Cecret Lake aka Secret Lake

Cecret Lake is a wonderful little hike in beautiful Albion Basin - wildflower mecca of the Wasatch.  Soooooo looking forward to late July and early August.  Thanks to a bountiful snow year the wildflowers are going to be spectacular!!!   But not today, we were a bit too early for the wildflowers, but the hike was still a good one. Cecret Lake is an excellent beginner hike and very popular.  So much so that the city of Alta provides a free shuttle bus on the weekends beginning mid July to transport hikers to the trailheads for both Lake Catherine and Cecret Lake.  The distance to Cecret Lake from the Albion Basin campground parking lot is 1.5 miles roundtrip with an elevation gain of only 458 feet.  Today the gate was closed to the Albion Basin campground so we had to walk an additional mile or so.  My advise is to wait until July when the gate opens and the shuttle starts to hike Cecret Lake.  It is definitely a beauty!

Cecret Lake is a small glacial tarn which serves as the headwaters of Little Cottonwood Creek. "Tarn" is just another word for a small mountain lake.

Saw a couple of marmots on the hike today.  A marmot is a very large ground squirrel that lives in the rockpiles around the lake.  This one let me take his picture.

There was still a little bit of snow on the trail which just makes the hike more challenging.

Cecret Lake sets just under Sugarloaf Peak.  This is Sugarloaf Peak . . . elevation 11,051.  Who wants to bag this peak with me??  Anyone??

"For myself I hold no preferences

among flowers so long as they are

wild, free, spontaneous!" Ed Abbey 

 Wildflower of the Week

This is a Marsh Marigold.  Look for these sparkling white blossoms in very moist areas near the retreating snow.  They are part of the buttercup family.  We saw only one area of these pretty wildflowers on the Cecret Lake trail.

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CraZy Hiker Chicks Top 10 Reasons to Hike

#10 Hiking is an excellent cure for boredom.

#9 Hiking will strengthen your legs.  You may even notice calf muscles.

#8 On hiking trails you meet the most friendly people.  And even friendlier dogs. 

#7 Winter hiking allows you to escape the inversion in the valley and breathe CLEAN, FRESH AIR! 

#6 Hiking relieves stress, worry and anxiety - GUARANTEED!

#5 If you are lucky you will see a variety of wildlife on your hike.  Keep your eyes open!  And look around!

#4 Hiking will improve balance, coordination and bone density because you are walking on very uneven surfaces.

#3  Hiking increases feelings of well-being and lowers depression. 

#2  Hiking gives a greater appreciation for the beauty of our natural world.

#1 Hike for the pure pleasure of it!  John Muir said it best "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul."

Peaks Bagged

 1.  Grandeur Peak ♦♦ 8299

******Miles hiked tally     

beginning March 22, 2013

68.8