But Friday evening things are supposed to be changing, so I took off early on Friday to do some hiking. I'm not sure how realistic either of my locations will be, but its been warm and we haven't had snow in a while so I'm taking a chance.
My first thought is to hike the Mormon Trail which is just west of Park City. The drive up Parley's Canyon looked brown, dry and snowless -- so that's promising. Once at the top of Parley's Summit (7100 ft), snow appeared on the north/northeastern side of the mountains. Not talking feet here but several inches but the south/southwestern slopes were clear - which is good for me.
I take the Jeremy Ranch exit and then head down the dirt road to the trailhead. The trail is mostly dry but around some curves (which are more shaded), its pretty wet. The landscape had a very small amount of snow on some slopes and the river was flowing (although there was some ice in spots). Then I get to the very last section before the trailhead and came upon ice - this wouldn't normally be an issue but this last section is a little steep hill (w/ big ruts); I'm not worried about getting down, but I am worried about getting my car back up -- so onto the backup plan: Lamb's Canyon.
Not sure how this will go. The canyon road is paved, narrow and curvy; and it runs north/south so the road, in spots, doesn't get a lot of sunlight. I'm pretty sure they plow it as Lamb's Canyon is supposed to be a good snowshoe spot. But its time to find out.
Heading back west on the highway, I can see snow on those northeastern faces which means I will have snow on the hike. The canyon road is clear most of the way but again, the last stretch to the trailhead is icy. I can't turn around - the road is too narrow so I continue. When I get to the parking area, I'm surprised to see another car! Hey I'll have company.
But the road is ice -- probably from packed snow that melts then freezes or it simply could be from mountain run-off but it's slick. I skate my way to the start of the trail, this is not looking good. The trail is also packed snow/ice. And I wasn't a smart hiker today as I didn't bring my YakTrak to make this hike doable - the trail is about 15-20% grade and on ice, time to figure out a Plan C.
So back up the canyon I go, then back towards Salt Lake, and then south on 215 towards Little Cottonwood Canyon -- it's barely 1pm so I'm heading to the Little Cottonwood Canyon trail. And I don't expect any snow here as its at the mouth of the canyon.
The parking at the mouth of the canyon is closed for the winter (we're supposed to have snow by now) so I head up to the secondary parking. I park and am greeted by the dirt trail.
I decide to head downhill first. I can here the sounds of the river running. Its low at this time of the year. And in portions of the trail, its not flowing at all.
I get to the first bridge -- lots of berries overhanging the water.
Further along the trail in a spot with lots of berries, there are signs all over the trail of birds enjoying these berries -- berry skins.
My favorite little creek is still flowing and the little pool of water, it's frozen.
Otherwise, the trail was quiet: no squirrels, chipmunks or birds.
I make it to the final bridge; there's just a little stream of water flowing.
Time to head back. When I get to my parking area I continue along the trail to the old rock building. There's a little more ice on this section as there's less branches so more snow hits the ground. There are some birds chirping. One is definitely a Black-capped Chickadee. The other bird, I'm not sure what it is but it a short chirp.
I make it to the end -- the building is still standing. Looking upstream I can see snow in the higher elevations.
Time to head home.
Took awhile to get started, but a good day!
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