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- Dec 23, 2013
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This will be my final weekend training hike for Maybird Gulch on the 9th, so I chose to do a loop hike that summits Grandeur Peak. Normally, when I do this loop hike, I take the West Slope trail the the top of Grandeur, but this time I wanted to head up the Dragon Tail route. The loop distance heading up the West Slope is approximately 12.4 miles, so I am assuming that the Dragon Tail is roughly the same since it just heads up the ridge to the south of the West Slope Trail. I also had a special guest star show up as @Ugly decided to join me on this one.
Now the trail up the Dragon's Tail is a steep one and I struggled mightily for the first 2 miles. Ugly was kind enough to keep at my pace though which probably made him late for his RSL gig later in the evening. Once on top, we ate our lunches before heading back down through Church Fork. It was supposed to get up to 82 in the valley on Saturday, and we could feel the heat the further we dropped down the Church Fork drainage. Once we reached the pipeline trail, we stopped for a quick rest and snack before heading west along the pipeline to reach an overlook of the Salt Lake Valley. From the Pipeline Trail junction until the end of our hike the trail was exposed with little shade, and the last half of our hike was a hot one.
From there, it was the Bonneville Shoreline Trail that let us complete our loop and back to our vehicles that were parked on north end of Wasatch Drive. There were a lot of long switchbacks to deal with on the last stretch.
I shot with my Canon XSi which has a 12.2 MP sensor and was release back in 2008. I do think the images from the XS that I shot with the previous weekend had a better quality to them.
Here is our hike:
Overview map
We shoved off around 7:00 am, and are hiking along a service road just above the trailhead at this point. Part of the Dragon's Tail
Can be seen above.
If you like Mount Olympus then this hike is for you as you get lots of good looks as you work your way up and around Grandeur
Cutting off onto the Dragon Tail route up Grandeur
Low cryptantha
View up an unnamed gulch with the Dragon's Tail above
Phlox
Arrowleaf balsamroot
Reaching the lower end of the tail
Steep climb from here up the the main part of the Dragon's Tail
The Dragon's Tail
Calves are burning at this point
Paintbrush emerges from the rock crack
Nice little outcrop to get one's picture taken on with REI just off to my left down below
She stared at us the entire time we were within view of her.
A chukar stayed still for a long time before flying off
A nice little mahogany forest were we stopped for a break after two hours of hiking
My snack to hopefully get me to the top of Grandeur
The summit of Grandeur finally comes into view for us
Glacier lilies were common on the small rocky ridge before the final climb to the summit
The ridge we had to cross to reach the final climb
The scrub oak was still leafless
Goosefoot violets
Ugly and Olympus
Some nice orange lichen
About to connect with the main, and popular trail out of Church Fork, with the Grandeur summit above.
Summit shot
And views from the summit
My lunch. I substituted and orange for an apple this week
Mmm. . . . . habanero cheese
Just liked the colors here on this Oregon grape leaf
Some leafless aspen shots on our way down into Church Fork
Ugly, enjoying the view down into Church Fork
Yellow bells
View down Church Fork
Woodland stars
Ball-head waterleaf
View of Grandeur from down in Church Fork
Break time at the junction with the Pipeline Trail. Hot hiking from this point on.
View back up Millcreek Canyon from the Pipeline Trail
The Pipeline Trail
View down Millcreek Canyon towards the mouth of the canyon
South side of Grandeur
More phlox
And some vetch
Approaching Rattlesnake Gulch
Is this Mount Whitney Portal?
Lots of switchbacks coming up out of Rattlesnake Gulch
That way to the switchbacks
More south side of Grandeur at the head of Rattlesnake Gulch
Thayne Peak
Leaving Forest Service land
Still huffing it on the Pipeline
Triangle (or Hobbs) Peak across the canyon
View back up at Grandeur from the overlook
Ugly and Grandeur. Hitting the Shoreline Trail back to our vehicles
Long, numerous and hot switchbacks on this section of the Shoreline Trail
Bitterbrush in bloom along the Shoreline
And dessert alyssum
Looking up at the main section of the Dragon Tail, where we were at earlier in the day
Balsamroot
A lone cedar
Back on the service road with Grandeur above
Back at the Jeep
And Ugly heading towards his truck.
I stopped off at Walmart for some grapefruit juice and got this shot from the parking lot, of Grandeur with the ridge we hiked up
I burned some major calories on this hike, so a combo pizza was in order for dinner
Along with a nice Cherry Bliss Big Bad Baptist from EPIC Brewery.
I imagined that @Ugly was having a nice big J Dawg smothered with sour kraut, onions, pickles with some jalapeños and yellow mustard at the RSL game. Man Ugly, you are making me hungry just typing this up.
Next week Maybird! God help me!
The End.
Now the trail up the Dragon's Tail is a steep one and I struggled mightily for the first 2 miles. Ugly was kind enough to keep at my pace though which probably made him late for his RSL gig later in the evening. Once on top, we ate our lunches before heading back down through Church Fork. It was supposed to get up to 82 in the valley on Saturday, and we could feel the heat the further we dropped down the Church Fork drainage. Once we reached the pipeline trail, we stopped for a quick rest and snack before heading west along the pipeline to reach an overlook of the Salt Lake Valley. From the Pipeline Trail junction until the end of our hike the trail was exposed with little shade, and the last half of our hike was a hot one.
From there, it was the Bonneville Shoreline Trail that let us complete our loop and back to our vehicles that were parked on north end of Wasatch Drive. There were a lot of long switchbacks to deal with on the last stretch.I shot with my Canon XSi which has a 12.2 MP sensor and was release back in 2008. I do think the images from the XS that I shot with the previous weekend had a better quality to them.
Here is our hike:
Overview map
We shoved off around 7:00 am, and are hiking along a service road just above the trailhead at this point. Part of the Dragon's Tail
Can be seen above.
If you like Mount Olympus then this hike is for you as you get lots of good looks as you work your way up and around Grandeur
Cutting off onto the Dragon Tail route up Grandeur
Low cryptantha
View up an unnamed gulch with the Dragon's Tail above
Phlox
Arrowleaf balsamroot
Reaching the lower end of the tail
Steep climb from here up the the main part of the Dragon's Tail
The Dragon's Tail
Calves are burning at this point
Paintbrush emerges from the rock crack
Nice little outcrop to get one's picture taken on with REI just off to my left down below
She stared at us the entire time we were within view of her.
A chukar stayed still for a long time before flying off
A nice little mahogany forest were we stopped for a break after two hours of hiking
My snack to hopefully get me to the top of Grandeur
The summit of Grandeur finally comes into view for us
Glacier lilies were common on the small rocky ridge before the final climb to the summit
The ridge we had to cross to reach the final climb
The scrub oak was still leafless
Goosefoot violets
Ugly and Olympus
Some nice orange lichen
About to connect with the main, and popular trail out of Church Fork, with the Grandeur summit above.
Summit shot
And views from the summit
My lunch. I substituted and orange for an apple this week
Mmm. . . . . habanero cheese
Just liked the colors here on this Oregon grape leaf
Some leafless aspen shots on our way down into Church Fork
Ugly, enjoying the view down into Church Fork
Yellow bells
View down Church Fork
Woodland stars
Ball-head waterleaf
View of Grandeur from down in Church Fork
Break time at the junction with the Pipeline Trail. Hot hiking from this point on.
View back up Millcreek Canyon from the Pipeline Trail
The Pipeline Trail
View down Millcreek Canyon towards the mouth of the canyon
South side of Grandeur
More phlox
And some vetch
Approaching Rattlesnake Gulch
Is this Mount Whitney Portal?
Lots of switchbacks coming up out of Rattlesnake GulchThat way to the switchbacks
More south side of Grandeur at the head of Rattlesnake Gulch
Thayne Peak
Leaving Forest Service land
Still huffing it on the Pipeline
Triangle (or Hobbs) Peak across the canyon
View back up at Grandeur from the overlook
Ugly and Grandeur. Hitting the Shoreline Trail back to our vehicles
Long, numerous and hot switchbacks on this section of the Shoreline Trail
Bitterbrush in bloom along the Shoreline
And dessert alyssum
Looking up at the main section of the Dragon Tail, where we were at earlier in the day
Balsamroot
A lone cedar
Back on the service road with Grandeur above
Back at the Jeep
And Ugly heading towards his truck.
I stopped off at Walmart for some grapefruit juice and got this shot from the parking lot, of Grandeur with the ridge we hiked up
I burned some major calories on this hike, so a combo pizza was in order for dinner
Along with a nice Cherry Bliss Big Bad Baptist from EPIC Brewery.
I imagined that @Ugly was having a nice big J Dawg smothered with sour kraut, onions, pickles with some jalapeños and yellow mustard at the RSL game. Man Ugly, you are making me hungry just typing this up.
Next week Maybird! God help me!
The End.
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