Grandeur Peak - January 15, 2022

scatman

Member
.
Joined
Dec 23, 2013
Messages
3,629
My daughter headed back to Lewis and Clark for her spring semester today, so yesterday I gave her her choice of Grandeur or Mount Olympus, and she chose Grandeur. So unfortunately, you get another Grandeur trip report.

We haven't had a storm move through in almost two weeks here in Salt Lake, so the inversion has been building up in the valley. It was nice to get above it in the sunshine for a few hours. Down in Millcreek Canyon, at the trailhead, it was 19 degrees when we started our hike, but it was 36 and beautiful at the top when we took our early lunch.

Another thing about Grandeur are the trail runners. We saw more trail runners yesterday than I have ever seen on a trail before. I think Grandeur just might be the trail runners' capital of the world. :) 30 years ago, if I did a winter hike up Grandeur, I was lucky to see two or three other people. It has become a much more popular winter trail now.

Well, here are some shots from above the inversion.

01.jpg
Lots of cars at the trailhead at 8:10 am.

02.jpg
In the winter time, one has to hike through the Church Fork Picnic Area to reach the official trailhead.

03.jpg
Mount Raymond on the south side of Millcreek Canyon

04.jpg
Scatman camouflage :) Or don't look behind the conifer branch.

05.jpg
Church Fork

06.jpg
A sun lit Grandeur behind the trees

07.jpg
With no trees

08.jpg
Upper Church Fork

09.jpg
Obligatory Olympus shot

09b.jpg
Sunrise on Church Fork

10.jpg
A reflection of Scat. I stopped to sunscreen up.

11.jpg
Summit above

12.jpg
Scrub oak

13.jpg
Summit

14.jpg
Parley's Ridge and the inversion beyond

15.jpg
Hard to see, but the summit of Frary Peak, where we were last week, can be seen just above the inversion layer in the distance

16.jpg
Church Fork Peak

17.jpg
View to the north

17b.jpg
Lookout Peak

18.jpg
Mahogany solitude

20.jpg
A grapefruit - food of the gods. Now there is a story that I must tell. My first 14 years were spent in western North Carolina in a
little town called Asheville. While in Asheville, every Christmas, my dad's brother, who lived in Florida, would bring his family up
to stay with us for the holidays. There was one year that we had a really deep snow, so he didn't managed to make it up that year,
but when he did head north, he would always bring a large box of Florida grapefruits that were in season. They were so good! So now, when
December rolls around, I will buy two or three grapefruits for the week through the end of January, to remind me of some of my
childhood memories. This grapefruit was the last of three that I bought for the week.

21.jpg
Back in the day, my mom would halve the grapefruit and we would use a serrated spoon to scope out the section halves. Now, I
eat mine like an orange instead.

22.jpg
Sheer ecstacy as I eat a slice of grapefruit on the summit. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

23.jpg
A trail on the ridge to the northeast. What made it? A moose?

24.jpg
A zoomed in view

26.jpg
36 degrees at the top

25.jpg
I call this Mountain Opal

27.jpg
Unfortunately valley haze. Oquirrh Mountains to the west.

29.jpg
Valley haze sneaking up the canyon on our way down

30.jpg
Red rock

31.jpg
Red rock in Church Fork

32.jpg
Church Fork

32a.jpg
Hey, watch out for that tree. :scatman:

32b.jpg
Making our way through the picnic area and back to our car

33.jpg
Millcreek


The End.
 
hey I walked a portion of the N ridge of City Creek Canyon yesterday, so I think I'm in some of your photos here, as like 1% of a pixel

I thought I saw you out there. :D

How far up the ridge did you go? Did you make it to Dude Benchmark? What were the conditions like?
 
I didn't make it quite to Dude, got kind of tired and also most times I've been to Dude in January it's waist-deep postholing along the summit ridge there (probably wouldn't have been yesterday of course). I was in short sleeves on the way up but on the ridge there was a cool breeze, I took about 30 minutes to have lunch and coffee and got pretty cold!
 
I didn't make it quite to Dude, got kind of tired and also most times I've been to Dude in January it's waist-deep postholing along the summit ridge there (probably wouldn't have been yesterday of course). I was in short sleeves on the way up but on the ridge there was a cool breeze, I took about 30 minutes to have lunch and coffee and got pretty cold!

Good to know. Maybe a destination for next weekend. I've been thinking about a short hike up to Little Mountain also.
 
The trail runners break trail on an amazing number of trails. I cannot run like that.
I really like that mahogany shot. It's almost as good as the reflection glasses one.

So I do not ONLY think about food, and I do not want to derail, but as one eats a grapefruit with a serrated spoon there are 4 groups.
Plain, with sugar or with salt, or wild peeps can do sugar and salt...
I really like the latter, but have also been known to be more salty.
 
The trail runners break trail on an amazing number of trails. I cannot run like that.
I really like that mahogany shot. It's almost as good as the reflection glasses one.

So I do not ONLY think about food, and I do not want to derail, but as one eats a grapefruit with a serrated spoon there are 4 groups.
Plain, with sugar or with salt, or wild peeps can do sugar and salt...
I really like the latter, but have also been known to be more salty.

When I lived in NC, I put some sugar on my half of the grapefruit, but now I just eat the slices plain like an orange. I have never tried a grapefruit with salt. :thinking:
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
scatman Grandeur Peak - January 17, 2016 Hiking & Camping 7
scatman Grandeur Peak - Dragon Tail Route - June 10, 2023 Hiking & Camping 13
scatman Grandeur Peak - November 11, 2022 Hiking & Camping 15
scatman Grandeur Peak Loop - December 4, 2021 Hiking & Camping 4
scatman Grandeur Peak - Dagon's Tail Route - November 21, 2021 Hiking & Camping 9
scatman Grandeur Peak, The West Slope Approach - October 31, 2020 Hiking & Camping 7
scatman Grandeur Peak - West Slope Route - September 3, 2018 Hiking & Camping 12
scatman Grandeur Peak - February 16, 2015 Hiking & Camping 3
scatman Grandeur Peak - Dragon's Tail Ridge Route - November 28, 2014 Hiking & Camping 19
scatman Grandeur and Church Fork Peaks Loop - May 29, 2021 Hiking & Camping 19
TannerT Grandeur 1/16 Hiking & Camping 12
BobFink Goschute Mountains, NV , Pisgah Peak, Hawk Watch Migration Site Everything Else 2
TheMountainRabbit Ortenburger Lake, Talus Lake, & Glacier Peak (Grand Teton NP) - October 2023 Backpacking 14
scatman Ensign Peak to Grandview Peak - October 9, 2023 Hiking & Camping 30
scatman Yellowstone's Thorofare, Headwaters of Thorofare Creek, Majo Pass, Younts Peak, Bob's Canyon, and Cub Creek - August 9, 2023 - Days 7 through 10 Backpacking 34
scatman Yellowstone's Thorofare, Headwaters of Thorofare Creek, Majo Pass, Younts Peak, Bob's Canyon, and Cub Creek - August 9, 2023 - Days 1 through 6 Backpacking 56
RockyMntCol Trip Planning Younts Peak / South Fork Yellowstone Trip Planning 12
T Cloud Peak backpack Trip Planning 0
RockyMntCol Cloud Peak Wilderness Loop Trip Planning 1
scatman Reid's Peak - Uintas - July 22, 2023 Hiking & Camping 6
W Paper map for Teton Wilderness (Younts Peak) Gear 4
scatman Lookout Peak - May 27, 2023 Hiking & Camping 13
scatman Frary Peak - Antelope Island - February 20, 2023 Hiking & Camping 10
scatman Ensign Peak - November 24, 2022 Hiking & Camping 11
Titans What’s your unfinished business? Hard canyon access, mtn peak, you name it! General Discussion 54
ram Eldorado Peak 2022 Backpacking 3
TheMountainRabbit Younts Peak (Teton/Washakie Wilderness) - July 2022 Backpacking 22
regehr Lookout Peak 6/25/22 Hiking & Camping 3
scatman Unnamed Peak 8194 - June 25, 2022 Hiking & Camping 17
scatman Mendon Peak - Wellsville Mountain Wilderness - June 4, 2022 Hiking & Camping 13
scatman Dale Peak - May 22, 2022 Hiking & Camping 21
westy Invite Glacier Peak, Washington Meet Up (Members Only) 2
TheMountainRabbit Invite Younts Peak, July 2022 Meet Up (Members Only) 11
LarryBoy SLC: Terrace Hills Drive to Big Mountain Peak Trip Planning 16
ram Glacier Peak July 2021 Backpacking 9
scatman Frary Peak - Antelope Island - January 7, 2022 Hiking & Camping 21
Wanderlust073 Raleigh Peak Hiking & Camping 4
scatman Dale Peak - November 27, 2021 Hiking & Camping 3
K Kings Peak Trip Trip Planning 6
TrektheWorld Crater Lake and Lone Eagle Peak Backpacking 1
la_alpinista Thoughts on potential off trail routes in Cloud Peak Wilderness CPW Trip Planning 1
scatman Lone Peak - July 14, 2021 Hiking & Camping 28
Bob Yellowstone - Electric Peak visit Backpacking 2
scatman Lewiston Peak - May 15, 2021 Hiking & Camping 7
LarryBoy Looping the Highline: Gilbert Peak Edition Backpacking 13
scatman Peak 6551 - Lakeside Mountains - April 17, 2021 Hiking & Camping 7
napatony13 Trinity Alps-Grizzly Peak Trail Hiking & Camping 0
scatman Lookout Peak - January 16, 2021 Hiking & Camping 10
scatman Frary Peak - December 5, 2020 Hiking & Camping 10
scatman Church Fork Peak - November 28, 2020 Hiking & Camping 2

Similar threads

Back
Top