white pine lake

We've been wanting to do some longer hikes lately, needing to build up our endurance if we're going to hike Timpanogos in September, and the While Pine Lake hike (trailhead up Little Cottonwood Canyon) fit the bill.  A 9.8 mile roundtrip out-and-back with 2,452 feet of elevation gain - topping out at 10,150 feet - this trail is an easily-followable old mining road so the ascent is not nearly as steep as many of the other hikes we've been doing.  That being said, H noted that "it's not that steep, but it's relentless," climbing steadily ... and then we found some steeper sections too.

Getting his feet in snow makes H very happy

The very first part of the trail we'd done already, way back last fall when we climbed to Red Pine Lake.  But once we turned onto the WPL trail it was all new, climbing up through forests, alpine meadows and a rocky glacial bowl, and crossing innumerable streams and creeks.  Much of the hike was shaded, which didn't really matter since the day was fairly cloudy; we were actually grateful for the clouds when we got to the glacial bowl because it is completely exposed.

Such colors!

Not much wildlife: chipmunks, squirrels and my first sighting of a wild pika - aDORable, like a baby rabbit but with little round ears.  But the wildflowers were absolutely spectacular, the best we've seen this summer.  I still have no idea what the names of any of them are called but the colors included white, yellow, lavender, purple, blue, pale pink, magenta, fuschia. Just stunning.

First sight of White Pine Lake

Also stunning: White Pine Lake.  As we rounded a switchback, the lake lay out in front of us, a dark turquoise blue, ringed with stony cliffs.  It's hemmed in by a rock dam and fed by a pretty mountain stream that rushes down a lush grassy slope.  We didn't linger because we were keeping an eye on the weather (smartly, as the afternoon thunderstorms did eventually roll in) and H and I decided to come back up to White Pine Lake on a perfectly clear day so we could explore, fish (they were jumping!) and basically sit around and stare at all the beauty.  Our guidebook says that WPL is one of the prettiest lakes in the state and I can't see how it couldn't be.

We'll go back and get another shot when the sky is clear

It took us 2 hours to go up and 2 hours and 2 minutes to come down (book said 5-7 hours so we obviously kick ass).  The only bad part about this hike is the footing on the trail.  It's very rocky and loose in sections, so even though it wasn't that steep, the descent took us longer than we expected because we had to watch where you stepped.  Still, some stubbed toes were a small price to pay for the scenic jackpot.  I can't wait to do it again.