alta with a side of cecret lake

After a nice Salt Lake Valley Saturday (trail run and road ride for H, Dimple Dell walk for A and M, evening backyard beers for H, A and M with friends in Sugarhouse), it was time for a little hike.  I have my usual "exercise loop" at Alta: park above Albion Base, walk up the Summer Road, go up the Albion Meadows trail through the ... Albion meadows to the Catherine's Pass trailhead parking, up to Catherine's Pass and across the top to Supreme, down Supreme via the access road to the campground, back to car through the meadows.

Looks like fall

It's a good loop and I like it, decent mileage (over seven), usually not too many people other than up at Catherine's Pass.  But for years I've seen but never tried a side trail that leaves the access road just before the road gets to all the residential cabins.  This time I tried it.

Heading towards Devil's Castle

After turning onto the trail, I found myself below the [winter] gates at the bottom of the Rock N Roll ski trail.  It was really pretty with all the jumble of rocks and earlier in the summer, when the flowers are full throttle, it must be spectacular.

Looking up towards the Apron

There were old mine tailings below the Apron and I could hear pikas chirping at me.  Just beyond that, the trail forked.  I took the high line, which ended up just above and to looker's left of Cecret Lake; I did notice some MTBers on the lower trail and I will try that next time.

Looking into the valley from below the Apron

I can't even tell you how long it's been since I was at Cecret Lake other than during ski season (possibly since 2016).  For good reason too, because there were lots of people hiking in, out and around that little lake - certainly more than I wanted to deal with.  I cannot imagine what hordes there must be when the wildflowers are good.

Looking back at Devil's Castle

I didn't spend any time at the lake but instead got down from there as fast as I could.  On my way out, along the Homerun Trail (Sunnyside area, below Alf's), I paused to watch a big hawk snatch something small and delicious out of the meadown, then continued on my way.

Cecret Lake with no people in the shot amazingly

Hike stats: 8.5 miles, 3 hours 11 minutes.  Next time we take the low road.

second half

 Those lovely cool temperatures didn't stick around through the whole weekend, unfortunately, and it steadily got warmer as time went on - although it never got out of the low 90s, so we were grateful for that.  Cooler weather is on its way and I'm sure we'll be bitching about how dang cold it is in January.  But for now, I feel like I can't even remember what being cold feels like.

Mile 6: Pipe Dream and Hidden Valley done

After H's big Saturday, it was time for A's big Sunday: another Pipe Dream/Hidden Valley/Moab Rim trek.  It was still pretty quiet out there.  There were three cars in the Hidden Valley trailhead parking lot and only a couple of people on the trails with me.  

Mile 8

I went just a smidgen longer than last time, opting to stay on the rock/Moab Rim trail proper, rather than going down Sand Hill to the wash.  I didn't want to have to dump sand out of my shoes after Sand Hill.  And funnily enough, it turned out to only be two-tenths of a mile longer, although it sure seemed like more than that.  Hike stats: 10.3 miles, 3:48:56.

Mile 10

While A was tromping around in the desert, H did a "recovery" road ride of 24+ miles.  He and Milton came to pick A up at the Moab Rim trailhead parking lot (with beers) and we stayed there a little while, watching some jeeps and other rigs make their way up the gnarly trail.

Needing a bit of a trim

After a nap for A that afternoon, we humans walked to our friends C and F's house for yard beers.  Which turned out to be kitchen beers because we all thought the A/C felt nice, despite the lovely shade in their backyard.

Skulls and sunflowers

And then it was Monday.  We did a bunch of chores around the house: weeding, trimming back trees, re-caulking some door frames.  Then we got back on the road bikes for the now traditional H 24/A 21 mile ride on the bike path.  Drinks at Woody's seemed to be in order for late afternoon, and then it was early to bed.  We're not stupid enough to drive back north through Spanish Fork Canyon on the evening of the last day of a long weekend; we did that once, getting stuck in traffic for over an hour, and now we wait and get up wicked early Tuesday morning for the drive back to SLC.

first half

 As is our wont, we skeddadled out of SLC and went to Moab for the long Labor Day holiday weekend, rolling into an unexpectedly quiet Main Street a little after 7 p.m.  Later, when we asked some friends in hospitality if things were slow, they said no, hotels were pretty well booked; I dunno, it sure seemed quiet.  And that's okay.

Oh

We got really lucky with the weather for the first two days especially.  A cold front rolled in and it was in the 70s (!!!!!!!) on Friday.  Delightful!  While H did a three mile trail run that morning, A and M did a 3.5 mile hike on Pipe Dream.  It was quiet out there too: we saw one dude on a MTB with his dog.  Late morning, A and H got on their road bikes for a ride on the bike path.  A did 21 miles (it had been about a month since I'd been on the bike and I could feel that fact in my sit bones) while H stretched a little further to make it 24.

Lawd

On Saturday, H had planned to do a long run and strung together 13.1 on Pipe Dream, up to Hidden Valley, through Hidden Valley and over the pass a little ways towards the Moab Rim trail.  He ended up with just barely under 2,000 feet of elevation gain too, and finished in 2:46:47, so it was not an insignificant run.  

He

While he was doing all that, Milton and A went to Millcreek.  We went a little longer than we usually do (5.7 miles) and found ourselves a preying mantis.

Comin'

Amazingly, H had not done quite enough by late Saturday morning.  We decided to take advantage of the still fairly cool temperatures (slightly warmer than Friday but it still did not get out of the 80s) and did a road ride.  This time he "just" did 21 miles.  That's plenty of miles for one day.

Mantis

Except that we did walk to Woody's and back for cocktails and that's another 1.75 miles roundtrip.  Not that we're weirdos who count everything.

csa summer: tenth box

 Wicked nice variety in this week's box - bravo, Tagge's!  We got two cartons of raspberries, a couple of corns, green beans, green peppers, shishito peppers, peaches, tomatoes, pluots, nectarines, onions, a cucumber and, for squashes: zucchini, summer and a pattypan.

Can't wait for those pluots

As we do, we had the corn and half of the green beans the first night.  I must say, both veggies are past their prime by September: the corn was a bit starchy and the beans were tough.  I think I may blanch the rest of the beans and stick them in the freezer for soups.  We had onion, pepper and the pattypan squash in a chickpea curry; put the very delicate and squishy raspberries in our oatmeal; had more peppers and onions with vegan sausages; gave away the zucchini, cucumber and summer squash*; and ate a bunch of stonefruits just as soon as they ripened.  The massive amount of plums from last week are just getting ripe now and their flesh is the most amazing, vibrant purple-red I've ever seen.  I am planning to turn most of them into a cinnamon-plum sauce (for desserts and oatmeal) to freeze because try as we might, we will never be able to eat all of them in time.

* And I don't even feel guilty about it.  We have so much shredded squash in the freezer - I ate 1.5 cups in my morning green smoothies this week.  

csa summer: ninth box

This box was so heavy!  Kind of a weird one, but super heavy!  We got five huge onions, two Anaheim peppers, some jalapeno and serrano peppers, twelve (!) huge tomatoes, so many plums and so much garlic.  Plus I supplemented with three ears of corn because Utah corn's days are numbered.

Not a huge variety but lots of it - 

those onions are massive

We ate the corn right away, of course, and the bigger ears were a little starchier but the smaller one was quite good.  I chopped up half of the tomatoes to freeze for soups; the other half was eaten as-is, dressed with a touch of extra virgin olive oil and some sea salt - yum.  The plums were all underripe but once they soften, we'll eat a bunch and then freeze the rest for future compotes, crumbles and galettes.  I'm psyched about the plums - we didn't get any last year.  (Are stone fruits an every other year situation?)  The peppers and an onion were sauteed up and used to top some vegan Italian sausages.  And the garlic: there was really SO MUCH garlic that I gave half of it away to work friends.  The other half will be preserved somehow - pickled, or roasted, mashed and frozen - to extend its lifespan.

foiled (but not complaining)

 We may finally be seeing a shift towards monsoonal weather here in Utah, which should bring some desperately needed rain (but hopefully not too much lightning).  Of course, the pattern shift came on a weekend, when we would like to be weekending, but at this point in the drought complaining about rain - any rain - is not allowed.

On Saturday, H did his longest trail run in almost a year: twelve miles, and then rallied for a short road ride just to shake his legs out.  He was pretty much done after that which, understandable.  And also impressive.  Meanwhile, Milton and I did our puny five mile Dimple Dell loop where he got to chase and be chased by a dog buddy and cadged trail snacks from two different dog walkers, and we saw three deers.  After that, things got domestic with laundry and cleaning.  I used up the last of the cherry tomatoes in a medium-spicy sauce (for tacos and burrito bowls) for the freezer.  I also did a batch of chickpeas in the InstantPot; disassembled and successfully reassembled said InstantPot for cleaning (hooray for YouTube videos!); and made a batch of black beans in the InstantPot.  And walk to the library got my day's mileage up to seven.

Saturday's walk

The plan had been for an Alta hike on Sunday but dark clouds and windy conditions threatened rain all across the Wasatch Front.  Milton and I did a slightly shorter version of the Dimple Dell loop, and got sprinkled on nearly the whole time, while H wrangled his slightly fatigued legs into an hour's road ride.  Back home, there was broccoli to blanch and freeze, breakfast oatmeal and lunch green smoothies to prep and, of course, more laundry while the weather persisted.  Around 11, the sun started trying to come out.  I put the dog on his tie-out so he could stare at the neighbors as I did some much needed weeding.  The weekend culminated with an in-garage tail-gating session to pre-celebrate our wedding anniversary with frozen watermelon margaritas.  What?  I needed to clear some freezer space.

csa summer: seventh and eighth boxes

 We had to skip our seventh CSA box so to make up for it, we got two boxes the following week.  Best part about that: DOUBLE THE BLACKBERRIES!!!!  In addition to four cartons of blackberries, we got doubles of cantaloupe, broccoli, purple and ivory peppers, summer squash (sigh), big peaches, tomatoes (cherry and full-sized) and a few apples.  The current corn variety was not quite ready for picking so fingers crossed we'll get some of that in box #9.

Double the fun

The melons were chunked up and eaten: they weren't the most flavorful but improved with a sprinkling of Tajin.  The berries were devoured fresh, plus I put some of mine in my breakfast oatmeal.  We put some broccoli and peppers in a stirfry and then blanched and flash-froze the rest of the broccoli.  More peppers were cooked up with onions for sandwich toppies.  Tomatoes were sliced and put on salads and bagels.  Some of the peaches were eaten fresh but the others were flash-frozen for future fruit cobblers and crumbles.  And, I'm sorry, but I took the squashes in to work and gave them away.  Too many squashes!

return to alta ridge run

 I knew it had been a while but I'm surprised that it has been since 2021 that I've done an Alta ridge run (note: no running).  Things haven't changed that much although that trail is definitely busier than when we first did it.  H didn't come with me this time, opting for a road ride, but the cold front that had rolled through had cleared and chilled the air, making it too nice to not get out for a hike. 

Fireweed says summer is

almost over

It was a brisk 46F at the Albion upper lot, when I pulled in at 7:45 a.m. Sunday morning.  There were not that many cars yet, likely as folks were waiting for it to warm up a touch.  I had long sleeves and my gloves on (which made it exciting to eat my bagel).  As I walked up the Summer Road towards the Albion meadow trail, a car pulled up next to me and the young women inside asked if I wanted a ride.  I thanked them, saying that it was my plan to kick H's butt in steps today; they laughed, gave me a thumbs-up and drove on.

View of Sunset Peak

from Catherine's Pass

It was two miles of climbing before my hands warmed up enough to take off my gloves.  Still cool in the shade, though, and I didn't take off my long sleeve layer until I reached Catherine's Pass at 9:06 a.m. (running total: 3.1 miles).  I ate a fig bar and put on some sunscreen, then tackled Tuscarora, passing a couple of hikers on the way up.  That climb to the top of Tuscarora is short but steep (3.4 miles, 9:28 a.m.).

View of Brighton from Tuscarora

There were a couple of young women having a snack at Tuscarora.  I asked if they were the ones who'd offered me a ride and their jaws dropped: "How'd you get here already? Did you run?" I laughed, saying I'd just walked, but slow and steady.  One of them rolled her eyes: "Fast and steady, more like it."  [H says he doesn't believe any of this and that no one has ever called me fast.]

Woohoo Wolverine

The next peak is Wolverine, which I had to myself (slow and steady) (3.66 miles, 9:43 a.m.), and then it was time to go around Wolverine Cirque.  This was the busiest part of the whole hike, with multiple parties of multiple hikers, a number of trail runners and a busy little pika.  Some sections of the trail have been rerouted to the Alta side of the ridge, which is safer and less exposed than the cirque side.

Pikas look sooooo soft

I texted H when I finished the cirque (4.1 miles, 10:11 a.m.) and headed down.  That part of the trail, down off the ridge towards Twin Lakes pass, is my least favorite part: it is very steep and rocky, without the benefit of switchbacks.  But soon enough you're off the rocks and onto packed dirt - packed dust, actually, as it is very dry right now), which all the trail runners must appreciate.

On the far side of the cirque

From Twin Lakes pass (4.57 miles, 10:34 a.m.), all that was left was traipsing down the old mining roads through Grizzly Gulch.  Because it is so dry, the footing is slippery and loose; I was grateful to have my hiking poles a couple of times.  There were a lot of folks heading up in this stretch - hikers, runners and even a couple of MTBers - but no one passed me going down.

Some switchbacks would be helpful

Back at the car for a beer at 11:21 a.m., with a grand total of 6.4 miles.  I always think that trail is going to be longer than it actually is - I guess that last out through Grizzly Gulch just seems long.  Now in the sun, it had warmed up to 64F, with a light breeze, and it was just about as pleasant as you could ask for.  It was a good day to take a good hike.

Blue skies above Grizzly Gulch

neighborhood things

Summer colds are no fun.  Both H and I ended up with one - he says I gave it to him but then he gave it right back to me - and it kind of derailed our weekend.  Oh, we still got out for trail runs and bike rides (H) and five mile dog walks (A and M), but then there had to be naps to recuperate and we ran the house out of tissues and A didn't get up to Alta for a real hike.  Next time, I guess.

Sunflower in the morning

It was also bloody hot and windy.  Anything we got out to do, including the dreaded weeding, had to be done as early as possible.  The sun is coming up later, of course, but Milton and I still headed out for our Dimple Dell loop both Saturday and Sunday before it came over the mountains.  Even so, it was nearly 80 when we began, so I made sure to wear my hydration vest so I could give him water during the walk.

Young one, still growing

The sunflowers are getting into swing, which is so cheerful and also good for the birds.  The local bison were out, grazing in their pasture and entirely unimpressed with the people stopping to check them out.  M and I met up with a number of the regular early morning Dimple Dell dog walkers; M is becoming expert at wheedling treats out of them.  And, before the wind kicked up, there were hot air balloons wafting about over the Salt Lake valley.  Not for me, but also cheerful.

Oquirrh mountains in the background

Next time, I swear, there will be an actual hike.

csa summer: sixth box

Box #6 arrived and it was pretty dang good, although we miss the cherries and berries of the early boxes.  For fruit, we got a big canteloupe, donut peaches and regular peaches; for veg, corn on the cob, green beans (must be nearing the end of those but they're still good), green peppers, a couple of tomatoes (yes, technically fruit but), a cucumber, a zucchini, a summer squash and a green cabbage.  I feel like maybe a couple more tomatoes and/or peaches would have been okay.

I am officially over summer squash at this point

The corn and beans were eaten that night, as corn's sugars start turning to starch as soon as it gets picked, so the longer you wait, the less tasty it is.  I gave away the cucumber and the two squashes.  The melon got cut up immediately: it was pretty good, although not Green River good, and we ate it straight and also in some smoothies.  The cabbage got put into a dinner of gochujang noodles and also a batch of coleslaw, which went with BBQ vegan "pulled pork" (soy curl) sandwiches.

And, glory of glories, I traded all the remaining beets from prior boxes to a neighbor for homegrown tomatoes!  Win-win!

smoky

The American West is on fire.  Utah Fire Info shows (at this point) 136,000+ acres burned in state, with 135 natural starts and four times as many human starts (humans: please stop being so stupid).  That of course pales in comparison with what Arizona is going through: the Dragon Bravo Fire on the Grand Canyon's north rim has burned through over 114,000 acres - just that one fire alone.  We in the west desperately need monsoon season to start.

Sunrise Thursday

We had strung together a Moab long weekend around the Utah state holiday on July 24.  As soon as we got through Price, the wildfire smoke showed up: first from the Monroe Canyon fire near Richfield, UT, and then the blown-in smoke from the Dragon Bravo fire.  Green River's air was thick with smoke and as we turned off I-70 towards Moab, you couldn't see the LaSals.

Sunrise Friday

The smoke did clear a bit and each morning, the air quality seemed to be the best.  So Milton and I headed off to Millcreek for our hike, and H headed off to Pipe Dream for his trail run.  But by late morning, the air quality deteriorated and we were a bit reluctant to get out there on our road bikes and breathe in big lungsful.  This led to one of the least-active weekends we've ever spent but we did get a lot of books read.

Saturday sunrise

We did do a little more than that (a little).  We did some yardwork, trimming back some overhanging trees.  We rode our MTBs to the bowling alley bar for beers, just to mix it up a bit.  (For the record: bowling alley beers are not any cheaper than Main Street establishment beers, more's the pity.)  And we went to a cookout at our friends' house Saturday evening, so we were even social!

The morning light really  

shows off all the gray hairs

It was weird when we got back to Salt Lake where the air was clear - usually Moab's air is much better than SLC's.  It's so dry though.  We really, really, really need it to rain ... but without lightning, would be preferable.  Maybe monsoon season will start up soon.

Trail stats: A and M: 4 miles each day; H: 4 miles Thursday, 3 miles Friday, 5 miles Saturday. 

csa summer: fifth box

 No, really, now we're really hitting summer's stride.  CSA box #5 from Tagge's Famous Fruit and Veggie Farms (which, total kudos for putting an easement on their farmland to protect it from the rampant development that infects Utah - for that commitment alone I will continue to sign up for their CSA subscriptions) really feels like summer ... although if I'm honest, with the heat and the wildfires, we're sort of ready for fall (although if I'm honest, I'm already sad that the days are getting shorter)).  We got corn, green beans, carrots, two different kinds of cucumbers, a zucchini and a summer squash, tomatoes, two kinds of peaches and a watermelon.

Ooh tomatoes and peaches!!!

Per usual, we ate the corn and beans immediately.  The watermelon was not nearly as good as the last one so I cubed it and froze it and we blended it with tequila for margaritas.  Some of the cucumbers got quick-pickled, along with the skinnier carrots.  The tomatoes, some of the cucumbers and the peaches got taken to work for lunches (if I'm honest, I don't love these donut peaches so much - I find them much less flavorful than the regular kind).  The heftier carrots got diced and put into a batch of lentils, along with some onion - not soup, just lentils to put on rice as an alternative to black beans which we've been eating a lot of recently.  It's been WAY too hot to turn the oven on so beans (of all kinds) have been our primary protein lately.  

And, if I'm honest, I took three cucumbers, the zucchini and the summer squash in to work, leaving them in the breakroom for folks to take.  They all got claimed but the summer squash got claimed FIRST, which I find baffling - that is for sure my least favorite squash.  Blessings on the person who took it home.

csa summer: fourth box

 We are on the verge of full summer in a box ... but until then, more beets!  The fourth box was pretty good, with two cartons of blackberries, a ton of green beans, Swiss chard, lots of apricots, a couple of ears of corn, a mini watermelon, carrots with dirty tops (sigh), candycane beets (sigh), a cucumber and two zucchinis (sigh).  

Beginning to look a lot like summer

We ate the corn and half the beans right away, and the blackberries we split evenly and completely devoured.  The zucchini got shredded and frozen (we now have about eight cups of shredded zucchini in the freezer oy vey) and the apricots got frozen too: the apricots will be made into more BBQ sauce or pie filling; the zucchini will go into baked goods - I have a really easy Jiffy cornbread "recipe" that uses up a lot of shredded squash - or snuck into soups and sauces.  We sauteed the chard with EVOO, garlic and chile flakes.  And the watermelon got cubed and eaten - it was pretty good.  I have on my list of things to do this weekend to deal with the cucumber and beets ... seems like some quick pickling is in the mix.

top tier

 This last weekend we were again in SLC.  Saturday, while H did a seven mile trail run and then a road ride, Milton and I did our five mile Dimple Dell loop.  It was kind of humid, a holdover from the brief rain the night before, and H and I were total drama queens about how sticky and muggy it was.  (It wasn't that bad.)  That evening, we three got social and drove up to the RoHa Brewing Project to meet E and K for beers.  We really like that little brewery: they have a ton of beer on tap, live music each time we've gone, both indoor and outdoor seating, with a food truck out front, and are super dog-friendly.  The bartender said they're technically not supposed to have dogs inside but when we got there, there were at least five other dogs already arranged under the various tables, one Frenchie lying directly on the floor vent, keeping her tummy cool.  After saying hi to his girlfriends E and K, Milton wasted no time making friends with everyone at all the other tables.

Green gentian with bee

Because he'd gotten to go to a bar the day before, I didn't feel too badly about short-changing Milton on his Sunday morning walk and instead taking myself up to Snowbird for a wildflower hike.  The Wasatch Wildflower Festival had been at the Bird on Saturday - and was wrapping up at Alta on Sunday - so I figured I might not have to fight the crowds if I got there early enough.  I pulled into a largely empty parking lot at about 7:45 a.m. (not that early, tbh) where the sun was still behind the mountains and it was a glorious 59F.

I love sulphur buckwheat

With cream-cheese bagel in hand (also hiking poles, because knees), I headed up the Peruvian Gulch trail.  That trail is brutal.  The first mile, from Snowbird Center to the Peruvian Gulch road, follows a drainage and basically goes straight up, without messing around with any switchback nonsense.  I passed one older woman on my way up; she, and the youngest woman ahead of me, kept climbing on the PG Road, while I turned off onto the PG Trail.

Headed up that ridge to the tram tower

The second mile, while still going up mercilessly, was not quite as steep as it opened up and crisscrossed some flower-filled meadows.  I got passed by one trail runner on the Cirque Trail, just before starting the ridge walk, and other than him, had the place to myself.  There were a few patches of snow up on the headwall of the cirque, and more snow over on the Gad Valley/Regulator side, but it was all pretty dry up there.  It was windy on the ridge section and I had to hold onto my hat a couple of times.  And right before coming off the ridge, where it gets REALLY steep, I did question my life choices somewhat.

Those orange paintbrushes were incredible

As I started the fourth mile of the hike, however, it was all downhill on the Peruvian Gulch road.  Towards the top, I said hi to four MTBers who were heroically grinding their way up the mountain (on real, people-powered, non-e-bikes).  Snowbird stopped allowing bikes on the tram during Covid ... but never reinstated them, for some reason, despite having spent the time and money to put in the magnificent Big Mountain downhill MTB trail.  Now the only way to ride the BMT is to put in the work and ride to the top, which thins the herd quite a lot.

Lupine, sunflowers, two colors of paintbrush

and Lewis's monkeyflower (plus more I don't know)

Walking down the PG road has its own challenges.  It's pretty steep and the gravel is loose in spots - not fun on the knees and slippery.  As I worked my way down, more hikers were coming up; I'm sure they thought that I'd taken the now-running tram up and was just hiking down.  Little did they know that I am far too cheap to pay for a Snowbird tram ticket.  After a 6.5 mile round trip (and 3.5 hours - that trail is too steep to be fast, at least for me), I was back at the car, changing my shoes and sneaking an oat soda before heading home.

Clover-headed mint (not anemones,

as previously thought)

What I love about that loop - not how steep it is, ugh - is the wide variety of wildflowers.  As you move through the different sections/ecosystems, the flowers change.  There are just so many of them!  There seem to be some different kinds than at Alta too, so it's nice to do hikes at each resort to experience the variety.  Every year I think, I don't need to take a bunch of wildflower photos again but each year I do, because they're just so pretty.

Tiny little yellow blossoms

on the coneflowers

csa summer: third box

 We got kale in our third CSA box!  We love kale!  We also got very good cherries, some sugar snap peas, a couple of zucchini and a summer squash, spicy little radishes, a bunch of apricots, rainbow carrots with tops, two (!) boxes of raspberries and more beets.  And although there wasn't any corn on the cob in the box, I bought three ears (for $1/each).  The ears seem a little small but the corn was still tasty.

I think I'd actually rather more

zucchini and fewer beets

I gave away one zucchini to a coworker and then shredded and froze the rest for future use; we also gave away almost all the cumulative beets to friends; the raspberries were devoured on their own, plus I put some in my morning oatmeal; the kale, radishes and carrots went into salads; and the carrot tops were clean enough this time that I was able to make them into carrot top pesto (rounded out with a little kale).  I don't know if we'll be able to eat all the apricots fresh before they get too soft - but if it starts getting close, I'll flash-freeze them for future baking (crisps/crumbles/galettes). 

here be flowers

The Wasatch wildflowers are in full swing right now.  In fact, the 2025 Wasatch Wildflower Festival is going on July 12 (Brighton) and 13 (Solitude) and then July 19 (Snowbird) and 20 (Alta).  If you're up there then, be warned that there are just oodles and oodles of people.  And also please don't pick the flowers and do stay on the trails.

Saw some folks hiking up with their

skis for some Ballroom turns

In any event, after taking Milton on a foreshortened neighborhood walk (only a mile, he's so deprived), I drove up to Alta for a solo hike.  I didn't get up there until 8:15, wanting to wait for H to get done with his early morning bike ride so I didn't have to put the dog in his crate, and it was already busy.  I had decided on a different loop so as to avoid the Supreme lift construction, so after parking up above the Albion base area, I walked down to Wildcat base - along the road so as to avoid additional construction along the rope tow.  There's a lot of construction at Alta right now (and they're paying for it by raising lift ticket prices AGAIN).

Gordon's ivesia

From Wildcat base, I went up the Collins Gulch access road.  That is such a slog.  It's very steep from the base area to the angle station.  But I actually prefer going up it because I find the steep dirt road slippery for descending.  I also preferred it because there were so few people on the front side of the mountain: I passed one hiker going up and only saw four other people going the other way.  That time of morning the access road is also pretty shady, which is welcome when youre churning your way up.

Lupine and paintbrush

At the top of the Collins lift (3.75 miles), I had a snack and then dropped over into the Sugarloaf side, following the cat track down through Sugar Bowl and under the lift.  Then I turned left, and followed the access road around the bowl and down the long switchbacks under East Greeley.  I started seeing a few more people, including six MTBers heroically biking up those long switchbacks.  The flowers were fantastic.

At first I thought cow parsnip

but now I'm not so sure

When I passed Alf's and continued down the Homerun trail below the Albion meadows proper, the hordes really started horde-ing; I had selected Homerun rather than the main trail to try to keep away from most of the crowds, but even so I stopped counting at 70 people.  (Two people I was happy to count was a hiking/running/dog mom woman, whom I follow on Instagram, and her husband: I recognized her and introduced myself, then let them continue on their way.)

I know this one! Elephanthead!

Back at the car I had a beer and some peanuts while I changed my shoes and watched the continuous stream of cars looking for parking place.  I may have been late getting up there but I wasn't as late as they were.  Note to self: be earlier next time though.

Hike stats: 7.4 miles round trip (which is almost the same mileage as my regular Catherine's Area loop) in 2 hours 50 minutes.