Sunset Peak

Yulin, my daughter Carley, her boyfriend Josh and I got any early start for this hike I had been waiting several months to tackle. I had planned it earlier int he summer but called it off when I found out dogs were not allowed. Since I really wanted to hike this peak and had read about it I left Nutmeg at home. She was very sad but I had taken her up Provo Peak the day before.

This was a very nice hike. The trail is mostly pleasant with a few rocky spots on after Lake Mary and near the peak. The views are wonderful and I really enjoyed walking through the tall trees. There were a lot of people walking up on our trip down. We started up a little after 8am and there was still frost before we got into the direct sunlight.

The first part climbs up the Brighton Ski Resort ski slopes from the main lodge. It is a very smooth trail which we saw people of all ages walking up on our way back. Anyone should be able to make it up the short hike to Lake Mary. The second part approaches the Lake Mary dam passing through stands of tall trees. The view as you get to the edge of the lake gets lots of Owww's and Ahhh's. The trail along Lake Mary and to Martha Lake is a little bit more difficult. There are a few spots you most climb over rocks, nothing too bad but you wouldn't want to bring a stroller. Martha Lake is smaller but also worth a stop for photos. The trail from Martha Lake to 'the saddle' switches back in the trees, crosses a long meadow near Cathrine Lake and then climbs the ridge on an open hillside trail. Very tall signs at the saddle give you an idea how deep the snow gets in the winter. The Trail follows the ridge first to the Sunset Overlook and then towards the peak. The final sections of the trail continue to follow the ridge, circle the peak top and then scale the final short rise. From the parking lot to the peak took us 2 hours with plenty of breaks for pictures and water.

We ate our lunch on the peak and greeted a few other groups as they came up to the summit. We took pictures of a few friendly chipmunks begging for crumbs as we ate. The walk down took about 1.5 hours with a lot of traffic on the trail in the uphill direction. We clearly were early birds this day.

GPS Tracks: kml gpx
Photos: Flickr