sweltering saturday

 Just days after we got back from Moab, the state was enveloped by a heat dome, pushing temperatures in northern Utah into the low 100s (106F for hell's sake) and keeping them there.  It's been miserable and unsafe ... and Milton just could not understand why we wouldn't allow him to lie out in the sun on the driveway.  The only thing to do, for those of us who like to exercise outside, and for those who have dogs, is to go really early in the morning or in the evening as the sun is nearly down.

Baby bison (bisonettes?)

I hate the gym and Milton needs walks so during the week, he and I would walk for about an hour in the morning, starting at 5:30.  We also did some at night, leaving the house around 8 p.m., but honestly it was worth getting up early for the cooler temperatures.  And by "cooler" I mean it was only getting down to about 71F overnight, which is not that cool.

So handsome!

On Saturday, Milt and I did the 5:30ish walk thing, doing our Dimple Dell loop and saying hi to the neighbor bison and longhorns.  (The baby bison are starting to get frisky - so cute!)  

I did see one guy hiking up with his skis

 - assume he was heading to the Apron

We got back at 7:30ish, just as the sun was clearing the Wasatch mountains.  I changed into my hiking boots and left Milton pouting on the bed, to drive up to Alta for a solo hike.  This was a much later start than we usually do for summertime hiking and the consequences were obvious.  There were already hundreds of cars parked at the White Pine trailhead, and the line of traffic heading up the canyon was like it was ski season (except everyone was very polite and stayed in the right lane so I was able to pass a lot of them).  It was already 67F up at Alta when I started walking up the Summer Road at 8:20.

I did my regular Alta loop - from Albion to Catherine's Pass to the top of Supreme and down through the campground.  I am not where I'd like to be hiking-shape-wise and I felt very slow, although I did pass twenty people going up.  There were already a lot of folks coming down - so many trail runners - and I would like to report that not a single one of them yielded right of way to any of the uphill traffic.  Of course people need to get outside and get exercise but it would be nice if they had even a cursory knowledge of trail etiquette.

Hike stats:  Dunno my mileage but judging by how my feet felt at the end of the hike, I'm guessing 8-10 miles with the two excursions.  And it was 81F back at the car - that's HOT for Alta.