Little Black Mountain

It was the warmest day of the long weekend for our hike up Little Black Mountain (hike description is here), my first big hike of 2010. We were hoping for blue skies, but it became increasingly overcast as a weak front moved through the valley. Nonetheless, the route along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, north of Avenues Twin Peaks and to the foot of Little Black was pleasant - full of wildflowers. Then the real ascent began, about 1,200 feet in about 0.75 miles! On the summit ridge, we were greeted by thousands upon thousands of glacier lillies (photo at left). There was a distinct onion-like scent after we trampled ones growing on the trail. The scrambling and routefinding was more difficult than expected, but four of us reached the true summit, and the others found lunch spots just short of the peak. On the descent, we found trail routes along the ridge with only a couple of spots requiring detours. We also encountered a swarm of ladybugs and a horned lizard. I was glad to do this hike again after many years! See rest of photos here.

City Creek Canyon to close Tuesday for herbicide spraying

See article in today's Trib

Heughs Canyon

On the estimated peak day of snowmelt run-off, we hiked up Heughs Canyon to the waterfall. The falls gushed with as much Mt. Olympus spring water as I've ever seen. Although the weather and wildflowers were letdowns, every hike is an adventure, and it isn't a "real" hike unless someone gets hurt! See rest of photos here.

Happy Spring!

Today was the latest spring date with measurable snowfall at Salt Lake City airport in recorded history!

From National Weather Service:

SNOWFALL TODAY AT SALT LAKE CITY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WAS 0.2 INCHES

...MAKING THIS THE LATEST SO LATE IN THE SEASON THAT MEASURABLE SNOWFALL

HAS BEEN OBSERVED. THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS MAY 18TH WHEN 0.5 INCHES OF

SNOW FELL IN 1977...AND 1.0 INCH FELL IN 1960.

Emigration Canyon to Cave

I had a gut feeling that the cold spring would mean the wildflowers were behind schedule this year. Nonetheless, our hike in Emigration Canyon tonight was enjoyable and was the first ever stroller hike for our youngest attendee! When we reached the cave, it was 50 degrees and there was a patch of snow nearby. Water was dripping right through the rock of the cave ceiling and was over a foot deep on the cave floor. Back to the wildflowers, the arrowleaf balsamroots were just getting started, there were lots of forget-me-nots and glacier lilies which are usually gone by the spring wildflowers peak. This hike should be spectacular right around Memorial Day weekend. See rest of photos here.

Big Beacon

This afternoon we hiked up Big Beacon. We started with 14 hikers and 9 + 2 dogs made it to the top! Weather was pleasant if not too warm at the start of the ascent. After reaching the top of Georges Hollow and heading east, the views of Salt Lake City, the valley and the Wasatch to the south are outstanding. On top of Big Beacon, the lookout tower has a barbed-wire fence around it but an unlocked gate. The boys (photo top left) and some of the grown-ups overcame any acrophobia and climbed up the tower. I told one of the boys that his Dad and sister at the Bees game could hear him if he shouted out between the microwave reflectors ;-) Rest of photos are here.

Dry Creek to "Pointy Peak"

You wouldn't have expected us to go hiking if you saw the sky when we left. But soon the wind died down, the big gray cloud above us dissipated and eventually the sun came out. I'm so glad we went! Sam enjoyed jumping over mud puddles and finding ancient cephalopod fossils along the trail. Wildlife spotted included deer, hawks, a western tanager and hummingbirds. There were lots of mountain bikers on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail despite the iffy weather. After ascending the "Pointy Peak" near the Salt Lake City overlook, we took a shortcut down through Limekiln Gulch and stopped at the pioneer-era limekiln (photo top left). Hike description is here and photos are here.

Myrtle spurge - invasive weeds

Here's an article in today's Salt Lake Tribune about an invasive weed called myrtle spurge which is found on the Wasatch Front:

Land managers seek Utahns' help to halt invasive myrtle spurge

From the article:
The Cottonwood Canyons Foundation holds weed pullings every Thursday through August. Visit cottonwoodcanyons.org or call 801-947-8263 for details.

Salt Lake City Public Utilities also sponsors a number of weed pulls and weed tours. Visit slch2o.com or call 801-483-6884.

For a comprehensive list of noxious weeds in Utah and how to eradicate them, visit utahweed.org

Salt Lake City foothills behind State Capitol Building

Finally, another blog entry!!! (this one's for you, Jay)

Tonight we did a hike behind the State Capitol Building starting at Ensign Peak Park. Click here for hike description and here for photos.

I was so glad to have 7 enthusiastic hikers and a large dog along for my first Thursday night hike! All but 3 of us made it to the fourth "peak" which is northeast of Ensign Peak. The views were outstanding and crystal clear - we could see Mt. Nebo 80 miles to the south!

The arrowleaf balsamroot (yellow) flowers were out in full force near the bottom, but just starting to bloom higher up. Also saw bright red paintbrush and phlox.

But I wouldn't call the weather springy yet - the steady wind and 40 degree temp on the 4th peak felt more like the tundra. Maybe next week.