The Ascent of Mt. Timpanogas

Courtney and I finally had the opportunity to hike Mt. Timpanogas. We started our hike in the dark at 6am with flashlights. It was hard to capture it on camera, but it was really cool to see everyone else climbing the mountain in the dark too with small spots of light tracing the switchback trails up the mountain. We were well into our hike when the sun came up for a beautiful view of the sunrise. This first picture is once we reached the lake, well above the tree lines.

This is a picture of what is called The Saddle. If you look close you can see a lot of people taking in the view of Utah County.

Reaching the Summit 11,773 ft.

After 5 1/2 hours of hiking up hill, we reached our goal. We paused for some pictures, lunch, and a little rest.

No Park Rides Here

This was probably the funnest part of the hike and some might say, a little on the crazy side. Once we hiked from the summit down to this point there is no turning back. It's very safe with the exception of breaking a tail bone, an arm, a leg, etc... There is kind of an art form to descending this direction: A rock in each hand to keep your hands out of the ice, and buttocks that don't mind a few bumps here and there as it freezes to complete numbness. The number one goal on the way down....don't hit any rocks!! The extent our injuries consisted of one ripped pair of shorts right in the keister!! From this point down to Emerald Lake was about 1,100 ft. There's not a lot of snow left at this time of year, but there was just enough to get us back to the lake.

Mountain Goats, No Fences Here

This picture was taken on our way down the mountain. We saw about 10 of these goats on our way up in a herd far away, but on our way down, there was one about 10 yards off the walking trail and these were about 40 yards off the trail.

The End of Our Hike

I don't think Courtney has ever had a more refreshing moment than here after 9 1/2 hours of hiking.

Lucy playing Uno

Happy Birthday Lucy!!

Lucy had such a fun birthday with cousins and family. It didn't take her long to figure out how to unwrap presents. The duck theme was pretty cute and as always, Courtney made the cake. The marshmallows and jelly beans make up the bubblebath!