The Great Mount Timpanogos!

Ever since going to BYU and not hiking Timp while I was there, it's felt like a bit of a missed opportunity.  How did I live in Utah for so long and never attempt this hike?!

This summer we made big plans and got our families together to finally go for it!  Our group included me and Don, my mom, Don's dad, and Stephen and Darcee.  We flew out to Utah with the singular goal of summiting.

{at the trailhead}

The whole day was awesome.  Hiking is always an adventure, and it's something that I would love to do more of as I get older.  The world is such a beautiful place!  Don't get me wrong...it was tough.  I walked away battered and bruised and sore, despite being in prime marathon shape.  It was a rigorous hike with treacherous terrain.  There were a couple times near the top when I was pretty nervous I would slip right off the mountain!  Thankfully, everybody returned safely.

{waterfall picture breaks}

{snow cave}

We stopped for lunch at Emerald Lake, which was much needed by the time we arrived.  We all felt a little light-headed when we sat down in the shack.  I hadn't really noticed the altitude up to this point, but the air felt noticeably thinner to me once we returned to the trail.  It freaked me out a little bit, but what can you do?

We took this picture at the summit...that's Emerald Lake all the way down there!  It looks so little and so far away!  I can't believe we climbed that much higher after lunch.  Yikes.

Crossing the snowfield was the scariest part of the hike for me.  In most years the snow melts, and the trail is a lot safer.  But this year there was just too much snow, and it never melted.  At one point, Darcee and I crawled on our hands and knees to avoid sliding.  Guess who had no problem at all crossing the snow field?  Don, of course!  All of his experience with snow and skiing left him feeling perfectly comfortable, and he wasn't worried at all.  He literally just walked across like totes nbd.  Although nobody could successfully calm me down at the time, it was nice to have someone there that was self-assured in the snowy terrain!

{the summit}

We made it!  The last mile took two hours to go up and down, that's how difficult the terrain was.  It was basically two hours of bouldering...using our hands to climb up and down large rocks.  There was a trail, but it wasn't very clearly marked.  We navigated mostly by watching people ahead of us or below us.

My mom was sooo close to summiting!  The day got away from us, and by the time she reached the Saddle it was too late for her to start the last mile.  Had we begun a couple hours earlier or taken the easier side of the mountain (we hiked the steeper, more technical side), she would have done it.  I made her promise that she would come back next year to try it again.  Right, mom?!

We learned the hard way that there is just no way to pack as much liquid as you need to stay hydrated the whole day.  We didn't realize that though and thought we had plenty.  Luckily, my Mom brought a "Life Straw" (which I was poking fun at earlier...oops), which saved our bacon!  We all took turns sucking as much water as we could out of Emerald Lake before starting the long trek back down the mountain.  

My mom and I hiked most of the way down together, so we took a lot of pictures when we were extremely tired.  Like this one.

She also wanted a picture at the very end as the "weary traveler".  Ha!  #nailedit.  What a memorable adventure!