american fork twin peaks: 2, h&a: 0

I really wanted to hike on Monday but hadn't managed to come up with any ideas other than an attempt on American Fork Twin Peaks from the other side.  Knowing that I had a bit of a blister from trying to break in my new boots, I didn't think an attempt from Red Pine/White Pine was advisable - those hikes are 7-10 miles round trip even without climbing up to the summits.  So our best bet was going to be back at Snowbird, via Gad Valley.  We've sure been up at Snowbird for hiking a lot lately!  We got up there before they started charging for Oktoberfest parking and were on the trail around 8:30 a.m.  I had moleskin on my blister and slightly thicker socks and hoped for the best.

View of Superior from under Gad 2

The first part of the hike was the same as last time: from Snowbird center, up the Dick Bass Highway to the Gad Valley trail.  Before we reached the mid-Gad lodge, however, the trail split and we bore right/west on the Gad 2 trail, which was really a rough dirt road leading up to the Gad 2 lift.  It was very pretty, with streams and nice trees and with all the greenery, not to mention being less traveled than the Gad Valley trail, we were sure we would see moose, or at least deer.  We didn't.  We climbed steadily and gained a good amount of elevation but it never seemed like we were working very hard, which was a nice change from that super-steep Gad Valley trail.

Across the boulders 

And up the slope to the ridge

We paused at the top of the Gad 2 lift to reconnoiter because this was where the trail/road ended.  From what we had researched, we needed to scramble up the bowl to the ridge - which formed the boundary between Snowbird and Red Pine/White Pine - and then follow the ridge to the summits.  We waded through a small late summer flower meadow before working our way over a boulder field.  I love that sort of rock-hopping and moved pretty quickly, despite starting to favor my right foot; H moved steadily but more slowly, concerned about shifting rocks and twisting knees.  At the upper edge of the boulder field, the rocks grew smaller in size, a talus slope with lots of grass that swooped steeply up to the ridge line.  Picking our footing carefully, and being on hands and feet half the time due to the grade, we made our way up the slope as pikas scolded us.

White Pine Lake from the ridge

The views were fantastic from the ridge, where we were seeing familiar scenery from a brand new vantage point.  A faint usage trail faded in and out along the ridge for us to follow and we could see how much more we had to do as the ridge to the summits curved overhead.  The ridge seemed to be alternately easy walking and scrambling with route-finding where you didn't want to lose your footing, so we took our time - and I found myself going slower and slower as the pain in my heel grew sharper and sharper.

That's the way up the ridge

We had gotten to a rocky knob that we would have to sortie around when I had to throw in the towel.  I took off my boot to check my right heel and was a bit dismayed to find that the generic moleskin had slid away and that the blister I had been trying to protect had ripped off.  We'd already come four miles, with another mile or so to the summit; I knew I was going to struggle with the return trip from where we were, much less adding another couple of miles to our round trip.  I replaced the moleskin and added some duct tape as reinforcement, apologizing to H for wussing out.  I couldn't believe that this was our second unsuccessful attempt at the same mountain.  Then we headed down.

H on the ridge 

Instead of retracing our steps exactly, we followed the ridge down a little further and picked up another faint trail, complete with some loose scree switchbacks.  It was slow going - made even slower when H got a work phone call that he had to take for twenty minutes - but we safely made our way back down the slope and across the boulder field.  We paused for snacks and for me to add more duct tape to my heel, and then it was just a plod out and down the road.  On the plus side, we did finally see some moose, just as we started down from the top of the lift.  A cow and calf were browsing in some small trees, and a young bull was feeding just across the meadow from them.  They were completely unconcerned by us, which is as it should be.

Duct tape fixes everything, right?

The moose is loose

Despite my ministrations, my heel hurt a lot.  I started walking with a funny foot position to try to relieve the pressure, which started a sharp pain flaring up my shin.  By the time we got back to the car, I was in a fair amount of pain - which was immediately relieved when I took my boot off, revealing a bloody mess.  H didn't even have to scold me for attempting an 8+ mile hike in brand new boots with an existing blister - I had been scolding myself for being a dumbass the whole way down the mountain.  A cold beer went a long way towards making things better, however.  And the funny thing is, my left boot performed great, leaving me without even a hot spot on that foot.

First sighting of golden aspen leaves - fall is here

Clearly, I will need to work on breaking those boots in, once my foot heals enough that I can wear shoes with closed heels.  Until then, I will be anticipating our next try for American Fork Twin Peaks because despite all my whingeing about my heel, this was a very fun hike.  Both H and I are sure we can do it.  It was not particularly taxing, at least the 8+ round trip miles we did.  From what we could tell, the ridge line is not nearly as vertiginous as the approach from Hidden Peak, and with new (broken in) boots with good treads, I'm less nervous about scree.  The third time will be the charm.

Post-hike carnage

Hike stats: 8.10 miles; 3:15 hours moving/2.5 m.p.h. moving average; 4:13 total time/1.5 m.p.h. average speed (lots of stoppage); 2,800 feet of elevation.