Broads Fork Twin Peaks

I started out my solo hike planning on doing Dromedary Peak from the Mill B trailhead in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Since I had been up Broads Fork Canyon about a month ago I had a good idea of where I was headed. I arrived at the trailhead parking lot at about 7:45am and it was a little more than half full. I knew I would be running into other hikers so I figured if I find anyone else hiking one of the three eleveners I would tag along if I though they had a good pace, especially if they knew the trail.
I passed a lot of groups heading up who obviously not geared up for a Peak and moving much slower than me. When I was almost at the beaver pond I could see a larger group ahead that appeared to be moving at a good pace so I picked up the pace a little to catch up with them. Chances are good that anyone going past the pond will be on the way to a peak. As it ended up there were two groups, four guys together and a couple with two dogs. It took me a while to remember that dogs are not permitted in this area (Big & Little Cottonwood Canyons, and Bells Canyon). When I caught up to the couple I noticed that both dogs were wearing vests with patches. They were rescue dogs and as I leaned later they get special permission to hike in the area. The couple was moving at a good pace, just a bit faster than my normal.
They stopped for water at the headwaters of the stream and I chatted with them a bot. They told me they were heading up the Twin Peaks so I told them I would probably try to follow them up. The four guys had turned off trail and were heading towards Twin Peaks but not in a direction with a good trail.
I left to get a head start while they finished purifying water. I was a hundred yards or so ahead of them when I first saw them following me. They slowly closed the gap and passed me on the talus slope leading to the saddle between Sunrise and the twins. I was watching them carefully so I could use the same route at the headwall.
Luckily they stopped to talk to a couple of guys coming down the headwall. It gave me a chance catch up and get to the saddle with them. They told me about the two options for the saddle traverse, they took the low road (much less 'exposure') because the dogs can't make the scramble over the top of the ridge.
We all reached the base of the final climb to the peak together but I was straining to keep up. I let them go ahead and told them I would see them at the top. The final climb to the peak was not too bad, a decent trail leads the way.
I made the peak and chatted with them for a while. I asked about a few of the trails in the area and got some good advice. We spotted the group of four guys far down on the north ridge, they had made it past the worst part. There was a large 'flock' of goats down below the peak, looked like they were mostly napping.
The couple with the dogs said goodbye and headed down just as I was leaving to go to the other, slightly lower, peak. I passed another solo hiker on the saddle between the peaks on his way back to the main peak. I took a large panorama from each peak, the second one should be better but the overcast sky will probably not look that great.
The temperature on the peaks was very comfortable, not too hot and not too cold or windy, in fact, it was surprisingly still air for over 11,200ft. The biggest problem was there were tons of annoying flies; too many to even get out my lunch. I had trouble even eating my apple with the flies swarming around me, in this case a little breeze would have been a good thing. I chatted a little with the first two of the four guys as they reached the peaks. They told me their climb up to the ridge was very difficult and quite scary. They said they were going to descend 'the easy way' that I had come up.
I left the 2nd peak just as the fourth of their group arrived, I headed back to the main peak and then back down the southeast ridge. I retraced the path I had come up stopping a few times to take photos. I could see the group of four heading down above me. At one point they were coming down in what looked like a very bad route, there was a large cliff at the headwall in the direction they were heading. I shouted and told them where I had come down and the problem with the cliff I could see that they couldn't from above. They took my advice and went up and around the cliff.
I stopped on the way down when there was a breeze to keep the flies away and ate my lunch. The other solo hiker I had seen between the peaks was visible descending below me. I never did catch up with him. The rest of the descent was uneventful; the temperature heated up as I got lower but never became unbearable. I didn't see many other hikers until I was within a mile of the trailhead.

Trailhead:  6,200 ft
Main Peak: 11,330 ft
Vertical:   5,130 ft
Climb:       3:40 h:mm

GPS Tracks: kml gpx
Google Maps: Terrain
Photos: flickr

Cascade Mountain Peak

Kirk and I decided to do a quick morning (before lunch) hike up to Cascade Mountain peak from the front (west) side. This is my second time to this summit and Kirk's first. There is still a small section of bushwhacking needed to enter the gully leading to the chute needed to climb from the front. There is only a small area where the gully can be safely entered so I suggest using a GPS with the provided track. There is a waypoint in my old track. We met at 5:00am and started hiking in the dark by moonlight at 8:35am, it was bright enough to cast a shadow. The hike up was cool and enjoyable, we reached the peak at about 8:30am. We spent a little over an hour on the peak including attending a work meeting. The hike down was hotter and also took about 3 hours.
GPS Tracks: kml gpx
Google Maps: Terrain

Timpanogos Backpacking Trip - Aug 2009

Nutmeg and I headed out from the Aspen Grove trailhead just after 5:00pm on Friday afternoon. Our plan was to camp overnight at Hidden Lakes and then hit the Timpanogos summit early Saturday morning and then maybe hit Robert's Horn in the afternoon and hike down late Saturday or Sunday morning.
The hike up to Hidden Lakes was uneventful other than running into the Colemans again and passing lots of day hikers going up and down. We chatted with the Colemans for a while and also talked to some TERT folks on the way up with backpacks. It was quite cool at Hidden Lakes and I quickly setup the tarp in a stand of trees I chose. I made rice and warmed up the frozen leftover Chana Masala I had brought with me. Nutmeg snubbed the dog food I carried for her and was only happy with some chunks of a peanut butter granola bar for dinner.
Though I had intended to get an early start in the morning it was quite cold and I slept in until about 7:00am. I heard cheering from the peak at about 6:45am which I assumed to be sunrise up there. We got packed up and ate a cold breakfast and headed up towards Emerald Lake with just a day pack. After looking at the glacier/snow field I decided to go up the conventional route over "the saddle". We passed many hikers on their way down presumably those who had been ont he peak for sunrise.
We reached the peak about 9:30am. We had a snack with the traditional apple, Nutmeg eats the core and a couple granola bars. It was bitter cold at the peak despite the sun. If there is one peice of advice I can give anyone climbing Mount Timpanogos: Take warm clothing including gloves and a beanie/knit stocking cap. After a 40 min stay on the summit we followed a couple of groups down to the glacier saddle, one group of boy scouts and three guys I had take a photo for at the peak.
Though all but one other adult hiked around the steepest part of the glacier at the top, Nutmeg and I took a wild ride using a couple of rocks for breaks. Again, the gloves were essential, those without them were doubled over in pain after sliding down using their hands ont he snow. I used my crampons to quickly descend the rest of the snow field including an additional slid down the north-west edge where it was steep enough.
I got down to the shelter at Emerald Lake and chatted with other hikers and the TERT team. The forcast was for snow down to 9500ft so I decided to skip Robert's Horn and head down the mountain. Nutmeg and I walked back to camp where we rested and I cooked a hot lunch. Nutmeg crashed out as soon as we got there.
I cooked, ate, cleaned up and packed for the trip down. The clouds and sun battled all durring lunch take over the sky with neither the clear winner. The good part was it was a cool afternoon for the walk down. It took about 2 hours to walk down from Hidden Lakes to the trailhead.

GPS Tracks: kml gpx
Google Maps: Terrain
Photos: Flickr

Red & White Baldy Loop

The goal of this Wasatch Eleveners outing was simple, hike to the top of Red Baldy and return. Before even leaving the trailhead a suggestion was made to also climb White Baldy. Just before reaching a mile up the trail a decision was made to hike Red Baldy first and then White baldy and come down Red Pine Canyon. We left the trailhead at about 8:20am after a few minutes of conversation.
The trip up White Pine Canyon was fairly uneventful except for Lori's close call with her brand new GPS. We were following the Wasatch Eleveners book route number 12.1. We found the spot on the 4WD road to turn uphill mostly by elevation. Those Lori said it was "close to the lake", the lake is not visible and about 3 tenths of a mile away so don't look for the lake to know when to turn. When you get to N40 32.542 W111 40.378, pick a spot that looks the best for going straight uphill.
We all made it to the Red Baldy peak by 11:30am where we ate and took photos until noon. There are many lakes visible form the peak including White Pine Lake, Silver Lake Flats Reservoir and Tibble Fork. You can't see Silver Lake from the Red Baldy Peak no matter what Lori says, however it does come into view later in the hike on the way over to White Baldy. Truthfully the hike up to Red Baldy Peak felt too easy for an Elevener, the off-trail climb was a challenge but just doesn't compare to most other Eleveners like Timpanogos, Pfeifferhorn or Box Elder.
When we left the peak and headed down the ridge towards White Baldy. This peak feels like a very real Evelener. Maybe it was tiredness from first climbing Red Baldy but this was a very tough hike. From the saddle between the two baldys, the climb up White Baldy is a long, challenging scramble over white granite rocks and boulders. I was sure that the hike down Red Pine Canyon had to be easier than going back the way we came. There are many great views along this ridge, we stopped and took photos several times.
We reached the peak all together at about 2:10, it took over 2 hours to get between the peaks, longer than any of us expected. We ate the second half of our lunches, provided medical treatment and took more photos. There was a bit of discussion on the best way down. I lobbied for following the book's trail (9.2) but others wanted to make their own path down into the steep, rocky and boulder strewn bowl above Upper Red Pine Lake. I headed down the ridge as the book suggest while the others were making their way off the ridge into the unknown. The first, mostly level section of the ridge was fairly easy going. Todd and I met up on the ridge after it turned the corner, my path was longer but easier going. We lost sign of Gene and Lori but kept heading along the ridge. The ridge trail was not as easy after the turn especially where it descended. Todd and I continued to pick our way along the ridge, each time the trail got painful the rocky boulder field below looked better and better but there were not any good place to get off the ridge visible.
We finally gave up on the ridge 'trail' when we saw a doable descent off the ridge and after a little bit of painful steep slippery going made it to some tundra in the bowl. We work our way over to the 'real' trail near the upper west pond. Though looking and yelling several times we never made visual contact with Gene and Lori in the bowl.
We followed the nice, real, mostly dirt trail down to the Lower Red Pine Lake where the Forest Service trail began. After crossing the bridge at the southeast end of the lake we found Gene and Lori relaxing in the shade. They claimed to have been waiting for about an hour after crossing the bowl in a more or less direct route form the White Baldy Peak ridge. They said the going was tough but it was much shorter than the route Todd and I had come down. It had taken Todd and I a little more than 3 hours to reach the lake from the peak, OUCH.
What no one had suggested on the peak was that going back to White Pine Canyon was the easy way down. Oh well, at least we got to see more new and interesting scenery. The hike down from the Lower Red Pine lake is a long slog after 8 miles of hiking over Red and White Baldy Peaks.
We arrive back at the trailhead at about 7:00 pm, a very long day. Lori stopped to soak her feet in the creek so if you are camping and get water from the stream and it tastes funny (funny as in "something smells funny") you will know why.

PS: These were my #7 and #8 Wasatch Eleveners, Booyah!

GPS Tracks: kml gpx
Google Maps: Terrain
GPS Tracks (Red Baldy 12.1): gpx
GPS Tracks (Red Baldy to White Baldy): gpx
GPS Tracks (White Baldy mostly 9.2): gpx
GPS Tracks (All of the above in one GPX): gpx

Photos: Flickr