Brighton Lakes Updated

The Lake Mary/Catherine Pass trail gives hikers the opportunity to visit four lakes in just a 4.5 mile jaunt.  The trail begins at the base of Brighton Ski Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  Lake Mary is a well known trail, but shhhhhhhhh here's a little secret - hike this one early in the morning to beat the crowds and have the best chance of seeing moose. 

The first small lake - more of a pond really - is Dog Lake just 500 feet from the main trail to Lake Mary.  Dog Lake is definitely worth a brief visit before moving on to the ever popular Lake Mary.

Next, on to Lake Mary! Another 1/4 mile past Dog Lake or 1 mile from the trailhead is Lake Mary.  Lake Mary is in a glacial basin and in 1916 a dam was built to create a water supply reservoir.  It is a watershed area and signs are posted at the lake - no swimming!  Lake Mary is an extremely popular hike so be prepared to share the trail all summer.  It is a beautiful large lake with Mount Millicent in the background and the entire area is even gorgeous buried under 6 feet of snow in winter.

Next comes Lake Martha.  Lake Martha is a much smaller lake that shares the same glacial basin with Lake Mary and is only .3 mile further on the trail.  Lake Martha sits at the base of Mount Tuscarora and has a unique island of small pines on the lake.  I love the solitude and peaceful setting of Lake Martha.  Lake Martha receives fewer visitors than her popular sister lakes - which is fine by me.  This last photo of Lake Martha was taken from high atop Mount Tuscarora in September of 2013 giving a nice bird's eye view of the lake.

The final lake and my all time favorite is Lake Catherine.  Lake Catherine is only another .7 mile from Lake Martha.  The trail climbs up to the ridgeline overlooking the upper bowl of Brighton Ski Resort then levels off as it makes it's way to Lake Catherine.  And by the way, this piece of the trail is part of the Great Western Trail system.  There are also some great views looking down upon Lake Martha and Lake Mary to check out before you drop down the trail and arrive at Lake Catherine.  Lake Catherine sits at the base of Sunset Peak and Pioneer Peak.

 Lake Catherine from a different angle looking toward Mount Tuscarora.

There was still a fair amount of snow on the trail as of June 22.  Use caution as the drop offs are very steep!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 Wildflower of the Week

One of my favorite early summer flowers high in the mountain meadows are Marsh Marigolds.  The brilliant white blossoms and shiny green veined leaves are hard to miss.  These wildflowers often form dense colonies and sometimes push their way through melting snow.  Marsh Marigolds are from the Buttercup family.

For myself I hold no preferences among flowers

so long as they are wild, free, spontaneous!"

Ed Abbey

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

******Miles hiked tally

beginning March 22, 2013
Beginning of this Blog
302.4