Antelope Island - White Rock Loop Trail

Hike: Antelope Island - White Rock Loop Trail
Elevation Gain:  700 feet
Time: 4.5 hours
Distance: About 7 miles
Overall Impression:  This was very different from the hikes we've been doing in the mountains!  It was like one big yellow-grassy meadow with the occasional bison to keep us on our toes.  The views of the Great Salt Lake were mystical and hazy, the path was pretty easy, and we had a great time!

This was our first time driving North of Salt Lake City, unless you count that time we accidentally went North for a mile or two while driving ourselves to the airport.  Woopsies!

So first of all, don't make the same mistake we (Steve!) did.  After you park your car in the day-use lot, be sure to go left immediately  after passing through the fence.  You will then be on the right track and won't have to go off the trail and up the mountain-side to get back on the trail like we did, and like Steve is seen doing below.

It was a sunny, "last weekend of October" day, and though we expected it to be chilly, it was warm enough to shed almost all our layers!  I didn't post the picture of Steve airing himself out at one point.  (Luckily there were no people around really.)

They had spent the last two days rounding up the bison to do some tagging/checking/medicating stuff that they do every Fall and the ranger at the visitor's center told us that only the bulls who refused to be rounded up were still roaming the hills of the island.  I was hopeful we would see some, but a little weary of how aggressive these bulls might be.

Here I am, getting sun burned in almost-November!  Remember a hat and sunscreen, people!

We walked along enjoying the unique scenery and soon came upon our first bison herd.  Cool!  We haven't seen much wildlife yet here in Utah so this was pretty exciting.  We didn't get too close, but we did walk a bit towards them and then got scared when one or two stepped forward from the herd and looked right at us.  Ahh!  Steve suggested we climb up some rocks if the bison charged toward us.

When we actually got close to that rock, I realized it wasn't exactly a safe haven.  But it was a nice place to sit for a moment.

We took a side trip up Beacon Knob where there are a couple of picnic tables, and enjoyed our now go-to hike lunch of an Einstein Bros bagel with "schmear."  Delicious.

As we neared the end of the hike, we came across a few more bison, this time closer to the trail.  I must admit I was pretty nervous as we passed this guy by.  He stared us down every step of the way, but didn't make a move.  I don't know what I would have done if he had charged.

It's funny, I often have this peaceful, innocent feeling while we're hiking along like two clueless idiots in a horror movie, totally unaware of the spooky background music and impending danger.  You know those scenes, like of children playing in the lake and then they show their legs dangling and kicking playfully from the viewpoint of something scary lurking below?  Nothing has happened to us by any means, but I just feel pretty naive in the wilderness and like I'd have no idea what to do if something were to happen.  Hmm.. maybe I should do something about that feeling.

This bison was literally standing ON THE TRAIL as we got closer to the end of the loop.  We decided to walk through the long grasses a few feet away from him instead of risking any close encounters.

In the end, the bison were the highlight of our hike!  Nothing like a little bit of threatening wildlife to add some spice to an otherwise pretty but kind of monotonous hike.  Steve would disagree about my assessment of "monotonous".  He remarked upon its beauty at least once every ten minutes.  Might I remind you we hiked for 4.5  hours.

It was definitely a nice change, but I prefer the mountain hikes.

Millcreek Canyon - Alexander Basin

Hike:  Millcreek Canyon - Alexander Basin
Elevation Gain:  A LOT
Time:  We didn't go the whole way, so I don't know.  We took about 3 hours or so.
Distance:  Again I don't know, but probably about 4 or 5 miles
Overall Impression:  This was DIFFICULT.  It was a steep ass mo'fo, especially at the beginning for the first mile or so.  But beautiful.

I don't know what was wrong with me today but I felt tired and out of shape.  So it was kind of frustrating to be struggling while out hiking with our friends/Steve's colleague and his wife who are super fit!  They were cool, though, and eventually I felt better, especially after the initial climb.  Wow, this was steep!  I didn't take any pictures of the steepest part, but this picture below will kind of give you an idea.

The views really paid off.  It had snowed in early October up in the mountains so there was still some evidence of that dump.  We didn't have to walk through any snow, luckily, and it wasn't too cold either.

The views were stunning!  We could see the reds in the lower mountains below us, and the yellows surrounding us.  I don't know the names of the trees yet but our friends knew and told us all about it.  I forget everything I learned.  I'm a bad source of information.  All I can tell you is that it was so pretty!  Look below for evidence!

We brought Einstein's Brother's bagels up the mountain with us for lunch.  Bagels are the one thing I've been missing from home.  Bagels and bread.  Why is the bread in grocery stores here so NOT delicious?  I don't get it.  I've been disappointed almost every single time.  We bought a couple of delicious loaves from the Farmers' Market but that's pretty much done now.  Anyway, Einstein's was quite good actually, despite the fact that it's a chain, and we'll probably be visiting it regularly to fulfill our bagel-loving ways, at least until we find a better alternative.

It was beautiful.  I love the Wasatch in the Fall!  Watch out for that first mile or so - it's a doozy!

Fifth Water Springs

Hike: Fifth Water Springs

Distance: Around 3 miles

Elevation Gain:  About 1000 feet

Time:  Around an hour

Overall Impression:  Fun, but too busy and kind of dirty.

This Sunday after meeting at the Park Cafe for way too much delicious bacon, we went with two other couples to check out the hot springs at the Fifth Water Springs near Diamond Fork, Utah.  This was in and around the Provo area, about an hour-ish away from Salt Lake.  Sorry about my lack of precision...

We set off and walked through the beautiful Fall scenery along the babbling brooke.  There were lots of friendly people around, walking their cute dogs and making us jealous that they have furry friends to take along with them.  Steve and I aren't ready for the commitment yet, but we can dream.

 This is Steve leaving the parking lot.  We always look way dorkier than anyone else out hiking, but I like the way he looks here.  Way to nail it, babe!

This is the view of the stream we hiked along.  The hot springs feed into this water.

As we made our way closer to the hot springs, it started to smell like sulpher.

Mid-October hiking in the Wasatch is wonderfully beautiful, in case you didn't know.  I was an East Coast snob, thinking our colors were prettier than these Western states, but no.  Utah's got it going on.

I didn't really take any pictures of us in the hot springs, but this is the picture of us standing around trying to figure out how to change and get into the hot spring.  It was busy with people, kind of dirty, with trash laying around here and there, and lots of dirt floating in the water.  And we were a little disappointed by the man-made feeling of the springs themselves.  I'm not sure exactly how much intervention there has been to provide the public with this hot spring service, but there are pipes and what looks like cement in and around the springs.  We didn't love that.  Plus, the water could have stood to be hotter, in my opinion.  I mean, if you're going to run a pipe, why not put in a heater? ;)

It was tough and cold and muddy to change back into my clothes afterwards too.  Wah, wah, wah.

Then we hiked up higher to find a place for lunch.  Some of us attempted this death defying stunt.  I took the long way around.  Later, I slipped in some wet mud while trying to climb up a bank and bruised and scratched my elbow.  Steve worried about the camera in my hands instead of whether or not I was hurt.  The nerve!

We found a very pretty spot to sit and eat our sandwiches and cup o'soup that we brought along, and enjoyed chatting with our new friends and getting to know each other.  Gotta love other transplants all here in similar situations as us.  :)

We walked back down the hill, chatting away still.  At the end of the hike as we stood in the parking lot saying our goodbyes, one guy found this preying mantis.  Pretty striking, isn't it?

Lofty Lake Loop / Our First Backpacking Trip

Distance: Only about 4 miles in total
Elevation Gain: 916
Highest Peak: Almost 11,000 feet!
Time: 3 to 4 hours, though we slept over in between!
General Impression:  This was very high altitude, and while there were some steep parts, it was beautiful, relatively quiet, and fun!
Difficulty: Intermediate

We went on this trip with some new friends we've met and started getting to know.  He encouraged us to try our first ever backpacking trip!  We chose something that would be beautiful, that had water we could filter, and that was not too long so we could ease in to the idea of carrying all our stuff.

This is a beautiful loop hike in the high Uinta's.  In fact, Lofty Lake's claim to fame is that it's the highest altitude lake in all of Utah.  Wow!  We hiked up heading clockwise from the parking lot and it was never really all that steep.  After just an hour or more we stopped at Kamas Lake where we decided we would camp for the night.  We would hike up and then down the other side of the loop the following day.  We may have seen a handful of other hikers, and definitely no other backpackers, but that was probably because the forecast was for rain.

After setting up camp in a grassy field across the trail from the lake, we headed down to the water to pump, and to snack on the delicious guacamole and tortilla chips our friends had brought.  Great snacks = happy campers.

They were easily able to get a strong fire going, despite the wet ground and the light showers that kept us on our toes off and on throughout the afternoon.  Steve and I felt a bit incompetent after our recent camping trip where we tried and tried and tried to get a fire going to no avail.  These guys did it with no trouble at all!!!

Before dinner we headed out on a walk around Kamas Lake.  Don't be fooled by it's pretty banks along the trail.  The back side of the lake consisted of a pile of boulders that we had fun traversing and trying hard not to fall into the water.

After that walk, which took a bit longer than anticipated (photo pops take time, too!), we headed back to our fire pit, which was already set up by some previous campers) and we made ourselves some dinner.  We brought Tasty Bites and powdered potatoes and it was the best camping food ever.  Easy, quick, and delicious, and not all that terrible for you.  Mmm mmm.  We hung out by the fire and soon enough it was time to throw our food up into a tree and head to sleep.  Again, thank goodness for our friends because we know nothing about anything to do with camping.

Note that our camp was set up well above 10,000 feet.  Steve felt nauseous and sometimes lightheaded and dizzy, and we both felt like we couldn't catch our breath as we lay in our sleeping bags about to fall asleep.  Steve woke me up a couple of hours into the night complaining that he felt like he might vomit, so we got out of the tent and nothing happened.  Luckily he was never sick.  He thought it might have been the Tasty Bites, which bummed me out because I was excited about finding such a good and easy camping meal option.  When we got home and looked a little more into altitude sickness, we realized that this must have been what he was feeling.  At over 10,000 feet you can start to feel a little yucky!

The next day we took our time getting up and moving, but eventually set out to head up to Lofty Lake.  Along the way were some beautiful vistas of the mountain range below.

Lofty Lake was pretty, but nothing special really.  There were more hikers on Sunday, and a bunch with dogs.  Some people were coming up to fish.  We pleasantly walked along, heading mostly downhill on this day.  It was really, really lovely.

We enjoyed this hike a lot and thought it would be a good one to do with our relatively fit friends who hopefully will one day come and visit us.  :)