Why am I posting this? Two reasons:
- If I post it, I'm more likely do it.
- You're invited!
Really, if you'd like to join me on any of these hikes, let me know. I don't have firm dates set for any of them, but will probably do them in roughly the order they're listed, just due to snow levels in the various canyons.
Desolation Lake
There are many ways to get up to Desolation Lake, but the route I'm planning starts about halfway up Big Cottonwood Canyon and ends a couple more miles up the canyon. I'm not sure when enough snow will have melted to get there, but it's likely to be one of the first areas that I want to hike to lose its snow. Also, with how dry this winter has been, I'm hoping it will be accessible earlier than usual.
The route I'm planning to take is about 6.7 miles, 4.5 of that uphill. It's not a huge elevation gain though; only about 2500 feet for a slope of 10.6%. See the following Google Earth screen shot for the route and elevation profile of the hike.
Lake Blanche
Also up Big Cottonwood Canyon, the trail head for Lake Blanche is at the bottom of the S curve. Annie and Titan and I attempted it last year but Titan was only a couple weeks old and we didn't have water. The 2 miles we did on the trail were beautiful though.
This hike climbs about 2700 feet, and does it over about 3 miles, giving it a slope of about 17%. Hiking just a little farther you can get to lakes Florence and Lillian. I'm not committing to those lakes, but there's a good chance I'll see them too, making the hike a little longer.
Ben Lomond Peak
The first peak that I think will be accessible is Ben Lomond Peak above Ogden. This is a ridiculously long trail, but it doesn't climb much. It's just over 8 miles each way, but only has an elevation gain of 3500 feet. I've never done any hiking in the Ogden area, so I'm excited to stretch my comfort zone a little. You can read more about Ben Lomond here.
Deseret Peak
It has been a long time since I've climbed Deseret Peak, and I'm excited to head back up there. It's accessed from South Willow canyon in Tooele County. The trail climbs about 3600 feet, about the same as Ben Lomond, but it does it in half the distance (about four miles) giving it an average slope of 17%.
One nice thing with hiking Deseret Peak is that you can come back down a different way than you went up. It's always nice to have a change of scenery on the way down. You can read more about it here.
Catherine Pass
Going back to Big Cottonwood Canyon, this is another hike Annie, Titan and I did last year. It was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. You actually pass by 3 lakes on your way to the pass (4 in a really low water year).
To get to Catherine Pass you can either go up Big or Little Cottonwood Canyon. I'm planning to go up Big and come back down Little to have a change of scenery on the way down. It's only a 1500 foot elevation gain, or an average slope of 11%. I'm pretty sure it starts out at 20-25%, but it levels out pretty good at the top. You can read more information here.
The Pfeifferhorn
This is likely to be my biggest challenge this year, but I'm excited to give it a try. The most common route starts in Little Cottonwood Canyon and heads up to Red Pine Lake. From there the trail becomes more imaginary and you have to find the best route to the top. The last few hundred feet are very steep over difficult terrain. It should be a blast.
The trail climbs 3600 feet over about 4-5 miles, depending on how you go above Red Pine Lake. The average slope is about 15%, but there are a lot of areas much steeper than that. There are great views from the top and it should be a great adventure. You can read more about it here.
Mt Timpanogos
I've lost count how many times I've climbed Mt Timpanogos. It could be anywhere between 7 and 9. However many times I've climbed it, it's still not enough. I've always started at the Timpooneke trail head, and I'm not about to change that, but, if I can make it work, I'd like to take the Aspen Grove trail back down.
The Timpooneke trail is about 7 miles long (there's a lot of dispute about that, but I'm pretty comfortable with the seven mile estimate). It climbs 4400 feet, but because it's so long it has an average slope of only 12%. I'm tentatively planning this as a fall hike--late September or early October--and the last hike of the season. You can read more about it here.
That's my plan for the summer. Just let me know if you'd like to come along; I'm sure Annie would prefer that I have some company. I'll most likely do these starting early on a Saturday morning, but I'd consider doing some of them as an overnighter.
And if there's a hike you're planning and you'd like some company I'd be happy to go with you.
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