It was super hot down in the valley, and my roommate wanted to go do something. Woohoo! I am always up for an adventure! The question was, however, do we go to the salt flats or go up into the mountains?
...I was already really hot--ok, and it was only about 86 degrees outside, but it was hot--so I voted for the mountains.
My roommate then voted for her favorite spot: Silver Lake. I was good with that decision because it is a high location--up by Brighton ski resort--and I just really wanted to see how the spring melt looked coming down the mountain.
Y'see, as you wind your way through the mountains, more often than not, you drive along streams. It's particularly beautiful in the Alpine Loop down by Timpanogas. (I'm going to be taking that drive soon-ish, I hope.) I wanted to see how it looked in early spring.
First Stop: Silver Lake
Well, the mountains haven't received the memo that it's spring--which I'm totally ok with! We got up to Silver Lake, got out of the car, and I told my roommate that I hoped she had different shoes in her trunk, because I don't think Silver Lake was ready for her to wear sandals yet.
Somewhere, under all of this snow, is the lake, marshland, and a boardwalk. You see people in the middle--I'm pretty sure that's the middle of the lake, granted I haven't been there since last July--so we decided to still go for a walk.
Well...easier said than done. Apparently this is why they invented snow shoes. Haha
We did try for about ten minutes to make any progress, but you never knew when your step would sink you down 15"...or potentially more. I mean, there's a lake under there somewhere. While it was hot out, I was not prepared to go swimming.
The snow, up close, appeared as little ice crystals. Unfortunately, not conducive to building a snowman or letting one's legs pass through unscathed. (Both of us ended up with a couple of minor scrapes on our legs from the deep steps.)
As awesome as it was to see all of this snow at the end of April, we opted to go a little further down the mountain to go for a walk.
Next stop: The Trail for Donut Falls!
We are not familiar with any of the trails on this mountain. ...or in general. My roommate is not much for hiking, and I am not comfortable enough for hiking on my own. Yet. I'm still trying to shed my city-ness. I enjoy getting out, but I recently read a number of notices/stories for carrying bear spray and knowing how to use it.
...I don't own any, and I don't know how to use it.
So I'm not quite ready for that adventure. I'll stick to exploring mountains with others for now.
The easiest way to choose a place to walk around? Stop where you see a bunch of other cars stopped. If there are a bunch of them, they probably know something we don't.
It turns out, Donut Falls is considered an easy, family-friendly hike. Round trip of about 3.5 miles, and an elevation gain of 300-someodd feet. As embarrassing as it is to say--we never made it to the falls. There was still quite a bit of snow along the way here, too, (and slush and mud) and our foot-gear was not the best choice for an impromptu hike. I don't know how some people were managing it in sandals. Again, I must be too "city" still for that.
We ended up turning around shortly before the falls. There was a rocky way you had to navigate to get down to a lower path to then follow the stream to the falls, but at the top of the rocks it was a little on the icy side.
The entertaining bits of the hike?
I slipped. Twice. On my bum. It was actually rather fun, and I am grateful I slipped in a snowy part and not a slushy/muddy part. (Otherwise it would have looked like I messed my pants!)
My roommate did have a pair of old sneakers in her car...but the soles were falling off. By the end, one did fall off, and she was walking in a little sock of a shoe. Haha.
Seeing all of the cute little kids out with their families hiking. (...I daresay they did better than we did! haha) One day, hopefully, I'll get to have that adventure.
It really is a beautiful hike, and I will probably try a little later in "spring" (read summer) when the snow has melted a little more.
Below are some pictures of our adventure! :)
...I was already really hot--ok, and it was only about 86 degrees outside, but it was hot--so I voted for the mountains.
My roommate then voted for her favorite spot: Silver Lake. I was good with that decision because it is a high location--up by Brighton ski resort--and I just really wanted to see how the spring melt looked coming down the mountain.
Y'see, as you wind your way through the mountains, more often than not, you drive along streams. It's particularly beautiful in the Alpine Loop down by Timpanogas. (I'm going to be taking that drive soon-ish, I hope.) I wanted to see how it looked in early spring.
First Stop: Silver Lake
Well, the mountains haven't received the memo that it's spring--which I'm totally ok with! We got up to Silver Lake, got out of the car, and I told my roommate that I hoped she had different shoes in her trunk, because I don't think Silver Lake was ready for her to wear sandals yet.
Somewhere, under all of this snow, is the lake, marshland, and a boardwalk. You see people in the middle--I'm pretty sure that's the middle of the lake, granted I haven't been there since last July--so we decided to still go for a walk.
Well...easier said than done. Apparently this is why they invented snow shoes. Haha
We did try for about ten minutes to make any progress, but you never knew when your step would sink you down 15"...or potentially more. I mean, there's a lake under there somewhere. While it was hot out, I was not prepared to go swimming.
The snow, up close, appeared as little ice crystals. Unfortunately, not conducive to building a snowman or letting one's legs pass through unscathed. (Both of us ended up with a couple of minor scrapes on our legs from the deep steps.)
As awesome as it was to see all of this snow at the end of April, we opted to go a little further down the mountain to go for a walk.
Next stop: The Trail for Donut Falls!
We are not familiar with any of the trails on this mountain. ...or in general. My roommate is not much for hiking, and I am not comfortable enough for hiking on my own. Yet. I'm still trying to shed my city-ness. I enjoy getting out, but I recently read a number of notices/stories for carrying bear spray and knowing how to use it.
...I don't own any, and I don't know how to use it.
So I'm not quite ready for that adventure. I'll stick to exploring mountains with others for now.
The easiest way to choose a place to walk around? Stop where you see a bunch of other cars stopped. If there are a bunch of them, they probably know something we don't.It turns out, Donut Falls is considered an easy, family-friendly hike. Round trip of about 3.5 miles, and an elevation gain of 300-someodd feet. As embarrassing as it is to say--we never made it to the falls. There was still quite a bit of snow along the way here, too, (and slush and mud) and our foot-gear was not the best choice for an impromptu hike. I don't know how some people were managing it in sandals. Again, I must be too "city" still for that.
We ended up turning around shortly before the falls. There was a rocky way you had to navigate to get down to a lower path to then follow the stream to the falls, but at the top of the rocks it was a little on the icy side.
The entertaining bits of the hike?
I slipped. Twice. On my bum. It was actually rather fun, and I am grateful I slipped in a snowy part and not a slushy/muddy part. (Otherwise it would have looked like I messed my pants!)
My roommate did have a pair of old sneakers in her car...but the soles were falling off. By the end, one did fall off, and she was walking in a little sock of a shoe. Haha.
Seeing all of the cute little kids out with their families hiking. (...I daresay they did better than we did! haha) One day, hopefully, I'll get to have that adventure.
It really is a beautiful hike, and I will probably try a little later in "spring" (read summer) when the snow has melted a little more.
Below are some pictures of our adventure! :)
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| What an amazing view! This was right at the beginning of the trail if you park on the main road. |
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| The trail continued over that fallen tree. |
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| A couple enjoying the great outdoors. |
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| The snowy bank on the right was the trail we went up. |
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| A man comfortably reading in his hammock. At least I hope it's his. It'd be awkward if it weren't. |
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| There was a little bridge to get you across this stream. It provided a beautiful view! |
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| A hill we did not slip down. However, it did make me wish I had a sled with me. It would have made the descent a lot easier. ;) |
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