Timpanogos

Growing up, my cousin Cheryl and I always argued about which of our respective states were "better", Utah or Idaho? Criteria included such things as fewest mosquitoes (Idaho looses that one), best school vacations, best swimming pools, and best hiking. I was convinced that there was no greater hiking than that to be had in the Tetons, and Cheryl was convinced that Mount Timpanogos was King. Having never hiked the other's favorite hike, we were really at an impasse.
This summer while we were in Utah, I was finally able to hike Mt. Timpanogos. The all-day babysitter made it almost the most expensive hike I've ever done in my life (second only to the Inca Trail in Peru), but it was worth every penny. To those of you who have yet to do the hike: do it. It's awesome.


Awe-inspiring views led to lots and lots of pointing
Wow, what a long way to go yet....
The wild flowers were just spectacular!


And I LOVED the mountain goats. They must see lots and lots of hikers to be so chill.

See that tiny little white speck at the back of the second ridge? That's the strange little hut that marks the summit.
What a view!



Looking down at Emerald Lake
Triumph!!!
We summitted rather late in the day due to a string of circumstances including a WAY late start, and starting out on the wrong trail head, among other things. So we were anxious to get down as quickly as we could. On our way up we had talked to some people who had slid down the Northern glaciers and bypassed the climb down. We started the trek along the ridge to the glacier. It looked so steep and scary; the pit in my stomach grew with each step. We were going DOWN that? Without skis?
Okay. The promise of dropping a good 1000+ vertical feet in less than a few minutes was too good to pass up. But I was so nervous, I'm not sure how I managed to smile for the camera.

What a wild, wild ride. I have to recommend it as the preferred method of descent. And once the initial moment of terror wore off, it was fun. The tiny little black speck is a fellow-hiker sliding down.
I was so steep, we just sat down on our behinds and gravity did the rest. It was SO COLD, fast, and plain old fun.
The exhilaration from the slide kept me going most of the rest of the way down.

And Cheryl: I'm still not sure which state wins. Timpanogos or the Tetons? What a debate...