sol-bright 2019

Shoulder season continues: wherein we have to do yardwork (there's only one tree in the front yard but SO many leaves) and errands (my MTB had a squeak) on Saturday but get out for a quick hike on Sunday.  With ski season purportedly just around the corner, it was time for our traditional Sol-Bright hike.

 Tradition

It was mid- to late-morning by the time we pulled in to the parking lot at Silver Lake (closed for the season, with the nordic center not yet open).  There were plenty of parking places still, although there were people milling about; by the time we finished up, it would be pretty busy with people strolling the boardwalk in their city shoes, slipping on the ice.  We could see a few people out on the lake playing pond hockey - no moose sightings, however.

 Wolverine Cirque looking a little thin, snow-wise

We started out going counter-clockwise on the boardwalk, then turned right towards Lake Solitude, then took the left fork so that we would be going up through Brighton and returning down through Solitude.  It was cool to start, especially in the shade, but we were already peeling off layers as we started the climb above the lake.  The sun was bright and it felt good.

 A rare hatless H photo

We passed a couple of groups of people but once we were above the frozen reservoir, we didn't see anyone else - until we got to the top of the Summit chair (RIP the wonderful old double chair that used to be there), where there were a couple of guys working.  I always forget how steep it is hiking up Liberty/Dynamite/etc.  It is STEEP.  But there had been several snowmobiles up and down before us so the footing was good: not slippery and no post-holing.

 Not much snow yet in the hills behind me 

We lingered up at the top for a few minutes, making our way around the corner to take a look at Wolverine Cirque.  You could see ski/board tracks all around but nothing recent; there had been rather more snow earlier in the week before the sun came back out.

 Honeycomb Canyon

For now, however, we were enjoying the sun.  We made our way down through the Solitude side, making really good time until we got into the trees after Lake Solitude.  Then the trail got quite icy and we had to pick our way carefully to as not to take a digger.  Some microspikes or Yaktrax would have helped.

Cheers for post-hike beers

When we got back to Silver Lake, we continued around the boardwalk, just to finish up the loop.  As is tradition, it was time for parking lot beers - with a toast to the upcoming ski season.  All hail Ullr!

Hike stats: 5.05 miles; moving: 1:55 time / 2.6 m.p.h; overall: 2;32 time / 2.0 .m.ph.; 1,340' of elevation

solbright

As has become tradition, we did our Solbright (i.e. Solitude + Brighton) hike this past Sunday, after enough snow had fallen to make this our last hike of the calendar year.  Brighton - which had already opened for the season - said it was 11 F in the morning, so we waited a bit for it to warm up; when we got up there, it was much warmer than we expected and we were both over-dressed.

 Signage

Like last year, we started counter-clockwise around Silver Lake, then peeled off onto the Twin Lakes trail.  Although the Silver Lake parking lot was full (as was the Brighton resort lot - packed!), there really weren't many people out there: we passed two groups of four as we climbed up to the dam, and then saw another two at the dam, and then no one else. 

Summit ahead

It had been a few days since the last snowfall so the path was well-trodden up to the dam.  When we continued up past the dam, into Solitude proper, foot traffic had been less heavy but the footing was still okay.  Even as we slogged up the access road on the steep last bit to the top of the Summit chair, it wasn't icy and we could walk in some snow-cat tracks.

That's me, holding hands with H's shadow

As always, it is pretty up at the top of Solitude, with views into Honeycomb Canyon and across Big Cottonwood Canyon to the now-closed Guardsman Pass road.  Any hillsides that were south- or west-facing were pretty much clear of natural snow but the shady spots were holding onto theirs.  We backtracked a little ways and then took the access road down to Lake Solitude.  There were a fair number of squirrel and deer tracks but other than one squirrel who scolded us, this hike was critter-free. 

H with Honeycomb Canyon behind him

We finished by completing the loop around Silver Lake and then (of course) toasted the end of hiking season with parking lot beers.  As we did, some Brighton skiers were showing up after their time on the hill.  We talked with them and everyone seemed pretty stoked to get the ski season started.  That's the best out here: you can finish one season's activity and then head right into the next with no downtime.

No snow across the way

Hike stats:  5:26 miles; 1:49 moving time / 2.9 m.p.h; 2:14 overall time / 2.3 m.p.h.; 1,400' climbing

change of seasons

When we did the Emma Ridge hike last weekend and peeked over the ridge into Honeycomb Canyon and Silver Fork, it reminded us that we hadn't done that loop in a while.  Sunday morning rolled around and found us heading up Big Cottonwood Canyon under cool but pleasant temperatures and much clearer skies.  We parked at the first Solitude entrance, not far from where a group of twenty-somethings were climbing out of their vans/trucks and cooking parking lot breakfasts. 

That looks like fall!

The aspens are starting to turn up there and with the quality of the light, this hike was the first time that it's felt like autumn.  We started on the Queen Bess MTB trail (under the Eagle lift), then walked up the paved Silver Fork road.  When the pavement ended, we stayed left on the trail - which ended up reconnecting with the old mining road just a little ways on.  There were a couple of older women coming up the mining road behind us but we were moving pretty quickly, and even though we stopped for a little while to watch the unconcerned mother moose and her calves, those hikers never caught us.

"Keep moving, buddy ..."

We saw two other hikers at the portal mine and then passed two more on the steep section up to the head of the canyon.  With all the mining ruins and debris, it's pretty clear why they named this canyon "Silver Fork."  We followed the trail up through the tailings to Davenport Hill: it was very steep and very loose in spots, but unlike last time, we managed to stay on the trail.

Following the old road

From Davenport Hill, we followed the old mine road down into Grizzly Gulch a little ways until we could turn left onto the trail up to Twin Lakes Pass.  Most of Silver Fork had been in the shade and, with the wind, actually chilly, but out in the sunshine it was extremely pleasant.  After pausing for a snack at Twin Lakes Pass, we kept to the higher trail that went around the hillside to Solitude, coming out a little way below the top of the Summit chair.   Although the access road is our usual route to the top of the chair, it is a horrible slog; instead, we kept to looker's left and scrambled up to the top of Summit chair.  More pleasant and we cut a little bit of distance off.

This bit up to Davenport Hill was so steep

We saw no people for the rest of the hike.  The population had been pretty sparse regardless - six people in Silver Fork, one in Grizzly Gulch and two at Twin Lakes Pass - but now we had the place to ourselves.  Much of Honeycomb Canyon is very steep, including following the old road from the summit and then the portion along the dry creek bed.  Everything was very dry too and H noted that we were walking like Pigpen with little puffs of dust coming up with every step.  

Dark blue sky above Solitude

As the wind blew through the canyon, golden aspen leaves danced overhead and there was no question that we have turned a corner on the seasons, even if it is still getting up to nearly 90 F down in the valley on occasion.  It was a beautiful autumn day in Big Cottonwood Canyon and we were glad to be out in it. 

Honeycomb Canyon trail (flat part)

Hike stats: 7.85 miles; 2:55 moving/2.7 m.p.h.; 3:30 overall/2.2 m.p.h.; 2500' climbinb

tradition

We have, the past few years, done a hike at Solitude/Brighton after the first snow of the year, to say goodbye to summer and welcome winter.  The original route was from Silver Lake to Lake Solitude, up and over the back of Solitude, past the Twin Lakes dam and along the Sol-Bright trail back to Silver Lake.  Last year, since the snow situation was looking dire in the early season, we did that loop backwards and lo, last winter we had the best snow we've had in years.  H, who is not superstitious about anything, announced on Friday that we would be doing the Sol-Bright hike on Saturday and, since it worked so well last time, we would again be doing it in reverse.  So much for not being superstitious.

Silver Lake, early winter style

It was pretty chilly in the morning so we busied ourselves with some chores: house-cleaning, laundry, making oatmeal-dried cranberry cookies.  We got up to the Solitude Nordic Center at Silver Lake around 12:30 and were surprised to find plenty of parking places; the Big Cottonwood Canyon road had been pretty busy on the way up and the various hiking trailheads had been quite full, so we assumed Silver Lake would be jam-packed too.  Happy to be wrong!

View of Brighton

We went clockwise around the lake on the boardwalk, teetering on the ice, then turned off onto the Twin Lakes trail.  Although the snow wasn't super-deep, we were walking on snow for the most part, unlike last year when there wasn't any at all.  It was mostly sunny, with a light breeze, and temperatures were in the low 30s but noticeably colder in the shade.  We warmed right up climbing up to the Twin Lakes dam, then kept the grind going on up to the top of Solitude's Summit lift.

Top of Summit lift

Once past the dam, there was more snow and so many animal tracks.  Deer, porcupine, coyote, squirrels and smaller critters - the snow was positively trampled in spots.  We stumped our way up to the top of the lift to enjoy the views of Honeycomb Canyon, Brighton and Guardsman Pass across the canyon (now closed for the winter).  Then, before we could get too chilled, we retraced our steps for a ways before turning off onto an access road down into Solitude.  The snow was deep in some spots here, coming up to nearly my knees, and we found a couple of short pitches where we were surprised no one had come up to ski.  No fat bike tire tracks either - just critters.

Totally skiable

We went around Lake Solitude, the snow depth dropping with our elevation, crossed through the woods and under the Sunrise lift, heading back towards Silver Lake.  In a shady grove we happened upon a small herd of mule deer: a buck and what we guessed were two does and two fawns, now old enough to have lost their spots and look like mini-mes of their moms.  The buck was skittish but the does were not, standing their ground and watching us, warily and interestedly, but not at all scared.  We watched them for a little while and then continued on our way, letting them go theirs.

Very much unafraid

Back at the car, we were surprised to find the parking lot busier than before; there seemed to be lots of photographers taking advantage of the afternoon light.  We paused at the Silver Fork on our way down the canyon, stopping in for a couple of beers and some chips and salsa (they have a restaurant license and have to serve food, even if you're just sitting at the bar), and talked with another couple (transplants from New Jersey/Maryland) about how awesome Utah winters are.  And we're ready for another one.  Let it snow.

Hike stats:  4.92 miles; 1:59 hours; 1,400 feet of elevation

sol-bright, switched

Winter is definitely late to Utah this year.  Ski resorts have begun pushing their openings back because there is just no snow in the mountains and it's not even been cold enough to make snow.  In the past we have gone for a hike at Solitude/Brighton right after the first snow of the year; this year this first snow really hasn't come yet but we decided to do the hike anyway, in reverse this time, in an effort to jumpstart winter.

No snow at all down low

We sort of puttered around in the morning, finally getting up to the Silver Lake Nordic Center in Big Cottonwood Canyon to start our hike around 11:30 a.m. Saturday morning.  Because the weather was so [too] warm and beautiful, there were lots more people out hiking around the lake and Brighton's reservoirs than we would see in a normal November.  Most were inadequately dressed in city boots or sneakers and we soon pushed past them as we headed up the Sol-Bright trail from Brighton to Solitude.

Just a little snow on Millicent

The trail was variable, muddy in the exposed spots and snowy/icy in the shade.  The temperature was variable as well - sweaty on the sunny uphills but chilly for shady descents - and there was a light, cool breeze blowing.  Once we got past the other people, we were delighted to hear and see several pikas scurrying around the rocky slopes and piling up grasses to dry for storage.  We also saw tons of deer and coyote tracks.

A skim-coat of snow in Honeycomb Canyon

Since we hadn't seen the fully-installed new Summit chair, we ground our way up the very steep access road to the top of Solitude to check it out.  Where the old two-seater unloaded in a narrow space surrounded by rock walls, the new quad dumps its people out into a characterless wide open since they blasted huge chunks of the cliff away.  I'm sure lots of people are thrilled but I wish they'd kept the old chair.  I like old stuff.

The new Summit quad

We headed back down before the breeze could chill us, following the access road under the lift to Lake Solitude, then picking up the trail on the east side of the lake back to Silver Lake.  The lack of snow was really a bit shocking; you just don't expect to see bare ground under Utah lifts in mid-November.  We finished the hike by going around Silver Lake and then lifted a beer in the parking lot (pouring a little bit out in a hopeful tribute to Ullr, just in case), as more and more cars poured in, people taking advantage of the mild weather.  It was a nice little hike on a pretty day but we are over mild weather.  Bring on the snow.

Hike stats: 5.07 miles; 1,300 feet elevation; 2:03 hiking time, plus 24 minutes of standing and gawking; moving average 2.5 m.p.h.

sol-bright

Looking down the Sunrise chair

We have inadvertently established a bit of a tradition, going for a hike at Solitude and Brighton after the first snow of the year, in 2012, in 2014 and again this year.  A little midweek storm had brought about six inches to the mountains at altitude but the weekend was forecasted to be clear and nice, perhaps the last nice weekend of the year (which would be awesome as we want snow-snow-snow!).  We let it warm up a little bit first and got up to the parking lot at Silver Lake between Solitude and Brighton around 11 a.m.  The sun was up enough to bring the temperature to around 40 F; it was cold enough that Brighton was still blowing snow when we started.

Pausing for breath halfway up the Corner Chute

We started around Silver Lake counterclockwise, breaking off from that path to follow the packed snow trail towards Solitude.  We encountered a few other hikers until we got past Lake Solitude. There, a sign had been put up saying that the access road to the top of Solitude was closed due to construction.  Deer Valley bought Solitude last year and the biggest change they've made has been to take out the beloved, old two-seater Summit lift and put in a new high speed quad.  H and I are not thrilled with that decision: the Summit lift serviced expert terrain only, including Headwall Forest and Honeycomb Canyon.  Most non-expert skiers would take one look at the old double chair and decide to ski elsewhere but this new quad will encourage folks into the area, making it more crowded and probably bringing in people whose skill level is not quite equal to the terrain.  But they didn't ask our opinion and put in the new chairlift this summer.

Anybody lose a ski? Like, twenty years ago?

Since we couldn't slog up the access road, we considered our other options.  The best one looked like going up Corner Chute, between Headwall Forest and the Evergreen cliffs/glades.  Although this is a great little chute to ski, it's quite steep to hike up - steep enough that we probably wouldn't have considered it if it hadn't been covered in snow.  It was pretty well covered in snow, actually: it must have blown in there because it was up to our knees in places.  We clawed our way about halfway up the chute, then veered right, out of the chute and into the trees.  We found a bit of a flat part, found a vintage 1990s ski, and then found the access road.  We scampered up it just a little way to where the Sol-Bright trail came in.  Above us, we could see the construction equipment working on the new lift.  Wolverine Cirque loomed above us as well, sparkling in the sun with its light coating of snow.

Wolverine Cirque

We headed back down the Sol-Bright trail, which eventually reconnected with the loop around Silver Lake.  Just for fun, we finished the lake loop, our wet boots and hiking poles in sharp contrast to the people in their city coats and leather shoes who were sitting on the benches, enjoying the views.  That's what's so cool about Salt Lake City - the mountains are so close that anyone can enjoy them, no matter what they want to get out and do.

View of Silver Lake from the Sol-Bright trail

Edit:  To add the route map:

this time in reverse

The tricky part about holiday weekends is trying to find things to do that aren't inundated with people.  This includes hikes and any regular Wasatch Front hiker will tell you that it is getting more and more difficult to get the trails to yourself.  I don't mean to complain about this - it's wonderful that people are getting outside to appreciate these beautiful mountains.  But a less-traveled trail is, to me, a thing of beauty.  We figured we'd find a trail less-traveled by doing a hike from a couple years ago, over at Solitude.  When we did this hike before, hiking up Honeycomb and down Silver Fork, we had lost the trail at the head of Silver Fork Canyon, having to bushwhack down through cliffs and trees.  The thought was that if we did it in reverse - up Silver Fork and down Honeycomb Canyon - we wouldn't lose the trail.

This hawk was huge

We got another early start (up at 6 a.m., on the trail at 7:20 a.m.) and were only the second car in the lower Solitude parking lot.  We crossed under the Eagle lift on the Queen Bess MTB trail - where a mule deer doe and fawn watched us from a distance - and walked up the paved driveway to the Silver Fork cabins, stopping to watch as a huge hawk silently landed in a pine tree above us, causing all the songbirds and squirrels to chirp and chatter excitedly.  When the pavement ended, we continued up an old road, put in originally for mining operations.  When we got to the portal mine, we consulted our book and found the trail, hidden by fallen trees, and noted with some humor that this trail was clear on the other side of the canyon bowl from where we had descended last time - no wonder we hadn't been able to find it.

Wildflowers are peaking early this year,

due to low snow and a hot June

As we continued up the steep west side of the bowl, we passed one other hiker.  She was just planning to go up to the Prince of Wales mine and mentioned that the trail did get a little sparse up ahead; our book said the same thing.  We kept going up, soon finding ourselves climbing over mine tailings (Silver Fork was chockablock full of mining operations back in the day) and past old mining equipment as we followed the faint trail and sporadic cairns.  Then the cairns just stopped and voila! we'd lost the trail.  Again.  We knew where we had to go, however, and ended up picking our way up the mine tailings, cringing at the loose footing and trying very hard not to disturb anything, heading to the old mining road that connects Grizzly Gulch and the Prince of Wales mine.  Our book wasn't any help, of course: "The wagon road is reached by scrambling up the spur ridge which lies just north of the end of the lower road, then following the ridge a short way southeast."  Um, okay.

An old boiler, mining ruins, rusting away in Silver Fork

We made it up to the old road, crossed over into Grizzly Gulch and then utterly failed to find the faint trail that would keep us up high en route to Twin Lakes Pass, instead following the jeep road down and across the gulch, and then back up to the pass.  We ran into a few people there but once up and over the pass we had the place to ourselves again.  We had to trudge up the ski lift access road to the top of Solitude's Summit lift; the road has seen some heavy use since Deer Valley, Solitude's new owner, is replacing the lovely old double Summit lift with a brand new quad.  (We are sad to see the old lift go: it had a lot of character, plus the top of the lift is pretty small and I'm not sure how it will handle a lot more skiers dumping out off a fast quad.)

Honeycomb cliffs

From here, we headed down Honeycomb Canyon, sticking to the old road on skier's right.  I'd forgotten how very steep that road was and even though my knees were complaining a bit, I was glad not to be going up it.  The trail crosses the canyon, traversing through a meadow, then continues down a seasonal (now dry) creek bed.  This section was also very steep, which I'd forgotten as well.  We passed the bottom of the Honeycomb Return lift and headed out on the access road.  There were a few more cars in the parking lot when we got back to the truck, a fisherman in the creek and several MTBers pedaling around.  But for the most part we had had the hike to ourselves, just the way we like it.

Go that way

Hike stats:  7.96 miles; 2,400 feet elevation gain; 3:07 moving time; 3:52 trip time.

We started at the top of the map (at the ski area) 

and walked counterclockwise for the loop

lemons lemonade

 We're already behind on snowfall this year - Alta is supposed to open in two weeks! - but the weather really is supposed to be changing in the next day or two.  So we had one more weekend of glorious weather to deal with and decided to make the most of it.  The short track speed skating World Cup tour was in town at the Olympic Oval in Kearns and we were tempted to go check it out.  But the sun was shining and it just seemed criminal to be indoors.

November hiking outfit

We did yard work first, mowing and raking and cleaning up the flower beds for the winter.  It never seems to look good after we've worked in the yard, but it always looks better so I guess that counts for something.  After getting cleaned up, we got our hiking gear together to go up to Solitude/Brighton, first stopping at the Wasatch Powder House to pick up our Alta season passes.  We were in and out quickly and headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon, finding a parking spot in the busy Silver Lake parking lot.  The plan was to head up to Lake Solitude, follow the access road up towards the summit and then take the Sol-Bright trail back around to Silver Lake.  We'd done this hike last in October 2012, right after an impressive early snowstorm; there was a little snow on the ground this time but not nearly so much as two years ago.

Rock skis recommended for now

We didn't see anyone else on our way up, following the well-packed trail through the shady woods and across sunny clearings.  The temperature was in the 50s: pleasant in the sun but cool in the shade.  There were deer tracks everywhere (but no actual deer sightings) and we also saw porcupine tracks, trundling off into the trees (but no actual porcupine sighting).  We lost the Sol-Bright trail for a little bit as we started to descend, but it was easy to pick our way down the hillside to pick it up again.  The packed snow was slippery in places and we were glad to have our hiking poles for extra assistance.

Evergreen Peak cliffs

When we got back to Silver Lake, we looped around the lake on the path and boardwalk, which was also pretty slick in the shade.  We had our post-hike beers and homemade jerky in the waning sun, watching other people come and go.  Yes, we would have rathered it have been nuking snow - but still, what a nice day.

Silver Lake still just barely in the sunshine

Hike stats:  4.05 miles, 1 hour 53 minutes (10 minutes of stoppage time), 2.4 m.p.h. moving average.

"six" x 10,000 by 10:00

The plan had been to do the Brighton Ridge Loop, nailing six summits over 10,000 feet.  The execution, due to terrible/non-existent trail signage and some user (hiker) error, was only five summits over 10,000 feet.  But we nabbed all five by 10:00 a.m., so that's got to count for something.  Plus, it was an AWESOME hike and now we'll have to go back and do it again to get that sixth peak.

Summit #1: 10,321 ft.

Mountain meadow, Heber Valley side

We started at 6:55 a.m. at Brighton Ski Resort, heading up the same trail towards Dog Lake and Lakes Mary, Martha and Catherine.  At the sign for Dog Lake we turned left, then turned left again and headed up a shady trail to Snake Creek Pass.  When we got under the Crest Express chairlift, we consulted our hiking book, our map and our GPS and decided to follow the access road.  This is where we think we went wrong: we think we should have taken the narrow foot trail that entered the woods instead of taking the road.  But because there were no trail signs (come on, Wasatch Mountain Club!) and our book (Hiking the Wasatch published by the Wasatch Mountain Club) is so very, very vague, we went by the route we'd put together for our GPS and took the road.  We believe that the trail would have taken us to the top of the first summit (10,315 ft.) but the road took us to the top of the lift instead, which was between the first and second summit.

Pioneer and Sunset ahead

Summit #2: Pioneer Peak

Silver Lake, Lake Mary and Dog Lake

No matter.  We started up the faint trail and found our way to the top of the [second] summit at 10,321 feet.  From there, we basically continued along the ridge around the bowl above Brighton.  Here's the problem with ridge hikes: there's a lot of up and down and it's too narrow for switchbacks.  As we looked ahead to Pioneer Peak, with Sunset Peak beyond it, I was a little nervous because in most places the trail was faint at best and the footing looked rocky and loose.

Looking back at Pioneer Peak

Summit #3: Sunset Peak

I didn't need to be nervous, however, because the walking was better than the looking supposed.  We would have to focus to ensure secure footing and we went much more slowly than our usual hiking speed because of having to locate the faint trail, as well as the sketchy footing.  The views and the solitude (we saw no one from the Snake Creek Pass turn-off all the way to Sunset, and then from the base of Tuscarora to the descent to Twin Lakes Reservoir) more than made up for it though. As we descended and then climbed back up to Pioneer Peak (10,450 ft.), the Heber Valley was to our left and the Brighton Lakes (Dog Lake, Silver Lake, Mary, Martha and Catherine) were to our right.

Looking back at Pioneer and Sunset from Catherine's Pass

Summit #4: Mt. Tuscarora

Just before and just after Pioneer Peak we found mine remnants, but we didn't pause long because we were too busy picking the trail out of the loose sand and rocks.  There were three people atop Sunset Peak (10,648 ft.) and a number of hikers hanging out down on Catherine's Pass as we cruised through, intent on Mt. Tuscarora (10,654 ft.).  We'd been skunked the last time we tried to summit Tuscarora, stymied by the poor visibility and weather.  This time, luck was on our side and we followed the faint trail up without a problem.  Again, the views from this side of the bowl were spectacular and we loved seeing Alta, which we are getting to know so well, from a completely different angle.

Summit #5: Mt. Wolverine

Looking back at Wolverine Cirque

At this point, we were determined to get all the summits on our loop (six, we thought; five, in actuality, although there was a false summit at the start and one last high point on the descent from Wolverine ... so we could count it as seven, if we wanted) by 10 a.m.  The trail faded in and out but we kept on, summitting Mt. Wolverine (10,795 ft.) with three minutes to spare.  Again, stunning 360 degree scenery, including Wolverine Cirque, a favorite with local backcountry skiers, spread out below us.

Descending to Twin Lakes Pass

Not feeling like bushwhacking down to Brighton over Mt. Millicent, we opted to continue along the ridge (rocky and quite narrow in places) towards Twin Lakes Pass.  We started to run into other hikers again after descending a small boulder field from the last high point, and then it was easy walking as we came across the pass and walked out along the reservoir, wildflowers just starting to burst into bloom around us.  The final stretch out was on an access road to/from the dam on the reservoir, a less glamorous finish to a wonderful hike.

Twin Lakes Reservoir

We perched on the back bumper of the Subaru to enjoy our post-hike PBRs with the cool breeze, watching the many, many people coming and going.  We guessed that 99% of them were headed up to the lakes (with most not making it any further than the first one, Mary, based on the observable fitness level and footwear of most of them), none knowing the wonders of the Brighton Ridge Loop, circling above them.  And that was fine with us - we loved that hike and would love to keep it to ourselves.

Hike stats:  7.1 miles; 4 hr. 45 minutes total/3 hrs. 30 minutes hiking time); 2.0 m.p.h. average moving speed; 3,413 feet elevation gain; 10,795 feet highest point; 48% of the hike was above 10,000 feet in elevation.