Deer Valley Resort (Hiking?)

Hiking trails at Deer Valley Resort???  Oh me of little faith ---- but lo and behold I found one.  And I could almost believe I was deep in the woods . . . .  except for the sound of construction going on all around me.  That and being surrounded by the million dollar homes of the rich and famous.  Deer Valley Resort does have official hiking trails available during summer operations from mid June through the first of September which require a chairlift ride to the top of the mountain.  Since I missed the summer season by a few weeks I had to wing it, but here is a sampling of my little hike today covering about 2.5 miles.

Some nice views!

The St. Regis Deer Valley.  Too bad I wasn't staying there!

Sneaking a peak at this home on the ski resort.

Same home with gorgeous carved totem.

Success!  Seems to be the status quo at Deer Valley.

Leaves changing color.

Started my hike just to the right of this lift.

A few wildflowers hanging in there.

Tis the season of Sunflowers!

Deer Valley from afar.

My overall assessment:  With so many great hiking trails in the Wasatch mountains, I would leave Deer Valley to the skiers.  However, if you happen to be in the neighborhood and are a crazy hiker person like me, you can find trails to explore and Deer Valley resort is interesting.  Maybe I'll give it another try next summer when the chairlift to the official hiking trails is operating.

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Peaks Bagged  2013

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

6.  Mount Tuscarora ♦♦ 10,660

7. Mount Wolverine ♦♦ 10,795

8. Sugarloaf Peak ♦♦ 11,051

******Miles hiked tally     

beginning March 22, 2013

142.7

Lambs Canyon

I ventured off the regular canyons for hiking today and headed up Parleys Canyon (I-80) to Lambs Canyon, exit 137.  The Lambs Canyon trail takes you to the Millcreek Ridge/Lambs Canyon Pass and connects to the Elbow Fork trail coming up from Millcreek Canyon.  Both Lambs Canyon trail and Elbow Fork trail are part of the Great Western Trail system.  In case you didn't know the Great Western Trail runs from Canada to Mexico through five western states with Utah smack in the middle traversing a walloping 4,455 miles.  Cool right!!  The Lambs Canyon trailhead is found 1.6 miles from the freeway off ramp along a narrow, winding road.  There are restrooms and a small parking area directly across the road from the trailhead.
After crossing the stream, the trail climbs through fir, aspen and lush foliage for 2 miles before you reach the saddle which is the Millcreek Ridge or Lambs Canyon Pass at 8,133 feet.  The elevation gain is 1510, but thanks to several switchbacks it didn't seem overly steep.  The trail from Lambs Canyon is the only Forest Service hiking trail on the Parleys Canyon side of the ridge.  From the Millcreek Ridge you have great views of Granduer Peak and the Salt Lake Valley to the west and Gobblers Knob and Mount Raymond to the south.  Overall a very nice trail that I can highly recommend!

Grandeur Peak on the right.

Gobblers Knob and Mount Raymond

  Again mushrooms were plentiful and unique!

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Peaks Bagged  2013

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

6.  Mount Tuscarora ♦♦ 10,660

7. Mount Wolverine ♦♦ 10,795

8. Sugarloaf Peak ♦♦ 11,051

******Miles hiked tally     

beginning March 22, 2013

140.2

 

Desolation Lake

Aaaaahhhhh!  Love hiking mountains in the fall!  The temperatures are cooler, mountain air is crisp, leaves begin to change into vibrant colors of orange, red and yellow.  Love it! Love it! Love it!  This weeks hiking destination was Desolation Lake.  The trail begins at the Mill D North Fork trailhead about 9 miles up Big Cottonwood Canyon.  Desolation Lake is a good sized mountain lake set in a crater-like bowl which was formed by a glacier a very, very long time ago.  The size of the lake depends on the amount of snow we get in the winter.  More snow, bigger lake.  The distance to Desolation Lake from the trailhead is 3.7 miles with an elevation gain of 1,960 feet.  Also be prepared to share the trail with mountain bikers coming down from Guardsman Pass along the "spine".  At 1.8 miles from trailhead you will come to a junction with Dog Lake 0.6 miles to the left and Desolation Lake 1.9 miles to the right.  The trail is  fairly steep from the junction for about half a mile but then becomes a more gradual up.  The lake sets at 9,220 feet elevation.  The trail will pass through open meadows, lovely aspen groves (just beginning to change color) and beautiful evergreen pine.  I always like to take the time to walk around the mountain lakes if possible - take in the view from all directions.  Here is some of what we saw along the way!

Someone carved a palm on an aspen!

 

A few wildflowers still blooming.

A perfect puff ball!

Thistle is a nuisance, but this one was pretty!

Mushrooms!

All Kinds

Arriving at Desolation Lake

Here is looking at Desolation lake from four different directions.

One last mountain view as we made our way back.  We hiked for about 8.2 miles today and got caught in the rain, but we were prepared so no big deal.

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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

6.  Mount Tuscarora ♦♦ 10,660

7. Mount Wolverine ♦♦ 10,795

8. Sugarloaf Peak ♦♦ 11,051

******Miles hiked tally     

beginning March 22, 2013

136.2

Sugarloaf Peak 11,051

Sugarloaf Peak with Devils Castle in background.

We only intended to hike to Germania Pass today - just an easy hike above Cecret Lake in Little Cottonwood canyon.  Germania Pass is the saddle on Bullion Divide between Little Cottonwood canyon and American Fork canyon, smack dab in the middle of Alta ski resort.  When you reach Germania Pass at 10,500 feet, Mount Baldy is only a half mile to the west (already climbed that one this year) and Sugarloaf Peak is 1/3 mile to the east.  What the hey!  We decided to climb on up to the summit of Sugarloaf Peak (11,051).  It wasn't the greatest of trails, but we made it!  Bagged another mountain peak!  This adventure began at the Cecret Lake trailhead near Albion Basin campground, passing pretty Cecret Lake and following the ski lifts to Germania Pass.

The trail was very steep across loose rocks.  Thank goodness for a few cairns to mark the way.  This is the view climbing up.

We make it to the top!  And another hiker was just waiting there to take our picture.  He was impressed that a couple of grandmas made the climb. (I was kind of impressed too!)  Beautiful mountain views in all directions.  We are standing in front of Timpanogos.

Pictured below are Timpanogos, American Fork Twin Peaks, Mount Superior/Monte Cristo and Devil's Castle.  Great views from Sugarloaf!

Geological marker - proof we were at top!

Now the seriously hard part for me was getting down!  The other hiker we met at the top of Sugarloaf climbed down the west side towards Devil's Castle.  We could see him on the trail far below when we were ready to head down so we decided to try his way.  Not good!  Again not much of a trail and very, very steep with loose rock debris covering a greater majority of the trail.

Heading down towards Devil's Castle

Looking back up at the top of Sugarloaf.

We saw the most beautiful ferns growing from the rocks near the end of our hike.

A final look back at Sugarloaf Peak.  Climbing this one was a big accomplishment!

The map explains our journey!

But doesn't show any trails going up or coming down.

 

My best calculation is that we hiked a distance of 3.5 miles with an elevation gain of about 1600 feet.  We didn't have the GPS working today and my phone app isn't trust worthy.

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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

6.  Mount Tuscarora ♦♦ 10,660

7. Mount Wolverine ♦♦ 10,795

8. Sugarloaf Peak ♦♦ 11,051

******Miles hiked tally     

beginning March 22, 2013

128