Two Favorite Hikes

In preparation for Mount Whitney, we did my two favorite hikes in Utah Valley--Lone Peak and Timpanogos.  

For Lone Peak, we left late in the day so Kaitlyn and Justin could come with us (Justin had class).  It was REALLY hot.  By the time we got close to the actual trail, we were happy to ditch our packs and take a rest. 

And then it was time for the hike to get beautiful!  Coco's sporting one of the spray bottles we took with us.  Good idea for hiking in the heat!

Seriously we had to take so many breaks.  It was HOT.  At the second Hamongog,  we discovered the stream where we were going to fill our water bottles up was DRY!

We managed to keep smiling, though.  At least our packs were lighter without water??

One of my favorite parts of this hike is after you've switchbacked up this ridge forever, you reach a cliff with a huge granite rock to rest under and a gorgeous view of the mountains east of the valley.

I love this hike!  After you get to the top of the ridge, it's a leisurely stroll (plus a little rock hopping) to Hardy Lake through paradisaical alpine meadows. 

So many colors!  And they just seem to spring right out of the rocks.

The trail is marked by cairns, so everyone gets to play I Spy to make sure you keep going in the right direction.

And all the while you enjoy stunning views of Utah Valley.

And then you arrive at Lake Hardy where, if you have thought ahead, you change into your swimming suits and take a refreshing dip in the water!

We camped here for the night.  Everyone was pretty dehydrated--especially Dad.

We had a good Mountain House dinner.

When the sun went down we walked out and admired the city lights for awhile, and then we went to bed.  In the morning we woke up and went home by way of the summit, but my phone was dead so I have no pictures of it.  Actually, because my phone was dead I kept it in my pack instead of my pocket.  When we got back to the house I couldn't find it anywhere and realized (with horror) that it must have fallen out somewhere on the mountain.  I went back up to the bottom of the trail and left notes on people's cars asking for them to contact me if they'd found it, and I was just feeling so sick about it, thinking I was going to have to climb back up the next day and look for it.  But, I said a prayer that if it was on the mountain and I wasn't going to find it, even if I went looking for it, I would feel better.  I had an instant feeling of peace.  The next morning we got a call from someone who had seen my note and also another note someone had left at the trailhead saying they'd found a phone, so I got it back!  Prayer works!

The next week we climbed Timpanogos.  We started with North Peak.  It was so cloudy we couldn't see more than 50 yards in front of us.  But, it wasn't hot!  

 We climbed all the way across the ridge from North Peak to South Peak, then slid down where the glacier used to be.

 And, of course, went for a swim in Emerald Lake.

 We had 3 different cameras going, so someone else has cool pictures of the summit and the beautiful wildflowers on the way down.  We hiked down the Timpanookee way.

Good times!