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I had planned to post this hike in the Members of Backcountrypost.com, but after finishing the hike, I knew I had to create a trip report instead. There are some unwritten rules here at BCP, and one of them is if you see a snapper, a rattler, or a grizzler, then you must write up a trip report. It is just understood.
Sometimes you head out on a hike or backpacking trip, and everything just falls into place. That's what happened on my hike up Beacon Hill (Mount Wire) with Sheila today.
First off, the wildflowers were spectacular. From the vetch down low to the mule-ears up top, it just never stopped. I don't think I've ever seen such abundant flowers on Beacon as I did today. Normally, I have given up the foothill hikes by June, but Sheila is gradually getting her heel back to normal and Beacon Hill was the next step in her recovery and I'm gald we did.
Second, we ran into a den of rattlesnakes on our way down which was way cool. I must have taken one hundred pictures of them. And their rattles going off was like a symphony.
Third, I was able to make it to the top of the old airplane beacon on the summit of Wire. It was a bot challenging as my knees weren't bending like they should, probably due to the hike up Olympus last week.
And fourth, I think I ran into some black bear scat on the way down. Not sure what else it could have been.
The camera rotation continues with the canon Rebel T5i, which was released in 2013.
Anyway, here are some shots from a fantastic day on Beacon Hill. You might want to pull up a chair, pop some popcorn, and enjoy the wildflower, particularly vetch, show.
We hit the trailhead about 8:30 am
Yarrow
Spider milkweed
Toadflax
Various vetches early on
Some funky clouds above Red Butte
A spider (Desert Grass Spider) awaits its prey
Yellow salsify
Lewis flax
More yarrow
A bumble bee (Nevada Bumble Bee) on some vetch
Fireweed
Hookers onion
More salsify
More vetch - get used to it.
Sulphur buckwheat
Some beat up arrowleaf balsamroot
The trailhead is down by the new building (green) being constructed in Research Park
Getting a good look across the valley, or Pretty in Pink the sequel.
Blue flax
Hoary pincushion
Wasatch beardtongue
The Mount Wire trail
A geranium
A Rocky Mountain dwarf sunflower
Lupine
Woods roses
More lupine
Geraniums
Larkspur
Wasatch beardtongue
A ladybug
More hookers onion
A lizard
More beardtongue
Rocky Mountain dwarf sunflowers
Am inchworm maybe?
More dwarf sunflowers
A Lazuli Bunting
Beautiful vetch
Lupine, mule-ears and dwarf sunflowers
Mountain ninebark
A swallowtail
Sheila among the mule-ears
Lewis flax
Vetch and mule-ears
Another wild rose
A blue butterfly
A horned lizard
Mule-ears line the trail
Hawksbeard
And of course more vetch
Me, underneath my favorite Mountain Mahogany tree
Approaching the beacon
Mule-ears
More larkspur
A few leafed pea (wild pea)
The only nice bunch of balsamroot that I saw on the entire hike, located just below the summit
The beacon
The beacon at 60! Or maybe 
This lady was taking a picture of her dog, overlooking Emigration Canyon, with her new Fuji camera
View into red Butte Canyon, with Grandview peak in the far distance
View up Emigration Canyon
From the top of the beacon
View south of the Wasatch Front
The Beacon benchmark
The Canon Rebel T5i
Prickly pear cacti almost ready to bloom
Another horned lizard as we start back down
More Sulphur buckwheat
Wasatch beardtongue
Mountain mahogany
Is this bear scat? @Outdoor_Fool help!
Juniper tree
Thistle
Sego Lilies. We expected to see these on our Van Cott Loop hike two weeks ago, but didn't.
Spreading fleabane
And what do we have here?
A group of at least six rattlesnakes along a rocky outcrop. Perhaps this is their den? Pretty cool!
Sheila, making her way off of Beacon Hill
A magpie posed for me
See the Sube way down there?
Looking for Pennywise.
Time to donate again at ARUP
A combo pizza for dinner
And a Big Bad Baptist Old Fashioned Imperial Stout to was it all down. I didn't particularly like this flavor.
The End.
Sometimes you head out on a hike or backpacking trip, and everything just falls into place. That's what happened on my hike up Beacon Hill (Mount Wire) with Sheila today.
First off, the wildflowers were spectacular. From the vetch down low to the mule-ears up top, it just never stopped. I don't think I've ever seen such abundant flowers on Beacon as I did today. Normally, I have given up the foothill hikes by June, but Sheila is gradually getting her heel back to normal and Beacon Hill was the next step in her recovery and I'm gald we did.
Second, we ran into a den of rattlesnakes on our way down which was way cool. I must have taken one hundred pictures of them. And their rattles going off was like a symphony.
Third, I was able to make it to the top of the old airplane beacon on the summit of Wire. It was a bot challenging as my knees weren't bending like they should, probably due to the hike up Olympus last week.
And fourth, I think I ran into some black bear scat on the way down. Not sure what else it could have been.
The camera rotation continues with the canon Rebel T5i, which was released in 2013.
Anyway, here are some shots from a fantastic day on Beacon Hill. You might want to pull up a chair, pop some popcorn, and enjoy the wildflower, particularly vetch, show.
We hit the trailhead about 8:30 am
Yarrow
Spider milkweed
Toadflax
Various vetches early on
Some funky clouds above Red Butte
A spider (Desert Grass Spider) awaits its prey
Yellow salsify
Lewis flax
More yarrow
A bumble bee (Nevada Bumble Bee) on some vetch
Fireweed
Hookers onion
More salsify
More vetch - get used to it.
Sulphur buckwheat
Some beat up arrowleaf balsamroot
The trailhead is down by the new building (green) being constructed in Research Park
Getting a good look across the valley, or Pretty in Pink the sequel.
Blue flax
Hoary pincushion
Wasatch beardtongue
The Mount Wire trail
A geranium
A Rocky Mountain dwarf sunflower
Lupine
Woods roses
More lupine
Geraniums
Larkspur
Wasatch beardtongue
A ladybug
More hookers onion
A lizard
More beardtongue
Rocky Mountain dwarf sunflowers
Am inchworm maybe?
More dwarf sunflowers
A Lazuli Bunting
Beautiful vetch
Lupine, mule-ears and dwarf sunflowers
Mountain ninebark
A swallowtail
Sheila among the mule-ears
Lewis flax
Vetch and mule-ears
Another wild rose
A blue butterfly
A horned lizard
Mule-ears line the trail
Hawksbeard
And of course more vetch
Me, underneath my favorite Mountain Mahogany tree
Approaching the beacon
Mule-ears
More larkspur
A few leafed pea (wild pea)
The only nice bunch of balsamroot that I saw on the entire hike, located just below the summit
The beacon
The beacon at 60!
Or maybe This lady was taking a picture of her dog, overlooking Emigration Canyon, with her new Fuji camera
View into red Butte Canyon, with Grandview peak in the far distance
View up Emigration Canyon
From the top of the beacon
View south of the Wasatch Front
The Beacon benchmark
The Canon Rebel T5i
Prickly pear cacti almost ready to bloom
Another horned lizard as we start back down
More Sulphur buckwheat
Wasatch beardtongue
Mountain mahogany
Is this bear scat? @Outdoor_Fool help!
Juniper tree
Thistle
Sego Lilies. We expected to see these on our Van Cott Loop hike two weeks ago, but didn't.
Spreading fleabane
And what do we have here?
A group of at least six rattlesnakes along a rocky outcrop. Perhaps this is their den? Pretty cool!
Sheila, making her way off of Beacon Hill
A magpie posed for me
See the Sube way down there?
Looking for Pennywise.
Time to donate again at ARUP
A combo pizza for dinner
And a Big Bad Baptist Old Fashioned Imperial Stout to was it all down. I didn't particularly like this flavor.
The End.
