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- Apr 20, 2013
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I envy and salute all of you who have been to places so much cooler than myself this year. If you are reading this and haven't checked out those posts, sheesh, read them first!
This mountain that is pretty much my backyard holds plenty of allure, and one thing I love is looking up at some of the high places from the valley and trying to figure out how the heck the view from below figures into the places I go up above. Besides, it is a good way to pass time on nasty, boring commutes, so long as I do not run into the vehicle ahead of me...
Enough said. Friday, September 25, for my friend's birthday we slipped away early from our respective daily hassles and in near record heat started up the trail with a smile.
A couple of miles in, smoke was coming up from somewhere the other side of the ridge.
A trail runner, one of 3 people we saw that day, ran past and said it was burning near the Jacob's ladder trail, but the wind seemed to be pushing it back on itself, and no one was fighting it.
A little trepidation, but only a little.
A view of the hassle far below.
Inviting beauty above.
Once in the cooler air above 8500' and near flowing water, the aspens were out in force.
My grin only grew and grew.
I took alot of photos through here...
Then up near the head of Bear Canyon, and the whole reason we had used Cherry Canyon- instead of the shorter Jacob's ladder- there was the spring.
Excellent refreshment.
We tanked up while surrounded by deer at some of the only running water this side of the mountain.
Climbing out the shoulder of Bear, towards Little Willow.
A bit more up and down through golden deliciousness, and late afternoon light.
Tinder gives way to gold studded pines. Deserving of a panorama.
SLC in the distance.
Following the trail into the upper reaches of Little Willow.
Nice views.
A late start, too much time drinking, and too many photos meant the upper reaches of the bowl near Outlaw cabin became our campsite.
Sunset was nice.
The weather was perfect. Summer sausage and bagel sandwiches gave way to talking and listening to music until the near full moon was high in the sky. Deer passed by constantly, crashing off if we laughed too loud.
The moon lights up the bowl, and the valley lights just make it through the trees.
Slept wonderfully in a 45d bag at over 9,500' in September with my puffy coat as a pillow... Nice.
Woke up near 430am without a desire to sleep much more, so watched the stars and moon, all from the comfort of my bag.
Took this picture of the view about 530am.
Sunrise was great, but taking photos of it left us with a later start for the peak than planned.
Gold trees, golden, windy morning.
Climbed the ridge past the cabin, on towards the peak.
Utah Valley and Utah Lake down below. If the picture were full size you could see a half dozen deer down there, staring back up at me.
Sun a coming.
The last bit to the peak has at least a half dozen trails through the granite and some interesting areas. Then there are a few ways to gain the final ridge. This is my friend climbing up the last bit of probably the most common route, with the cirque below.
Bell Canyon, Twin Peaks, Mt Olympus and beyond.
I mock-waved at my parents enjoying Oktoberfest and their tram ride to the top of Snowbird a couple miles over, and kept moving on up.
Negotiating the ridge.
Then it was back down for a bite to eat and to pick up the packs.
A view back to the peak.
We ran into some people we knew in the bowl below, lucky as we only saw a couple dozen people the whole trip.
Some more aspen and rock.
Near the main camping area where a few others were staying.
More gold, looking back towards Utah Lake.
The fire had jumped the main trail here, a few patches were still smoldering and you could feel the heat in a few areas we walked by.
A last shot of the rugged beauty before making our way over to go down Jacob's ladder.
After the slip and slide down Jacob's we hit the road/trail and suffered in the heat to the trailhead hoping to hitch a ride down the 3.5 miles of corner canyon road that lay ahead of us. It was actually about the same mileage to walk to my house along one of the other corner canyon trails, but we needed the car.
Luckily, a mile into the 3.5 we got a lift. Thank you to the young couple in the truck who picked up a couple of stinky strangers.
This mountain lovingly kicks me in the teeth every time I make the ascent, but this was a great overnight trip.
Featured image for home page:
This mountain that is pretty much my backyard holds plenty of allure, and one thing I love is looking up at some of the high places from the valley and trying to figure out how the heck the view from below figures into the places I go up above. Besides, it is a good way to pass time on nasty, boring commutes, so long as I do not run into the vehicle ahead of me...
Enough said. Friday, September 25, for my friend's birthday we slipped away early from our respective daily hassles and in near record heat started up the trail with a smile.
A couple of miles in, smoke was coming up from somewhere the other side of the ridge.
A trail runner, one of 3 people we saw that day, ran past and said it was burning near the Jacob's ladder trail, but the wind seemed to be pushing it back on itself, and no one was fighting it.
A little trepidation, but only a little.
A view of the hassle far below.
Inviting beauty above.
Once in the cooler air above 8500' and near flowing water, the aspens were out in force.
My grin only grew and grew.
I took alot of photos through here...
Then up near the head of Bear Canyon, and the whole reason we had used Cherry Canyon- instead of the shorter Jacob's ladder- there was the spring.
Excellent refreshment.
We tanked up while surrounded by deer at some of the only running water this side of the mountain.
Climbing out the shoulder of Bear, towards Little Willow.
A bit more up and down through golden deliciousness, and late afternoon light.
Tinder gives way to gold studded pines. Deserving of a panorama.
SLC in the distance.
Following the trail into the upper reaches of Little Willow.
Nice views.
A late start, too much time drinking, and too many photos meant the upper reaches of the bowl near Outlaw cabin became our campsite.
Sunset was nice.
The weather was perfect. Summer sausage and bagel sandwiches gave way to talking and listening to music until the near full moon was high in the sky. Deer passed by constantly, crashing off if we laughed too loud.
The moon lights up the bowl, and the valley lights just make it through the trees.
Slept wonderfully in a 45d bag at over 9,500' in September with my puffy coat as a pillow... Nice.
Woke up near 430am without a desire to sleep much more, so watched the stars and moon, all from the comfort of my bag.
Took this picture of the view about 530am.
Sunrise was great, but taking photos of it left us with a later start for the peak than planned.
Gold trees, golden, windy morning.
Climbed the ridge past the cabin, on towards the peak.
Utah Valley and Utah Lake down below. If the picture were full size you could see a half dozen deer down there, staring back up at me.
Sun a coming.
The last bit to the peak has at least a half dozen trails through the granite and some interesting areas. Then there are a few ways to gain the final ridge. This is my friend climbing up the last bit of probably the most common route, with the cirque below.
Bell Canyon, Twin Peaks, Mt Olympus and beyond.
I mock-waved at my parents enjoying Oktoberfest and their tram ride to the top of Snowbird a couple miles over, and kept moving on up.
Negotiating the ridge.
Then it was back down for a bite to eat and to pick up the packs.
A view back to the peak.
We ran into some people we knew in the bowl below, lucky as we only saw a couple dozen people the whole trip.
Some more aspen and rock.
Near the main camping area where a few others were staying.
More gold, looking back towards Utah Lake.
The fire had jumped the main trail here, a few patches were still smoldering and you could feel the heat in a few areas we walked by.
A last shot of the rugged beauty before making our way over to go down Jacob's ladder.
After the slip and slide down Jacob's we hit the road/trail and suffered in the heat to the trailhead hoping to hitch a ride down the 3.5 miles of corner canyon road that lay ahead of us. It was actually about the same mileage to walk to my house along one of the other corner canyon trails, but we needed the car.
Luckily, a mile into the 3.5 we got a lift. Thank you to the young couple in the truck who picked up a couple of stinky strangers.
This mountain lovingly kicks me in the teeth every time I make the ascent, but this was a great overnight trip.
Featured image for home page:
