Mount Olympus - South Peak - 5/4/14

[scatman]

I wandered up Mount Olympus yesterday as I begin to get in shape for my Wildcat Ridge hike on the 25th of May. I arrived at the trailhead at approximately 8:30 am with a slight breeze blowing from the east. I've packed my day pack with 3 liters of water (1 frozen), 1 liter of Gatorade , my lunch, micro spikes just in case, and an eight pound sandbell.


trailhead sign

It always takes me a good fifteen to twenty minutes for my knees/hips...... make it every joint in my body to warm up to the task.


view from above the trailhead


wilderness sign

It's a steady climb with a few switchbacks as you gradually work your way to overlooking Tolcat's Canyon where you will then parallel the canyon until you cross the steam.


Tolcat's Canyon


crossing stream in Tolcat's

After crossing the stream, the trail gets considerably steeper as you make your way to the saddle. I encountered some snow just below the saddle but it is manageable with just my boots.


approaching the saddle


looking north towards the top of the south peak of Mount Olympus


view to the south from the saddle of Broads Fork Twin Peaks

Once at the saddle, you've got about a six hundred foot scramble to get to the top. This turned out to be a little trickier than normal due to wet rocks because of snow melt.


Triangle Peak along Wildcat Ridge

I made it to the top in two hours and twenty minutes; where I then enjoyed the view and my lunch.


top of Mount Olympus


north summit of Mount Olympus


looking east towards Triangle Peak and Wildcat Ridge - viewed from the top of Mount Olympus


Broads Fork Twin Peaks
I stayed up top for about an hour where I enjoyed my lunch, and chatted with a couple other hikers who were from San Diego.
I then made my way back down where I stopped and watched a gentleman scrambling up the rocky spine towards the saddle. Further on down the trail I encountered a nice bull snake moving across the trail.

man scrambling up the spine to the saddle

Bull Snake

A great hike, if you have half a day to kill, that I have done numerous times over the years. I'll be heading back this Saturday and then again the following Sunday so that I'm ready for the all-day Wildcat Ridge.

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[Nick]

That's quite the training exercise. I will be doing this hike within the next few weeks so I'd love to hear if you go back up and find the snow is gone. I'm guessing I shouldn't wait until it's too warm out but for photos I'd like to let things green up a bit.

Thanks for posting!

 

[uintahiker]

Great hike! I saw a rattlesnake up there a few years ago. The Wasatch peaks in the late spring/ early summer are great to hike.

 

[nonameiwant]

I love this hike up but hate the hike down.

Good luck on your Traverse across wildcat Ridge!

 

[scatman]

Well, I made it up Olympus again on Saturday with conditions a little worse than the previous week. Just after the halfway point up the mountain, a rather large black storm cloud moved over and it began to hail then turned to snow. I continued on to the top but there was not much to see. I'm hoping to get back up there next Sunday. I'm riding the Salt Lake Century on Saturday, so if I have enough energy left after my ride I'll attempt it.


Clouds moving in


Approaching the saddle


The saddle


The top of Mount Olympus


Looking east towards Wildcat Ridge


Looking north towards the north summit of Mount Olympus

 

[Nick]

Sweet pics of being up there in the storm. Kind of eerie!

 

[Nick]

@scatman - I'm curious if you've been back up since that last trip.

 

[scatman]

Nick - Sorry, I've been slacking and didn't get my report up yesterday. I made it up on Sunday. I started at the trailhead at 8:00 am and it took me about 2 hours and 35 minutes to get to the top. I also hauled up a 12 lb. sandbell along with my water and lunch and other goodies, so my pack weight was approximately 23 lbs. I've slowly been upping the pack weight on each trip to roughly what I think I'll be carrying this coming Sunday along Wildcat Ridge.

Quite a bit of snow has melted on the way up since eight days ago. There is still a touch as you approach the saddle and a reasonable amount on top between the rocks.

The hike was good from a wildlife perspective this time. I saw a grouse, a hawk, and four mountain goats on the north summit plus another bull snake on the way down. I watched the mountain goats for about an hour up top while I ate lunch. Boy, I wish I could get around on the rocks like they do!


Yours truly on top of Olympus


Wildcat Ridge beyond my boot - still appears to be a lot of snow up there


Grandeur Peak to the north


12 lb. sandbell resting before the trip down


Mountain goats on the north summit - Sorry, the best zoom I could get


Bull snake seen on the way down

Well, I'm looking forward to Wildcat Ridge coming up this Sunday. I've never done the traverse before but have read that it is an all-day affair. I'll post a report after I recover!