trail stays on top of a ridge running North and South. It's nearly flat and there are incredible views in both directions. This is the first glimpse you get of the Mill A Basin to the West with  Mount Raymond looming over it. When I hiked this trail last year I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to see more of Mill A (I went East instead of West from here). It was nice to get the chance to see it close up and with all the Fall colors.

At the North end of the ridge the trail ends at a junction with the Desolation trail running East and West. To get to Mount Raymond (or Gobblers Knob) go West. East will take you to Dog Lake and eventually to Desolation Lake.

The steepness of the first part of the trail had taken its toll on us and we were pretty worn out at this point and started making backup plans. I knew that the trail would lead us to a saddle between Mount Raymond and Gobblers Knob, and that we'd probably have great views there and enough of a sense of accomplishment that we could go home feeling good about ourselves, so we set our goal to make it to the saddle and save the peak for another day.

The views were amazing as we traversed the basin and switched back up onto the saddle. We sat down for a few minutes and had some food. After resting for a bit we decided to push on and at least see what the trail was like a bit farther up so we'd know what to expect for next time.

We didn't make it too far before the steepness and rockiness were too much to keep the hiking fun, so we turned around and headed back. If I recall correctly, we hike about 7.5 miles and climbed about 3000 feet. It was a grueling day but I'm glad we were able to hike together. Maybe we'll be able to finish our hike to the peak next year.

Beartrap Fork

A couple weeks ago I pulled myself away from my busy summer and headed out to the mountains. The days were already starting to get short so I knew I'd need to find a shortish hike. For some reason I decided to hike Beartrap Fork near Solitude in Big Cottonwood Canyon

Aside from the incredible views at the top I can't think of a single reason to hike this one again. Yeah, it was pretty, there were tons of trees, there was nobody else on the trail. All that's true, but the trail was so steep and overgrown that I had a hard time getting into a rhythm.

It might have also been the fact that it had been 5 weeks since my last hike. I'm still not sure how I missed 5 summer weeks of hiking, but I did.

The trail starts at an ominous looking gate about a mile and a half past the turn off for the Spruces campground, and about a mile and a half before Solitude's lower parking lot. There's no parking lot or sign, you just have to pull over at the right time and look for the sign above.

There were good views all the way up, but plenty of tree cover for hiking the trail during the day. The trail is pretty easy to follow, but there are a few places that are overgrown, and quite a few small trees blocking the trail. There's not anything that's hard to get past, but it wears on you a bit as you're climbing.

With all the rain we've had this summer the trail was still pretty wet; not muddy, but wet enough to be slippery. There are parts of the trail that are pretty flat, but the respite you get from those parts is more than made up for by the steep parts.

The last half mile before reaching the junction with the Wasatch Crest Trail is pretty much just straight up the side of the mountain. There's a trail, but it doesn't seem to be strictly followed by most people at this point. This part of the trail is out of the trees as well, which would make for some miserable hiking during the heat of the day. Fortunately I was racing the sunset and the heat wasn't a worry.

After a little over 2 miles of hiking the trail meets up with the Wasatch Crest Trail, which is primarily a mountain biking trail from Guardsman's Pass to Millcreek Canyon. I'd love to ride it one day, but for now I'm fine staying on my feet.

After a short, nearly level walk from the trail junction I found myself overlooking Desolation Lake. I had stood in this exact place a couple years before, but took the Mill D North trail instead. That hike is easily one of my favorites in the Wasatch. If I ever decide to see Desolation Lake again I bet you can guess which trail I'll take.

 Despite all the negative things I have to say about Beartrap Fork, it was a very pretty hike, and it got me to a beautiful overlook in half the distance it would have taken from Mill D. Of course, that came at a cost. I hiked 4.5 miles and climbed over 2,300 feet (21% average grade). I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a good workout or someone who wants to hike a trail without having to say hello to anyone.

Clayton Peak 2.0

On Tuesday my friend Casey and I headed out again to nearly the same place. Two weeks ago we parked at Brighton and headed West up to Mount Millicent. This time we went East to the top of Clayton Peak (Mount Majestic) on the Lake Mary trail.

We carpooled up the canyon and got a pretty early start. We were hiking by about 5:30pm and made good time up the first mile to the Dog Lake junction. With it being late and both of us being a bit out of shape we didn't even look out over the overlook because we knew we'd need to hurry to get back to the car before dark.

The trail is moderately steep until the junction with the Dog Lake trail, but after turning off on the trail to Dog Lake, then almost immediately turning left on the Clayton Peak trail, we hiked on relatively flat ground for almost a mile. The wildflowers and wildlife were all on display. One of the benefits of hiking during the week is that there's nobody around to scare the deer away.

We made great time between Dog Lake and Snake Creek Pass. Casey had never hiked this trail and was very impressed with the views from on top of the pass. We were able to see most of the Heber Valley (which may just be the most beautiful valley in the state) including some of Deer Creek Reservoir.

The pass sits at 10,019 feet according to my GPS, even though the sign at the top says 10,200'. Looking up at the 10,700 foot peak from the pass made it painfully obvious that the GPS was right and we still had 700 vertical feet to climb. At least we didn't have to walk far for all that climbing. Most of it was done in less than 1/4 mile.

We had great views from the top, even being able to see the Easternmost tip of Jordanelle Reservoir to the East. We saw more lakes from the top of the peak than we saw people on the trail.

The hike back down was uneventful (except for my slight detour to check out the trail up from the other side of the pass). We hiked about 6.5 miles and climbed about 2000'.

Silver Lake (American Fork)

To round out the week I participated in the hiking portion of our yearly ward outing.  This year the ward camped at the Granite Flat campground in American Fork Canyon. We hiked from  Silver Lake Flat Reservoir (a couple miles up a dirt road from Granite Flat) to Silver Lake.

I didn't count how many of us went on the hike, but it was a lot more people than I'm used to hiking with. You could safely say it was the largest group I've hiked in since I was a scout decades ago.

It hardly felt like we were in a big group, though. We pretty quickly spread out with the teens leading the way and those from my generation lagging behind (mostly because they were carrying kids of various sizes). I was somewhere in the middle.

I had never really hiked in American Fork Canyon before (except my nearly annual hikes up Mount Timpanogos) and I loved it. It's much more foresty than most of the other canyons around here. The trail was well-maintained and there were incredible views of Mount Timpanogos (that you never get while hiking the mountain itself).

The trail starts pretty flat but gets quite a bit steeper for the last 3/4 mile or so. It could also be that it just seems that way because you get start getting tired by then. Either way, it's not a terribly difficult hike.

 There are many places where it seems like you should arrive at the lake just over the next little hill, only to discover another hill beyond that one.

Silver Lake itself is worth the trip. It has some beautiful still waters with high peaks and cliffs all around, as well as an incredible view down the canyon from on top of the dam.

It was 2.33 miles to the top (nearly 5 miles for me, total) and a climb of about 1,700 feet.

Mount Millicent

One of the best things about our new house is having a next-door neighbor that also likes to hike, and who has been to places I've still never been. Casey (my neighbor) and I have decided to try to hike every other week through the rest of the summer, and our first hike was up to the top of Mount Millicent. 

Milly Express

This wasn't a hike that I even had on my list. I'd never considered it before. It seemed a little dangerous with all the rock hopping near the top. Casey had already climbed it, though, and he was still alive so it couldn't be too bad, right?

View of Mount Millicent from way down below

We started at the Brighton parking lot and headed up the service road to Twin Lakes (this was my contribution; by taking this road instead of the trail that Casey would normally take we saved a mile each way). It was a relentlessly steep climb, but before we even stopped to take a rest we arrived at the lake. After a few pictures of the lake and the dam we continued up the winding service road to the top of the ski lift.

Twin Lakes from the Dam

As we left the dam we heard a metallic banging noise coming from near the lake. We looked through the trees and saw some guy with a metal baseball bat hitting dead branches of downed trees. After having scenes from horror movies flash through my mind we realized he was gathering firewood, but didn't have an axe (or much sense).

We continued up the hill to the top of the lift and that's where the fun began. This was the part that I was most nervous about. We had to pick our way up a steep, rocky slope, as you can see in the picture below. It was like walking up a very irregular staircase.

Casey looking for the best way up the mountain

About 1/4 of the way up I actually started enjoying it. The rocks were pretty stable (every now and then one would shift) and it went much better than I thought it would.

After a climb of 600 vertical feet we reached the top, and as we were taking in the impressive views the mosquitoes came out. We didn't see any near the lake, but a thousand feet higher at the top of the mountain they were everywhere.

Lake Mary with Clayton, Pioneer, and Sunset peaks

We spent quite a bit of time up on top identifying all the other peaks around us, making plans for future hikes. I think I was putting off climbing back down due in part to the fear of descending on the rocks that we had climbed up. My fears were unfounded, though, as I quickly discovered it was easy to climb down the rocks.

Meese

As we returned to the trail (or road, or whatever) we started making good time down the mountain until we suddenly looked up and saw two moose 100 feet in front of us on the trail. We quickly backed up and wondered how to get around them. Wee shouted at them, clacked our trekking poles, anything we could think of to get them to move.

They didn't move. Had they been 50 feet off the trail we might have tried to cautiously get around them, but being close enough to the trail that we could poke them with our trekking poles we decided to backtrack up the hill a bit and find another way around.

We made it easily back to the lake, and from there back to the car and headed home. It was a great after-work hike that took us 1,900 feet up in a total of 3.6 miles. Yeah, that's steep.

Lake Catherine (From Brighton)

The day after Independence Day we were invited to hike up above Brighton with some friends. Normally I try to stay away from the mountains during holiday weekends, but I really like hiking with these people and I figured it would be a good hike to take Titan on.

Titan at Lake Mary

I had planned to carry Titan the whole way up the mountain, and I probably could have. He was able to walk about a half mile or so, though, which gave me a bit of rest in the middle of the climb. 

Lake Martha

I've been up this trail a few times and have a few other more detailed blog posts about the trail, so I don't have a lot to say about the trail this time.

It was a bit of a struggle to make it to Lake Mary, but having been up the trail in the past I reassured everyone that the hard part of the trail was already done. Most of the group continued on to Lake Catherine (passing Lake Martha on the way). We found a snow bank just off the trail and had a snow ball fight (in July!)

Panorama of Lake Catherine

The bugs hadn't been bad at all the whole way up until we got within 10 feet of Lake Catherine. Wee were instantly swarmed. Oddly, though, there were places with bugs, and places without bugs. The bugs seemed to just stay in place. I picked up a few mosquito bites while spraying Titan with some Deet.

This was actually the first time in all the times I've been to Lake Catherine that I actually sat down at the water's edge and enjoyed being there. I'm always quick to arrive at my destination and then move on. It was nice to have the time to enjoy the moment a bit.

The hike was right near 4.5 miles, if I remember correctly, with about 1,700 feet of elevation gain.

White Pine Lake - Maybe a Little Too White

When I first started hiking a couple years ago one of the first trails on my list was the trail to White Pine Lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Its relatively gentle slope and long length intrigued me a bit and I always wanted to go. The trail is five miles to the first view of the lake (don't believe the sign at the trail head that says it's only four. The trail starts at the White Pine Trail parking lot (pretty easy to remember) and climbs up over 10,000 feet.

Fortunately I was able to convince my brother-in-law Shawn to hike with me. I'm still a little leery about camping alone so far up, so it was nice to have some company. Plus, since he's in better shape than me he kept me moving forward even when I wanted to stop.

This time of year is always a little difficult for backpacking since all the highest elevations still have snow. We chose White Pine because there are quite a few good camping spots on the way up so if we were unable to make it all the way to the lake we'd be able to find a spot to sleep without heading all the way back home.

The trail begins by dropping a couple hundred feet to the river, then slowly climbs to the West for about a mile. At this point there's a sign pointing left for White Pine, and left for Red Pine. Yes, you read that right. The Redd Pine trail turns left also, but a few feet past the White Pine turn off.

We saw quite a few people on our way up to the junction, but very few after. I don't think White Pine is nearly as popular as Red Pine, but it certainly should be. 

The trail has a few switchbacks and you gain elevation pretty quick, but within a mile from the junction the ground levels out a bit and there are some level areas where the hiking isn't too bad.

The picture above is the first time we saw where we were going. You can sort of make out the trail on the left side of the picture up in the snow. White Pine Lake sits just to the right of center behind the hill.

We saw a few more people as we climbed higher; a lot of them running the trail (crazies). About 3.5 miles in we stopped and talked to a couple that had been up at the lake. We asked how the snow was and if there would be any place to camp. They said that it was mostly snow-covered, but that there were already two tents up there and there might possibly be enough dry land for another one. That wasn't encouraging.

About 4 miles in we hit the snow. We had been climbing over small patches here and there, but our luck had run out. We would have to climb a couple hundred feet up a snow field to get to the lake.

In the above picture you can see the footprints on the right, and the trail up higher in the snow. In the picture below we're standing on the trail at the top looking back down to where we started in the snow.

The views from up on top were spectacular, though. We were over 10,000 feet (I forgot to check and see exactly how high) and just below some of the highest peaks in the Wasatch. The snow, though tricky and arduous to climb through, made the mountains look even more majestic and beautiful.

The next picture I took the next morning, looking back at the snowy trail. It was about half snow and half rocks, but the steep slope made it a little spooky on the snowy parts.

We dropped down into the little valley with White Pine Lake at the bottom. Most of the ground was covered in snow, and the only bare spots we could see already had tents. We kept sliding down the snow till we were almost at the lake and found a small patch of bare ground big enough and level enough for two tents. It even had a nice rock to cook dinner on.

We got camp set up, cooked dinner, and settled in for a cold night. After the sun went down about 9:00pm my thermometer dropped quickly from 70 down to 50. It was going to be cold. Every time I woke up during the night I checked the thermometer; it never dropped below 40.

In the morning the temperature had climbed all the way to 50 by 7:00am. We got up, ate breakfast, repacked our bags and headed out by 8:00am. The trip down was uneventful, except that the snow was much icier than it was the night before.

We made it back to the truck at about 10:15 and headed home to rest.

We ended up hiking a total of 10.3 miles, and climbed 2700 vertical feet or so.