A Tale of Two Trails

First trail:   Elbow Fork to Terraces picnic area.  The Elbow Fork trail is located about 6.4 miles up the Millcreek Canyon road.  From this trailhead you have four hiking options; Mount Aire, Lambs Canyon Pass and Burch Hollow to the north and our trail choice to the Terraces picnic area to the south crossing the stream on a nice footbridge.  We used a shuttle car for this hike parking one car at the Terraces and another car at Elbow Fork so we only hiked the trail one way which is 1 3/4 miles.  This makes for a nice short hike through dense stands of tall fir trees and is only a little steep at the very beginning.  I got the feeling that this isn't one of the more popular hikes in Millcreek.  Didn't see a lot of traffic on this trail.  In some areas the vegetation was very overgrown and then you pass through extremely dry sections of the trail which felt like desert.  It was interesting and here is a sample of the hike with pictures.

Begin trail by crossing this bridge.

Hang gliders?  Really?

Very lush forest in some spots!

This rock looked like an African ant hill.

Can you see the two bonsai trees growing from rock?

 

Looking into Porter Fork

Second Trail:  Bowman Fork to White Fir Pass.  Bowman Fork beginning at the Terraces picnic area was hands down the more enjoyable of the two trails.  You walk along a lovely stream for a good portion of the trail which is so nice and cool.  And the vegetation was amazing, a sampling of nature at its finest.  It was all about wild berries!  There were red berries and white berries and blue berries and orange berries and purple berries and brown berries and pink berries and yellow berries.  Best only to have a look!!  No eating!!!

This is a Thimbleberry.  Looks like a Raspberry.

There were so many interesting things to see on this hike!  Bowman Fork trail will definitely make my repeat list!

The bees loved this Goldenrod flower.

Looked like Christmas!

The Bowman Fork trail begins at the Terraces picnic area which is about 4.7 miles up the Millcreek Canyon road.  You will drive across the bridge and up into the picnic area where you will find parking spots at the end of the road.  To White Fir Pass is about 1.5 miles.  We hiked a little beyond this point for a total hiking today of 6.2 miles according to my phone app "MapMyHike" and my aching feet.  Be prepared to share this wonderful trail with many of our furry canine friends.  We passed more than a dozen dogs on this trail.  The Bowman Fork trail also takes you to Baker Spring, Baker Pass and all the way to Gobblers Knob or Mount Raymond if you so desire.

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"For myself I hold no preferences

among flowers so long as they are

wild, free, spontaneous!" Ed Abbey 

 Wildflower of the Week

This whimsical looking wildflower is called a Lions-Beard.  It starts out as a dark purple flower with petals hanging downward quite inconspicuous and then turns into this funny looking plant after it has gone to seed.  Very unique!  You have to look very closely to find these in lush vegetation.

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Peaks Bagged

1.  Grandeur Peak ♦♦ 8299 

2.  Reynolds Peak ♦♦ 9422

3.  South Guardsman Pass Peak ♦♦ 10,420

4.  Mount Baldy ♦♦ 11,068

5.  Mount Evergreen ♦♦ 9,840

******Miles hiked tally     

beginning March 22, 2013

108.7

Mount Evergreen

My little spontaneous hike Sunday morning took me to the top of Mount Evergreen.  Mount Evergreen is the forested ridge directly north of Twin Lakes in the heart of Brighton Ski Resort.   Once you reach Twin Lakes dam you will find a trail on your right which takes you above the lakes and eventually joins one of the ski resorts service roads passing along an old retaining wall built with railroad ties (see picture below).  The old road takes you to a saddle which is Mill F South Fork.  From this point you can continue straight ahead for Twin Lakes Pass or stay on the service road to the right and drop down to Lake Solitude which makes a nice loop hike.  And that's exactly what I did with a little detour to climb up Evergreen Peak (9,840). All I had to do was follow the ski lift sign pointing up.  I seriously can't believe anyone would ski this!  A double black diamond!!  It doesn't look daunting until you start to climb up and even worse climbing back down.  But that's what I did.  Go ahead, call me craZy!  The path reminded me of Angels Landing in Zion National Park.  Very steep cliffs on both sides but without chains to hold on to.  I won't repeat climbing Mount Evergreen.


NO KIDDING!!

Steep drops on both sides.

Pennies were tossed into the hollow of this old spruce tree.  For good luck I suppose.  I didn't have a penny to contribute, darn.

Mount Evergreen gets its name from the Englemann Spruces that crown the summit.  Some of the spruces were old and gnarled yet really beautiful in my opinion.

You do have beautiful views of Twin Lakes, Mount Millicent and Mount Wolverine from this height.

 This is looking down on Lake Solitude from the service road as I completed the loop hike.

The old retaining wall built with railroad ties mentioned above.  The total loop hike, Twin Lakes to Lake Solitude was approximately 3 miles with an elevation gain of about 1000 feet.

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"For myself I hold no preferences

among flowers so long as they are

wild, free, spontaneous!" Ed Abbey 

 Wildflower of the Week

This wildflower is called a Showy Daisy.  It is bright purple with dark yellow centers and grows abundantly in the canyons and mountains of the Wasatch. Showy Daisies have a very long blooming season so when all other wildflowers are gone you will still see these cheerful wildflowers.

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Peaks Bagged

1.  Grandeur Peak ♦♦ 8299 

2.  Reynolds Peak ♦♦ 9422

3.  South Guardsman Pass Peak ♦♦ 10,420

4.  Mount Baldy ♦♦ 11,068

5.  Mount Evergreen ♦♦ 9,840

******Miles hiked tally     

beginning March 22, 2013

102.5

Maybird Lakes

Maybird Lakes are two tiny lakes nestled in an enormous boulder field just below the impressive Pfeifferhorn peak.  The trail begins 5.5 miles up Little Cottonwood Canyon at the White Pine Trailhead.  (If you reach Snowbird Ski Resort, you have gone too far.)   There is ample parking at the trailhead, but on weekends I have seen cars parked along the road for almost a mile due to the popularity of these hikes.  There are three hiking trails to choose from, White Pine Lake is 8 miles roundtrip, Red Pine Lake is 6 miles roundtrip and Maybird Lakes is about 7.6 miles roundtrip.  All trails follow an old jeep road for about a mile until you reach the first junction.  The trails for Red Pine and Maybird crosses the stream on a footbridge to the west.  After about another 2 1/2 miles from the beginning of the trail you will come to another junction, turn right and cross the stream again on the footbridge and you are on your way into Maybird Gulch and on to Maybird lakes.


The trail is very lush in some spots. It almost felt like you were in the tropics especially near the stream crossings.  We came across a mini fern grotto.  Have a look . . .

The Maybird Lakes were a little disappointing to me.  It was a very long hike and the end results were not as spectacular as I was expecting and led to believe.  The lakes are tiny!  More like ponds rather than lakes.

Pfeifferhorn Peak (11,326) in background

To get to the second lake I had to scramble across a boulder field. I do like climbing over boulders so that was fun!  The second lake had a big island of pines right in the middle.  I also found several wild raspberry bushes growing right out of the giant boulders.  Amazing!

Upper Maybird Lake

Wild raspberries . . Yummm!

There are also some really impressive views of the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon down into south Salt Lake Valley from the trail.

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"For myself I hold no preferences

among flowers so long as they are

wild, free, spontaneous!" Ed Abbey 

 Wildflower of the Week

This pretty yellow wildflower is called a Monkeyflower.  You will find it growing along almost every stream you cross in the mountains.  I have even seen it growing right out of a rock in the middle of a stream.  Monkeyflowers are members of the Snapdragon family and are in bloom June through August.

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Peaks Bagged

1.  Grandeur Peak ♦♦ 8299 

2.  Reynolds Peak ♦♦ 9422

3.  South Guardsman Pass Peak ♦♦ 10,420

4.  Mount Baldy ♦♦ 11,068

******Miles hiked tally     

beginning March 22, 2013

99.1

Mount Baldy 11,068 Feet!

Mount Baldy is a major peak (11,068 feet) that sits right between Alta and Snowbird ski resorts.  Impressive right??

And it is a pretty cinchy climb to the summit, at least the way we climbed it.  What!!  First of all you ride the Snowbird Aerial Tram to the summit of Hidden Peak (11,000 feet) which will cost you $17 per person. There is a service road on the left of the tram that will drop you down toward the beginning of the Mount Baldy trail.  The trail looked a little intimating to me at first because the footpath follows the narrow rocky ridge along the crest, but it is a well established path and pretty easy.  Always take care, use caution and make sure of your footing as you climb.  It took us less than 45 minutes to make it to the summit of Mount Baldy. The elevation gain was only about 560 feet.  There were some amazing views in all directions.

The Snowbird Tram as it nears Hidden Peak.

 Mount Timpanogos in the far distance.

 

Another great mountain view!

On top of Mount Baldy all cover in junk!

We met another hiker from South Carolina who recommended that we take the Mineral Basin Trail back to the tram which made for a really nice loop hike.  Be sure to pick up one of these Summer Hiking and Biking trail maps from the tram.  I had no idea there were this many options to hike.

The Mineral Basin trail was well marked and takes you across the mountain covered in beautiful wildflowers.  Plus you are hiking in the shade which feels great on a hot afternoon! This trail will become a yearly event for me during peak wildflower season.
 

One of the ski runs was named Lupine Loop and we could definitely see why.  The mountainside was covered with Silvery Lupines.

The hardest part of this loop trail was the fairly steep climb back up to the tram.  I have read that another possible summit from Hidden Peak is the American Fork Twin Peaks in this picture.  It looks too precarious from here!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

"For myself I hold no preferences

among flowers so long as they are

wild, free, spontaneous!" Ed Abbey 

 Wildflower of the Week

Silvery Lupine is the most common and widespread lupine in Utah.  They are part of the pea family and after flowering they leave a pod that looks similar to a pea pod.  The plants grow in dense colorful clumps and make for a very beautiful mountainside.

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Peaks Bagged

1.  Grandeur Peak ♦♦ 8299 

2.  Reynolds Peak ♦♦ 9422

3.  South Guardsman Pass Peak ♦♦ 10,420

4.  Mount Baldy ♦♦ 11,068

******Miles hiked tally     

beginning March 22, 2013

90.7