popular place, that alta

When Labor Day Monday rolled around, we got all leisurely, making bacon and eggs and toast for breakfast, puttering around in the cool morning sunshine with coffees, etc.  H decided that he wanted to go for a road ride so that pointed me towards my Catherine's Pass/Supreme loop up at Alta.  Because of the leisurely start to our day, I didn't get up there until close to noon ... and was amazed at the hordes of people up there.  HORDES.  I have never seen so many minivans in all my life.   Quite a lot of these people were all queued up, waiting for the shuttles to take them up to Albion Basin, but I knew the first section of trail would be busy.

Awful nice day for a hike

I pushed a really fast pace going up that first section, up through the meadow to Catherine's Pass.  I lost count but I wouldn't be surprised if I passed more than seventy people, it was just that busy.  Once on the trail to Catherine's Pass, however, the crowds thinned way, way out.  I didn't have the place to myself as I often do, but I only passed ten people, including one family who had stopped to gawk at a "badger."  It wasn't a badger.  It was a marmot, as I helpfully let them know.

Soon enough, we'll get to see this with snow on it

Up on the pass, there must have been twenty-five people sitting on the rocks and taking in the view.  I continued up the trail, past the turn off for Sunset Peak, at which point I found some solitude, not encountering anyone as I traversed the ridge over to Supreme and down to the campground.  There were no moose or mule deer to be seen on this trip; with the hordes, I imagine they'd all taken off for parts less populated.

Remains of the summer wildflowers, with 

Superior in the background

Monday evening, we took ourselves to the Cottonbottom Inn for some garlic burgers.  Eating a local Utah food after a great long holiday weekend doing local stuff outside seemed like a good way to wind things up.