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.
