Twin Lakes Pass

The trail to Twin Lakes Pass begins at lovely Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  About a quarter of the way around Silver Lake on the west side you will come to a junction with a trail sign for Twin Lakes and Lake Solitude -  Continue straight ahead.  The trail for Twin Lakes branches off to the left a few yards past this sign, then it is a steady uphill climb for one mile until you reach Twin Lakes dam.  Take time to soak in the views from Twin Lakes, it is a great hiking destination - but we are not finished yet!  Once you reach the Twin Lakes dam you will see a small trail on your right.  This trail will connect to a ski resort service road past Mount Evergreen.  At this point you could follow the service road down hill to Lake Solitude as a loop hike - but we are not finished yet!   The trail we we want continues up hill and was fairly easy to follow until we came upon a very large snow field.  We could see the footpath along the mountain and needed to cross the snow field to reach the notch in the ridge and hook up with the trail.  No big deal! and in another couple of weeks the snow will be gone and the trail more visible.  Soon you are looking down upon Twin Lakes and once you reach the pass you have awesome views down into Grizzly Gulch looking directly at Mount Superior and all the way down Little Cottonwood Canyon.  The pass sits at just under 10,000 feet.  Our hike totaled 4.5 miles roundtrip.  I enjoyed this hike immensely!!

Mount Superior from Twin Lakes Pass

I always get a little ahead of myself with this blog.  It is just that the end result is so amazing.  Back to the beginning . . . . . .

Trail to Twin Lakes dam just above Silver Lake

Twin pines on the way to Twin Lakes

Serene, tranquil, peaceful aspens

Mount Millicent on left, Wolverine Cirque on right and Twin Lakes below

Climbing the snow field

Mount Wolverine and the Wolverine Cirque

Geological Survey Marker and my good friend Martha

Nice view of the trail heading back

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 Wildflower of the Week

Mountain Bluebells are very easy to recognize!  This pretty wildflower covers the moist meadows and mountainsides in our canyons.  But did you know the flowers are edible raw and the plant has reported medicinal uses. (Don't ask me what the medicinal uses are, but that is what I read).  Mountain Bluebell plants sometimes grow to over three feet tall and have a very sweet fragrance.

For myself I hold no preferences among flowers

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

Ed Abbey

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******Miles hiked tally

beginning March 22, 2013
Beginning of this Blog
295.4