alta ridge run (not running)

I had big plans for the weekend: I wanted to do a hike, ride MTBs, take Milton to a bar and - unfortunately - do some weeding.  Saturday morning, fairly early, H and I headed up to Alta for the hiking segment; Milton, not allowed in Little Cottonwood Canyon because of dog vs. watershed reasons, was pouting so much that he wouldn't look at us when we left.

Alpine meadow full of buttercups

There were a number of cars in the parking lot above the Albion lodge when we got there some time before 8, although it felt like some of them might have belonged to guests at the Snowpine Lodge.  It certainly wasn't as full as the White Pine lot, which was already overflowing.  When we drove past on the way down, there were hundreds of cars parked on the road.  It's a shame: I like those hikes but I cannot imagine doing them with all those people.  And the wear and tear on the terrain - I shudder to think.

View of Sunset Peak from Catherine's Pass

We had much less foot traffic to deal with, passing several parties on their way up and several parties on their way down.  We went up through Sunnyside to the Catherine's Pass trailhead, then up through Catherine's Area to the pass.  Although I didn't take any pictures, the wildflowers are starting to go off: buttercups, geraniums, sunflowers, paintbrush and more for which I've forgotten the names.  Still too early for lupine and the gentians but they are on their way.

From the pass, we did the loop: up to Tuscarora, then to Wolverine, then around Wolverine Cirque and down Patsy Marley to Twin Lakes Pass, and finishing out through Grizzly Gulch.  There were actually more people up on the ridge and the cirque than we've seen before, and GG was seeing a bunch of folks who were getting their late morning hike on.  

Wolverine Cirque view

We decided to make it up to Milt by going out for lunch and beers after our hike, heading up to the Campfire Lounge in Sugarhouse.  H and I had earned our bar food - vegan wings and tater tots - and split a pitcher while Milton charmed everyone in the vicinity.  We met a couple of nice dogs, Rudy and Pepper, and talked with their respective people for quite a while.  I'm pretty sure the bacon Milt scammed from the nice doctor from New Jersey more than made up for his having had to miss the hike.

Hike stats: 6.29 miles; 2:30 hours/2.5 m.p.h. moving; 3:08/2.0 overall; 2,120 feet of elevation