Utah Hiking Info

Back in 1995, late September, I got the stir-crazi...

2011-08-06T11:04:24.293-07:00

Back in 1995, late September, I got the stir-crazies and left work early. Ten A.M. saw me at the trail head of Mt Olympus for the first time; I was just shy of 43 years old, had lived here all of my life, and never hiked beyond "doodle" hikes like Ensign Peak and the heights above the University of Utah "U". Anyway, to cut a long story down: I proceeded with great hubris to hike right to the top of the north peak of Mt Olympus - WITHOUT WATER. By the time I got to the top I could no longer eat my peanut butter and honey sandwich, my mouth being too dry. The return down the mountain was agony. By the time I had arrived at the lower switchbacks above the trail head, I was done in; I knew that if I stepped out of the shade of the juniper tree I was hiding behind, that the westering sun would knock me flat. And so there I stopped and dropped to my butt beside the trail. Along came a daddy with his preteen girl, and the daddy had a double water bottle pack. He let me drain one of them. That got me back to my car. DO NOT TRY THIS! Water is essential. Without that serendipity of the man with the water bottle, I would have been cooked on the side of the mountain until someone rescued me.

The very next day I bought my own double water bottle fanny pack, and have used it many times hiking since; including Mt Olympus several more times (but usually not all the way to the top, age being the great retardant to speed that it is)....

Hike time is generous. Did the loop in 4.5 hrs (i...

2011-07-23T13:11:48.937-07:00

Hike time is generous. Did the loop in 4.5 hrs (including 30 min at the top).

I hiked it yesterday via timpooneke. Tons of snow....

2011-07-22T06:32:14.949-07:00

I hiked it yesterday via timpooneke. Tons of snow. While I did do it with tennis shoes on, it was extremely difficult. I saw some guys with crampons and they had no problems.

The snow is annoying during the first ascent, and really difficult towards the end of the second ascent as well as in the alpine bowl. No snow from the saddle to the peak.

The only plus was you got to slide down in several places to speed up the descent.

7.5 hours up 3.75 hours down.

This was an awesome hike. Great for families.

2011-07-16T14:03:16.764-07:00

This was an awesome hike. Great for families.

were tacklin the beast tomorrow morning. anybody w...

2011-07-14T21:23:11.609-07:00

were tacklin the beast tomorrow morning. anybody who's game come join us!

Anybody climb timp this year yet? I want to go thi...

2011-07-13T20:16:37.139-07:00

Anybody climb timp this year yet? I want to go this weekend but I'm not sure if the snow is gone

I hicked to the springs this week and they where a...

2011-05-11T18:13:16.126-07:00

I hicked to the springs this week and they where all flooded by icy cold spring run-off. It was very disapointing. Not worth the long drive and Hike.

Jay

Happy new year to you and your readers!

2011-01-19T20:14:41.518-08:00

Happy new year to you and your readers!

About 15 years ago when I was a student at Dixie C...

2010-11-07T09:10:21.358-08:00

About 15 years ago when I was a student at Dixie College, my roommate and I were at the top of the Narrows and dumped buckets of water, then a few bags of flour on some of our buddies that were hiking through.

Great site, I think it's a really good idea t...

2010-09-17T07:57:38.875-07:00

Great site, I think it's a really good idea to organise hikes by skill level. It makes chosing a course so much easier.

I'd been to Zion National Park and we had a wo...

2010-09-01T02:02:49.892-07:00

I'd been to Zion National Park and we had a wonderful experience. I hope to go back there again one time. Anyway, I like your collection of photos. It is always nice to document everything in the hike.

Heading to the Timp hike on 13 August, weather per...

2010-08-08T17:27:51.279-07:00

Heading to the Timp hike on 13 August, weather permitting. Great information! Thanks for the pictures also. I can see Timp from my house and I see very very little of no snow now! Really looking forward to it!

It's great how it's categorized so that I ...

2010-08-04T07:17:44.095-07:00

It's great how it's categorized so that I could venture out on my own and take my entire family on the easier trails. Happy blogging!

Hey I like your site, great hiking info, I am work...

2010-08-03T08:51:12.913-07:00

Hey I like your site, great hiking info, I am working on a very similar site Hiking Utah's Trails, it was just started and is nowhere near as far along as yours. great job

Landscape Arch is breathtaking. For an abundance o...

2010-07-26T14:19:00.644-07:00

Landscape Arch is breathtaking. For an abundance of Arches out of a single parking lot in the park, head to the Window Section of Arches National Park. Interested to marry in Moab? in a National Park? Moab Area Travel Council department for meetings and events can help. 435-259-1340

Although I've lived in Utah my entire life, be...

2010-06-30T12:30:02.431-07:00

Although I've lived in Utah my entire life, been backpacking all around the West (including Hawaii), and have my own backpacking and hiking website, I've never hiked Mount Olympus. And I'm ashamed. It looks like such a majestic peak and the view from the top seems spectacular. This is definitely on my list of peaks to climb.

I love Angel's Landing! Honestly, I'm surp...

2010-06-30T12:23:13.332-07:00

I love Angel's Landing! Honestly, I'm surprised they haven't closed it down yet though because of how dangerous it is and how many people die on it. But I'm glad they haven't, as it's a beautiful and adventurous hike! Thanks for the trip report!

I was just in St. George a couple of weeks ago - w...

2010-06-24T10:31:08.403-07:00

I was just in St. George a couple of weeks ago - wish I would have known about this when I was down there cause the kids would have loved it. Good stuff - keep it up!

Did it today, it was a sweet hike. Thanks for the ...

2010-06-08T19:59:55.896-07:00

Did it today, it was a sweet hike. Thanks for the info.

I think it is more like 8 miles from the turn than 9, but the signs for Benny Creek on the left on the way up make it obvious where to turn off.

Does this flow all year, or just in the spring? I bet the hike would be pretty in the fall.

Since this spring has had a lot of snowfall, it pr...

2010-06-04T11:56:15.702-07:00

Since this spring has had a lot of snowfall, it probably would be a couple more weeks of warm weather before the trail will be completely free of snow. Definitely by July.

How early in the year can you hike this trail? We...

2010-06-04T10:54:28.947-07:00

How early in the year can you hike this trail? We don't want to be hiking through snow the whole way up.

I really like how you organize your hikes by skill...

2010-05-26T20:53:20.120-07:00

I really like how you organize your hikes by skill level. Here in Hawaii, we generally rate hikes by just three levels: novice, intermediate, advanced. I have a Hawaii hiking blog and I may start categorizing hikes in a similar manner as done here. Good job and thanks!

BTW, I've never been to Utah but my wife and I have a goal to visit there someday and, among other things, do some hiking!

Beautiful photos, reminds me of things I have left...

2010-05-21T08:34:29.372-07:00

Beautiful photos, reminds me of things I have left to do (I've been through the Utah area hitchhiking and on meandering road trips but haven't hiked there much, slept by the road usually). Another area where I lived and hiked a lot, the Ozarks, used to be desert canyon country about ten thousand years ago. There are quite a few rock formations similar to these but obscured by forests, not so famous. The Pedestal Rocks area in the Quachita Mountains is one of the best. Well worth a day of hiking if you're ever on Highway 7. Better for photography about ten thousand years BC.

That's a really beautiful hike in June, when a...

2010-05-13T19:33:08.209-07:00

That's a really beautiful hike in June, when all the plant life is rich and lush, and the higher slopes of Timp are tinged green but still streaked with snow. I also did it once in preparation for Whitney.

Arches contains a wealth of hiking trails. Ranging...

2010-04-18T23:46:10.931-07:00

Arches contains a wealth of hiking trails. Ranging in length and difficulty, these trails provide access to outstanding viewpoints and many of the park's famous features, including Balanced Rock and Delicate Arch. In many cases, trails travel under arches, affording quite a different perspective than what is visible from a car.