Monday, August 25, 2008

PETEY BISHOP SUMMIT (from creek)


Hike: Petey Bishop's
Location: Ephraim, UT
Hikers: Amy, Jamie
Begin: 6:56 am
End: 8:36 am
Summit: 7:56 am, 7800 ft.
RT Time: 1 hour 40 min
Camper: 22 min
Fork: 29 min
Flood Zone: 39 min
Weather: clear, 69 F at the end
Elevations: ?' - 7800'

Notes: Jamie and I started at the base of Petey Bishop's where the small creek crosses the trail. With school starting everyone is much shorter on time. We had no intention of making the summit this morning but every bend and every hill crest looked as though we might almost be there. So we continued. It was a "just till the next bend..." kind of morning. After the flood zone the trail becomes very steep and the footing is loose all the way to the summit. It felt great to get to the top so unexpectedly and fast - one hour exactly. I must say, I think we're in pretty good shape. We saw several deer along the way and a man. Human encounters are rare. However, despite our good cardio shape none of us have dropped very much weight - so we've all committed to losing 5 pounds by October 1. Now it's in writing. Glad to be alive and healthy living in such a beautiful place.

Monday, August 18, 2008

BALD MOUNTAIN SUMMIT!





Hikers: Kim, Amy, Jamie
Begin: 6:15 am
Elevation: 5900'
Rocky Bend: 53 min.
Summit: 1 hour 53 min.
Elevation: 8464'
End time: 9:50 am
RT Time: 3 hours 35 min.
RT Mileage: 9.2 miles
Weather: 51F to start, 71 F to end. Cool, but sunny and clear.


Notes: WE DID IT!!! Our goal of the summer was reached. We were very proud of ourselves (and still are). We really kept our pace going and reached the Rocky Bend in record time with no stops until then. This was almost the half-way point and we were still going strong. The trail stayed moderate until the last 15- 20 min. We were thrilled to see the top and broke out the camera, granola bars and water right away. We had pictured a nice relaxing breakfast on the mountain, but the swarm of bees had a different idea. Wherever we went they went too. In the end, we just decided to let them have their hill and went back down. At the bottom, tired, sore and faint from hunger (but still happy we had accomplished our goal), we decided to go out to breakfast and were able to do justice to our large meals. It was very satisfying. *sigh of contentment* Now, if we can just make it to Mt. Nebo....

Friday, August 15, 2008

PETEY BISHOP'S

Hike: Petey Bishop's
Location: Ephraim, UT
Hikers: Kim, Amy, Jamie, Isa the dog
Day: Friday, Aug 15
Begin: 7:09 am
End: 8:43 am
RT Time: 1 hour 34 min
Summit: Flood Zone, 7:59 am, 7175 ft.
Weather: 53 F, clear and cool
Elevations: 5935' - 7175'

Notes: Petey Bishop's Round II. We reached the Fork in the Road (our summit on wed) at 7:50 am. An improvement of several minutes from Wednesday. I think 6 minutes...? Mornings are getting cooler and darker. Signs of summer sadly on it's way out. Early monday morning is our first and last attempt, for the season at least, to actually summit Bald Mountain. Though we have hiked it a couple dozen times we have yet to make to the top. Time is always the issue. This morning was a leg burner for everyone.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

PETEY BISHOPS


Hike: Petey Bishop's
Location: Ephraim, UT
Hikers: Kim, Amy, Jamie, Isa the dog
Day: Wed, Aug 13
Begin: 7:14 am
End: 8:30 am
Summit: Fork in the road, 6981 ft.
RT Time: 1 hour 16 min, approx
Weather: 56 F, clear and cool
Elevations: 5935' - 6981'

Notes: Whew! So this was Petey Bishop's the front way. We started at the end of Cane Valley (past the elk ranch) on a long stretch of flat which provided a good warm up and cool down. But other than that, it was all up. Someone pointed out, that it makes the grind of Bald Mountain feel like a warm-up. We hiked hard and fast and it felt great. After hiking a solid 40 minutes we stopped to catch our breath. We all noticed that we had recovered within about 30 seconds even though we had moments ago been pushing our bodies and lungs to our personal limit. And that's what's interesting. It doesn't necessarily get easier, you just recover faster. We ran out of time before reaching the true summit and had to turn and head back. Another time.

Monday, August 11, 2008

RACE LOOP


Hike: Race Loop
Location: Ephraim, UT
Hikers: Kim, Amy, Jamie, Isa the dog
Day: Monday, August 11
Begin: 7:10
Summit: A distinct summit was not found
RT Time: 1 hour 3 min
Weather: 56 F, clear and cool

Notes: The race loop begins by Tank Hill just west of Larsens. This is where we parked. Kim had vague and distant memories of the bike trail loop supplemented by more recent information from Cory (her husband), and between the two, was able to lead us up, down, around, over, and under every hill and pinyon pine on the lower eastern bench. The climax of this mornings' hike was a very steep descent appoximately 3/4 of way through down a loosely graveled hillside. The best way to approach this particular descent is to put aside notions of traction and think speed and snowboard stance instead. It was agreed by all, except the dog who can't talk, that this small section qualifies this hike as "somewhat hazardous." Sorry no pictures.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

NEW CANYON/ PETEY BISHOP'S




Location: Ephraim Canyon
Hikers: Kim, Amy, Jamie, Isa
Day: Wed, 6 Aug
Begin: 7:08 am, 6230 ft.
EZ PZ rock: 22 min. 6680 ft.
Summit: 1 hour 9 min., 7800 ft.
Rt. time: 2 hour 5 min.
Weather: 67 F, overcast, humid

Notes: We haven't done this hike since the beginning of the summer, so it is interesting to note our increased speed and strength. At the Petey Bishop turn-off the road got much steeper, but there was a great reward in the fact that we could see most of the Sanpete Valley from the top.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

UINTAS





Location: Crystal Lakes TH - Lakes Country Trail
Hikers: Amy, Daniel
Day: Friday, 1 Aug - Sunday, 3 Aug, 2008
Rt time: 2.5 days
Weather: 70's in the day, high 30's at night, breezy and sunny
Elevations: 10,750
Pace: 1 mi/hr uphill, 1.5 mi/hr downhill (approx)
Distance: 8 miles RT
Notes: Why have I not visited the Uinats sooner? A pine speckled pale rock landscape with basins full of water. Lots of water. Weir Lake, Pot Lake, Duck Lake, Island Lake, Long Lake, and lots of many little unnamed lakes inbetween. Temperatures were perfect. Backpacking at midday in full sun was actually a pleasure. We started on Friday afternoon, and camped at Duck Lake, 3 miles from the trailhead (mostly downhill), then headed up to Island Lake the next morning (1 mile). On Sunday we packed out via Long Lake (3 miles) completing the loop. Wildflowers were out in abundance, particularly above 10,000 ft, and we spent some time learning plants and chasing an elusive woodpecker. Unfortunatley, the weather was too good and I didn't get to try out my new big agnes tent in windy and stormy weather. Of the listed lakes, Long and Island were the highlights.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Forks of Huntington


Location: Huntington Canyon
Hiker: Kim
Day: Saturday, 2 Aug. 2008
Begin: 11:02 am
Summit: 11:56 am
End: 12:45 pm
Rt time: 1 hour, 43 min.
Weather: 67 F, cloudy, an occasional sprinkle
Notes: This is such a beautiful, single-track trail. It is very green and follows the river up the canyon. The flowers were out all over the place with some as tall as my waist. The only thing I would change is the fact that I forgot my camera, so I decided to include my sketch...