Well we did it again — we hiked Mount Timpanogos! We did this last year and decided to make it an annual thing. It’s such a beautiful hike and we decided to go a little earlier in the year so we could hopefully see some of the wildflowers. We got everything we were hoping for and it was a great experience! Definitely difficult and there may have been some serious exhaustion toward the end, but there were also some really fabulous moments and an incredible sense of accomplishment!
The morning started early when our alarm went off at 4:00am. We left home a little after 5:00am and made it to the trailhead about 6:00am. It was a really pretty morning and definitely on the cooler side. We signed in at the trailhead and we were off!
One of the greatest things about this hike is the views all along the way. Seriously, every turn and there is a gorgeous view of the valley! Since we were there early enough, we were able to see the sunrise. It was stunning and such an encouraging way to start our journey!
We continued on and were making pretty good time. This year was definitely easier than last since I wasn’t pregnant! And, as we expected, since we were hiking earlier in the season, there were tons of beautiful wildflowers. The mountain was so green and the trails were stunning!
The wildflowers were amazing. So many colors and different varieties — wow, God is so good to create these beautiful things for us to enjoy!
Because it’s been such a rainy year, there was water all over the trail — tons of waterfalls, which were beautiful, and little streams. There was also a ton of snow, which made some of the areas tricky to cross. Thankfully Tom had brought us poles, so that helped significantly! It was interesting because the water was often flowing under the snow, which made for some pretty scenes. Definitely a different hike than last year when everything was so dry!
We made it to the first flat ledge pretty quickly (Tom called this the end of “Segment 1”), and there we saw two moose! Thankfully they were far away, but still — they are massive and such cool animals! As we headed up the trail, we saw two more behind us, so we ended up seeing four total. It was neat!
We made it to the meadow after about four hours (finishing what Tom called “Segment 2”), which is around 7 miles into the hike. This is the spot we made it to last year where my pregnant body realized we’d had enough! It was beautiful this year and everything was so green. The flowers were just starting to bloom and it was so pretty! We stopped for a minute and ate some lunch before heading up to the saddle.
The last part of the trail (from the meadow to the saddle — “Segment 3”) was quite precarious. There was quite a bit of snow and some very narrow trails. Thankfully the poles helped, but it was still quite scary at parts. It took a bit of courage and overcoming some fears, but we made it through the snow with only a few slips! (The pictures make it look pretty flat, but this is right up alongside the mountain and it was definitely steep!)
After we made it through all the snow and rock patches and the steep, narrow, rocky trails, we were at the top in the saddle! It was incredible! We could see both sides of the mountain and it was breathtaking! All that hard work — ten miles of hiking up the mountain — and it totally paid off! It was quite the experience!
We sat and enjoyed the view for a bit and then decided to head down so we could pick up the kiddos before bedtime. On the way down, we came across a mountain goat right in the middle of the trail! We waited for a minute to see if he’d move, but he didn’t and didn’t seem like he was going to. So, we decided to slide down a snowbank to get around it! The sliding was actually pretty fun and made for a random experience on the hike!
The hike down was a bit more challenging because fatigue was setting in and the sun was getting hot (we both definitely got sunburned!), but we made it down without any problems. It was intense to say the least — you don’t hike over 20 miles without it being tough! But, it was such a rewarding experience and even though I say that I’m never going to do it again, that goes away so fast and the awesomeness of the experience overshadows the toughness every time! Already looking forward to next year!
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