avenues twin peaks

Recent weekends have largely been taken up with addressing (or attempting to address) sprinkler issues - as H and one of our neighbors, who looooooooves yard work, have been spending hours digging holes, stopping leaks, swapping out valves, re-wiring, etc. - while Milton "supervises" in between naps in the sun.  We did manage to get out for a new-to-us hike one day, however, after some dithering around, trying to find something dog-friendly and not too far away, settling on the Avenues Twin Peaks hike in the foothills above SLC.

There are oodles of trails along the bench to the north/northeast/east in the Salt Lake Valley, all connected in some way by the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, although there is some current controversy* about some new trails going in above the Avenues (neighborhood in SLC with wonderful older homes).  We haven't spent much time up there because these trails are heavily used and we try to be where people aren't.  They're great trails, however:  in good shape, easy walking and well-signed at all the intersections.

View to the east(ish)

Since we got a late start, we saw lots of people out there, from MTBers to e-bikers to dog walkers to hikers to trail runners.  Some of what we hiked was quite steep, and without switchbacks the footing was a little slide-y.  But you get up to the views - of the entire Salt Lake Valley and beyond - quickly.  Everything is still green and there were flowers everywhere.  Although dogs are supposed to be on-leash, most were off and well-behaved; we just put Milton back on his leash whenever we encountered another leashed dog and everything worked out fine.  

After the hike, since we were already in town, we stopped by the Campfire Lounge's dog-friendly patio for a pitcher and snacks.  Being in Sugarhouse, there was plenty of passersby people-watching to do, plus Milton made friends with Archie (golden-doodle puppy) and Henry (golden retriever) and all the people sitting near us.  We don't do city stuff all that often - days like this make me think we should do it a little more.

View to the west

Hike stats: 4.30 miles; moving 1:35 hours/2.7 m.p.h.; overall 1:55/2.2 m.p.h.; 1,380 feet of elevation

*  The city has put a temporary halt to new trail construction for a bit, saying that there needs to be a more comprehensive plan with respect to habitat, erosion, trail use (hikers vs bikers) and protected spaces; plus some folks with really high end homes up there are cranky that the hoi polloi park on their streets for trail access (which is allowed).