clearing one's head

Between weather and our schedules, it had been since Labor Day that we'd been hiking - Labor Day!  So one day last week, when I was needing to just take a break, I took a mental health day off from work and got myself back on the trails.  The recent snow had been lingering far longer than anyone expected - hooray for colder weather! - so I went to Millcreek Canyon, figuring the lower elevations would be largely snow-free.

View across the canyon to the northeast

Can I just say, how wonderful it was to be out on the trails of the Wasatch Front midweek?  Even though I didn't get up there until 10:15 a.m., parking wasn't a problem and I encountered very few people.  It was wonderful to get my boots back on the dirt and just tromp along.  I did my Terraces to Elbow Fork to Pipeline Trail to Burch Hollow trailhead loop, which I had last done in June 2016.  Despite my late start, it was only 37 F when I started climbing up the Terraces trail; the trail itself was mostly frozen there on the shady north-facing side of the canyon.  When I crossed the road at Elbow Fork and headed down the Pipeline trail, I was grateful for the sunshine, although that trail, on the south-facing side, was pretty muddy in spots.

Still some snow sticking around in the shade

The sixteen (+/-) dogs I met didn't mind the mud at all.  That day was an off-leash day (Millcreek Canyon alternates days: off-leash dogs and no MTBs on the trails; or dogs on leashes and MTBs allowed.) and they were all happily cruising the path with their people.  Everybody who was out that day seemed pretty happy - seems like a little hike can be good for the soul.

The leaves they are a-changin'