Grandeur Peak: Night Hike

At 2 a.m. some friends and I decided to hike Grandeur Peak. We arrived at the camp ground that houses the trailhead but the gate was locked. So we parked on the road and walked in from there, which added probably an extra mile to the hike.

The beginning of the climb is easy/moderate and then as you traverse across to climb towards the peak, it gets more strenous.

The last stretch of the climb to the peak is the hardest because it's more vertical and rocky. But anyone would be able to complete it if they just took their time. We hiked by flashlight (3 people to 2 flashlights=bad idea) and made it to the top in about 2 hrs.

But the view from the top was amazing! We decided to stay until sunrise, which would have been more enjoyable had we brought warmer clothing in order to spend 2 extra hours on the top...



But the wait was worth it, the sunrise was glorious and hiking down just after the break of dawn while others are barely hiking up was another plus!

Fifth Water Waterfalls & Hot Springs

So my friend Travis S. and I decided to go hiking and he chose Fifth Water Waterfalls and hot springs which are located out of Spanish Fork Canyon. The hike starts in a little parking lot, and vault bathrooms are located at the trailhead which makes it easy to change into a suit if you want to sit in the hot springs.

The hike itself is easy, only a few steep parts and the trail is in fair condition. Heavy rains have washed out some places so occasionally the trail is narrow with a drop off to the river below, so some extreme fear of heights might hold you back but it's really not that bad.

We went on a Friday morning in the summer and still saw quite a number of people...so I'd imagine the weekends create heavy traffic on the trail. However, the hot pots are rather large and there are a few of them...so a fair amount of people can be there without feeling crowded. There are rumors of people sitting in the nude still, even though it's illegal, but thankfully we didn't see any of those types of people!

What's nice about the hot springs is, you can get any temperature of water you like: hot if you sit by where the spring leaks out of the mountain and cooler going towards the fresh, cold water from the waterfall. It was great, even on a hot summer day; you could sit in the hot pot, and then when it got to be too much, sit in the river and cool off!

Bells Canyon Waterfalls

I had never been to Bells Canyon, nor it's tauted waterfalls, so I wanted to try it. I went with my friend Travis and we set out around 9:30 am, which was a little later than I wanted just because I wanted to beat the heat; but overall it turned out to be just fine. The first leg of the hike is from the trailhead which is a small parking lot off Wasatch Blvd around 10200 South, to the Lower Reservoir. This hike is very uphill at points, but is do-able for children, and the payoff is a gorgeous lake to sit and put your feet in. From there we followed a dirt road up and around the lake and started on the trail up Bells Canyon; this is where it started getting difficult. At times the trail is a fairly mellow dirt track through some beautiful trees but other times it is traversing steep hills, scattered with rocks. As you hike you come upon this big, flat, white/gray rock which gives you a great view of the valley. I can say, even if you climb up the canyon and don't reach the falls the view from up there on that big white rock is amazing. I saw some people on the other side of the canyon and wondered if they were bouldering or rock climbing because I've heard there are some climbs through the area.

We continued on and there are no markers for where to turn off for the lower falls or to continue on to the upper falls. My tip is you're hiking along and you can hear the water of course but you come to a Y in the trail and both ways are very well worn so you wonder which way to go...Well if you go left it takes you to the first falls, right continues up the canyon. We chose right, not knowing and continued on our way. We didn't see very many people, probably because we were hiking on a Friday morning... so we couldn't really ask people where we were headed. But the two guys we were able to ask said that we had passed the first falls already and the second falls were ahead of us maybe 30 mins or so. So we kept on trekking, and finally could hear some loud water so we found some small trail that led off towards the sound. Now, I have no idea whether these were the real second falls, but it was beautiful. After sitting there for a break, we decided to just follow small back trails along the river to go back down to the second falls which was a great idea because we found a wonderful secluded little pond that was above the first falls.




Then as we rounded the next corner the view of the falls was incredible. Getting to see it from and upper view before seeing them full on from the front was a treat and I would actually recommend seeing the small upper falls first and then working your way down to the bigger, first falls. Otherwise after seeing the first falls, I don't know if I'd want to continue hiking to the smaller, second because of how tough the hike is. Above the second falls, there is the Upper Reservoir but I've heard the hike is long and hard and is better suited for an overnight backpacking trip. We ate our lunch at the falls, cooling off in the mist, and it was just spectacular...I absolutely loved it.

We started hiking back down and the rocks and tree roots provide plenty of options to trip over... and as you go lower into the valley the heat starts to hit you. Which is where the lower reservoir came in handy :) We took our shoes off and waded around on the giant rocks that lie around the outlet. But we were still pretty hot so we decided to dive right in. The water was much more chilly out away from where the rocks were heating it, but it was SO refreshing. Afterwards, as we were hiking out we noticed a sign that had a swimmer on it, and a big circle with a line through it over the swimmer... OOPS! And knowing that we weren't supposed to after the fact kinda made it even more exciting :) It was a wonderful hike and I would recommend it.

Alexander Lake July 2010

I used to go to Alexander it seemed like almost every year when I was a child; but I hadn't been in years. So we made a trip of it! Alexander Lake is up in the High Uintas, accessed off of the Mirror Lake Highway. The road to it is only accessible via truck because of the ruts and rocks that dot the dirt road up; but with a car you can drive up a ways and then park in a meadow and backpack in. Alexander Lake is more populated than Pyramid Lake was, and during the summer if you don't get there early on a Friday you might not get a campspot. We were lucky though, we went the weekend after the 4th of July, so it was less busy.

The mosquitos were bad, especially since this year we had such good rainfall, so the mostly flat shoreline becomes swampy in places. Always bring the bug spray! I like fishing at Alexander, as it is regularly stocked, and I would recommend bringing the float tubes; they are not only fun for fishing, but for going out on the lake in the middle of the night and looking up at the stars. Canoes and rafts are also a common site during the day, as many people will come up just for the day to play around and fish. Like most small lakes in the Uintas, no motorized watercraft is allowed. Later in the summer the lillypads really explode over the south side of the lake and it is always fun to canoe over and check them out. The water is always fairly chilly, but on a hot summer day it's a great way to beat the heat! Afternoon rainstorms are common in the high Uintas, and we got our share...which especially sucked because my tent bag didn't have the rainfly in it for some reason... we jimmy-rigged a tarp over my tent which worked for a while, but it was just much easier to squeeze me and the dog into my sister's tent. I guess that's a lesson learned the hard way, check your gear before you go! Other than that it was a great trip, and Alexander will continue to be one of my favorite lakes to visit.

Pyramid Lake June 2010

Pyramid Lake is up in the high Uintas and is very secluded and pristine. The road is tough going, we were definitely glad we had a truck to get into it. Obvious campsites scatter the area around the lake and provide numerous fire pits, places to pitch tents and set up camp. I don't think a trailer-camper of any sorts, unless it was the kind that is on a truck, would have made it past the rough road.

As far as how busy it was...I'm not sure if it was because we were camped there the weekend before the 4th of July, but we were the only ones to camp at the lake the entire weekend. We had about 5 different parties come through on the road in trucks or 4wheelers but they typically were just passing through or would stop at the lake for a bit and then moved on or went back. So it was really nice to have the whole place to ourselves.

We camped in a camp spot North of the lake and there was a meadow just north of our camp which was gorgeous and then a pond to our East which was home to a frog choir that would sing us to sleep at night. Pyramid Lake has one edge butted up against the mountain and it's just a big pile of fallen rock, the rest of the lake is edged with woodland and big pines. The water was quite cold and with the wind chill we were not about to get wet, but the dogs loved cooling down in the water. It's a great place if you wanted to pack up your stuff and 4wheel into it, and it has plenty of places to hike/bike around for some beautiful scenic views.