Little Cottonwood Canyon
I make a fair number of business trips to the Salt Lake City area. It's just a beautiful location, with the Wasatch Mountains overlooking the valley. I've been meaning to go hiking out here but either the weather or my schedule never allowed for it. With the Mt. Whitney hike coming up this weekend I decided to see if I could sneak in an after-work hike while I'm out here this week.
One of my work friends suggested Little Cottonwood Canyon (thanks Shannon!). I checked online and settled on a short-ish hike to Cecret Lake (not a typo). It was a little, um, warm today. Like 101 degrees when I left the office. So I wasn't planning on doing anything too adventurous. By the time I finished driving up the canyon, past two ski resorts, and a couple of miles of gravel road, the temps had dropped to a perfect 81 degrees.
So I start hiking along a trail straight out of the Sound Of Music. Mountain wildflowers everywhere, babbling brooks, unreal scenery, and of course the fresh mountain air. The thin
air doesn't seem to affect me much, and before long I've finished the mile long hike to Cecret Lake, a beautiful little alpine gem. I wander around the lakeshore, take a couple of pictures, and decide that I haven't really done enough hiking. I see the ski lift from the resort off to the side and decide to follow it for awhile.
As I'm hiking straight up the access road I'm pleasantly surprised at how little effect the altitude has on me. I see the top of another lift off to the side and make a detour over to it. 10,200', it says on the lift. I see another trail to the very top of the ridgeline and the highest ski lift, so I head off in that direction. Before I know it I'm at the very top, 10,500 feet, and shoot this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxtVTiqM3Uo
Wow, what a special spot. So I start heading down the mountain and I see a little shortcut trail running through the trees. As I get about half way down the trail I look off to my left and see a full grown female Moose, literally 50 yards from me. I'd prefer to not get
trampled by a spooked moose, so I casually snap a couple of pictures, avoid direct eye contact, and make my way the rest of the way down the trail. The adrenaline rush from my wilderness experience gradually wears off, and I start to think..."Hmmm, a full grown moose out at sunset. I wonder what else might be out here. Bears, perhaps? It seems like every other school out here is named Cougars, or Pumas, or some other euphemism for a mountain lion. I wonder if there are any of those???"
I get a little spooked and decide to high-tail it down the mountain. It's not quite trail running, but it's pretty close, and I don't see another soul until I'm almost back to the lake. Once I make it to the lake I exhale a bit and figure I'm probably not going to die a horrible mountain death at the hand of a wild predator. At least not yet.
I also can't find the trail from the lake. So I start wandering down in the general direction it's supposed to be. I finally realize my only option is to boulder-hop down a pretty steep mountain wall in order to get back on the trail. I don't know where the normal trail was, but let's just say I couldn't find it. Death-defying stunt #2 in the books, I finally sync back up with the trail, and make my way back to the car.
All in all, not a bad way to blow off a little steam after work. With the Mt. Whitney climb coming in 5 days I'm feeling pretty good about things!
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