Mount Olympus Hike

Sunday was Susan's last full day in town and we decided to try for a summit. After all, how can you come all the way to Utah to hike and not at least get one summit in! Given the unbelievable amount of snow we still have lying around the Wasatch, we were having a hard time deciding on our objective for the day.

Using my handy "Hiking the Wasatch" by John Veranth, we decided to head up Mount Olympus, which tops out at 9,026 feet. The description from the book, "The distinctive shape of Mount Olympus dominates he view from much of the valley's east side, and the summit is a popular objective. The trail has switchbacks up open foothills, a climb through dense forest, an easy rock scramble at the top, and spectacular views all along the way. "

The author pretty much has it right - popular equals lots of people, dense forest means lots of biting black flies, and spectacular views ... well that one pretty much says it all.

We started up a little after 10AM and the parking lot at the trailhead was already full of cars. Going up the initial switchbacks we ran into a number of people who were using the bottom portion for trail running. We also ran into a number of people headed back down with their dogs. Turns out the trail is very convenient to much of Salt Lake and people enjoy using the bottom portion of the trail for their morning exercise.

As well as seeing a fair number of people coming back down the trail, we were also experiencing some pretty strong winds anytime the trail was exposed to the south. At times the wind would blow at 25 to 35 mph. This made me a bit nervous when I considered the 600 ft scramble we would need to make to reach the summit. However, having nothing better to do we pushed onward to see what lay ahead.

Although not as scenic as Bells Canyon, in my opinion, the trail did have plenty to see. For instance, the lower portion had numerous wild flowers in bloom.



There were also many picturesque trees along the way.



Not long after crossing a small stream, where a number of people were relaxing, the trail entered the dense forest that the author mentioned. The upside to this portion of the hike was the abundant shade and the shielding from the wind. Of course with every upside there is generally an offsetting downside. In this case, it was the biting black flies. Although the trail through here is fairly steep, everytime we stopped to catch our breath the pestering of the biting black flies would drive us onward.

The trail eventually brought us to a ridge where there was enough wind to keep the flies at bay. The ridge also provided us the first view of the summit we had since leaving the trailhead.



As well as a good view of the summit, there were good views to the mountains south of Olympus.



After a bit of lunch, we left the ridge and started the scramble up the final 600 ft to the peak. The scramble turned out to be the best part of the hike. You can get a feel for it with this next picture.



And the corresponding picture of Susan.



The summit had the spectacular views that had been promised. You could see from the southern end of the valley to Point of the Mountain and Utah Lake all the way to the north with the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island.



The summit also provided spectacular views of the mountains to the south of us. Starting on the left side of the picture below, you can see Broads Fork Twin Peaks, the Pfeifferhorn and Lone Peak.



In this picture you can see Dromedary, Sunrise and Broads Fork Twin Peaks. As you can see there is still a fair amount of snow in the higher elevations.



Finally after standing around on the highest point I could find, we headed back down. Overall I think Susan enjoyed her first trip to Utah and the beautiful hiking to be found in the Wasatch.

Stewart Falls

After hiking around in Bells Canyon the day before, Susan and I decided to take it a bit easier on Saturday. I thought a drive on the Alpine Scenic Loop would be nice and we could stop along the way and find some nice easy trails to wander on. The idea was sound, but unfortunately the Loop was still closed due to snow and avalanche debris. So instead we stopped at the Aspen Grove trailhead and headed out on a pleasant little two mile hike to Stewart Falls.

Stewart Falls is a two-tiered waterfall on the east side of Mount Timpanogos. The first thing that we noticed was the massive avalanche right at the beginning of the trailhead. Most of the snow had melted away, but there was still a fair amount of avalanche debris that the park service had not had a chance to clear away.

About a mile into the hike we came upon another large avalanche, only this time there was still a good amount of snow as you can see in the picture below.



Between the snow and the debris we had a hard time seeing where the trail might pick up on the far side. Below is another picture that gives a better feel for the amount of damage that an avalance can do.



The waterfall itself was well worth the two mile hike. Given the amount of snow melt this year, the fall is going at a pretty good clip. It makes me wonder what it looks like in years where we have not had as much snow.



The bottom of the fall was covered with the third avalanche field of the hike. The running water had a carved a large tunnel underneath the snow, which was interesting but the snow did not look stable enough to risk going through.



Overall it was a fun little hike that just about anyone could do.

Bell's Canyon Hike

While looking for information on hiking Bells Canyon I came across the following description from a University of Utah website, "Sitting on the Wasatch Front of the Salt Lake Valley, Bell's Canyon straddles the eastern tectonic and geomorphologic boundary of the Basin and Range province. Bell's Canyon is a steep, narrow glacial valley terminated by well-preserved Pleistocene moraines at its mouth. Offsetting the moraines are wonderfully exposed segments of the Wasatch Fault, while sediments of glacial Lake Bonneville crop out westward in the Salt Lake Valley..."

Whatever! It is a great hike, at least the portion my sister, Susan, and I were able to complete before the snow became too deep for us cross without snowshoes.

The trail head begins right off of Wasatch Blvd and cuts through some privately owned land. The trail follows a swift moving stream and is moderately steep at the beginning.

Very quickly you come upon Lower Bells Canyon Reservoir. This is the first real view you have of where the trail will take you. The end of the trail is at Upper Bells Canyon Reservoir, about 4000 feet up from here and around the bend to the right in the picture.



After you circle around the left side of the lower reservoir, the trail generally follows the stream that is in the picture below. For the most part, the trail is in the shade and is easy to follow.



Here is another good view of the stream and the surrounding forest. Although the trail is somewhat steep, the scenery is spectacular and makes the climb much more enjoyable.



When the trail does leave the cover of the forest you are greeted to the north with excellent views of the Bell Towers. This a popular rock climbing area, although we did not see anyone the day we were hiking. The picture below is of the middle Bell Tower, described by Utah Pictures as "[the] home to the classic rock climb, Arm and Hammer III 5.11d, which climbs over a long flake known as The Zion Curtain."



View of the Salt Lake valley. You can see Salt Lake and part of Antelope Island in the distance. Also notice that the valley is in the sun for the most part. As we hiked further up the canyon the clouds became thicker over Lone Peak and Thunder Mountain.



As we made it up towards 7,800 ft the we started seeing significant amounts of snow. Although the snow fields were pretty consolidated and therefore, fairly easy to cross without too much postholing, we were having a hard time finding the trail. Since the area was not too steep we decided to follow some deer tracks and continued bushwhacking upwards.



As we followed the deer and moved upwards we could see Bell's Cleaver, a ridge that separates Thunder Bowl from Upper Bell Canyon. In the picture below, you can see Bell's Cleaver to the right and we were working our way towards the bottom of the ridge that runs down and to the left in the picture.



At this point in the hike we were at 8150 ft and the hike was becoming fairly steep. In addition, we were not positive on the location of the trail and therefore, having to do a fair amount of bushwhacking through thigh high snow. Finally, to top it off it started snowing! Although we were badly tempted to continue up the ridge towards the upper reservoir, we decided it was better to save it for another day.