THE MT TIMPANOGOS HIKE

Poulin and I decided to take a day and hike to the summit of Mount Timpanogos, the 11,749 foot mountain peak that overlooks Utah County to the west and Summit and Wasatch counties to the east. It was an incredible day and an incredible hike that kicked both our butts and left us feeling a lot closer to thirty than to twenty thats for sure. It was probably just the elevation though. Yeah, yeah thats it. The elevation. The trailhead starts on the heavily wooded east side of the mountain and twists and climbs for 4.5 miles up to Emerald Lake and then continues for another mile and a half up to the Timp summit. All the photos before Emerald Lake are either looking east over Summit and Wasatch Counties or just looking up the mountain. Apparently August is also the best time of year to see the millions of wildflowers that bloom all along the trail, so we were very fortunate in that regard and got some great shots of all the local flora and fuana. So aside from wanting to quit at least a half a dozen times times and being lapped by children and old ladies who seemed impervious to the elevation and the terrain, we had a blast. What a great day.

This had caved in by the time we came back down.

This is Emerald Lake, an ice cold glacial oasis that feeds all those waterfalls and serves as a R&R spot before the final mile and a half push up to the summit. This photo doesn't do it justice, it's a gorgeous spot.

Yup. Had to cross that.

Made It!

The View

Good shot of the trail coming along the ridge to the summit, as well as an excellent view of my rapidly expanding bald spot!

We were very close to some of these mountain goats. We're only about eight feet away here.

King of the Mountain