Sunday, August 1, 2010

Lambs Canyon Trail

From Mill Creek Side:


Lambs Canyon Trail from Mill Creek Road. After this little bit, it seemed straight up to me.


This doesn't look as steep as it really was.

A beautiful little creek runs along the trail. I pooped out after 17 minutes. I felt very discouraged.

From Parley's Way Side:


This is an animal track, we think a pretty large animal.



Beautiful place to hike.


I can't believe how lucky I am to be in this wonderful natural watershed wilderness area.


This is just the most beautiful place.



The trail is narrow with steep drop off in places like this. I hiked up for 43 minutes this time. I was much happier. We met some folks on the trail who were very nice from Park City Mountain Sports Club. http://www.pcmsc.org/


Last Saturday Merlin and I took a drive up Mill Creek Canyon to see what was there. We found a trail that looked interesting called Lambs Canyon Trail. It was nearly straight up but I wanted to try it. I only made it up for 17 minutes and was pooped out. I wasn’t feeling well that day but it was still my personal best for that kind of terrain. I was so excited so I called Eileen to brag a little. She was really proud of me. However, that day she hiked up to Mt Aries, which is a really difficult hike. Sheesh! Will I ever get that good?

One day this week, Eileen called me at 6:30AM and told me that she and another friend were in the parking lot nearby and wondered if I wanted to go hiking with them. YES! I had just woke up and was groggily preparing Merlin’s work lunch. I perked right up, made Merlin’s sandwich, grabbed my hiking shoes and ran out the door. In my excitement, I fell down on the sidewalk on the way to the car, but managed to only skin up a few areas. A band aid here and there and we went hiking up Little Cottonwood Canyon again. What could be better than that to start the day on! Eileen times our hikes to check my improvement. That was my personal best of one hour total hiking.

Yesterday, Merlin and I drove up Parley’s Canyon (I-80) to exit 137 which is the road to Lambs Canyon from the other side. The Saturday before we tackled Lambs Canyon Trail from the Mill Creek side. Parley’s side was a beautiful trail, very closed in with vegetation. The trail was narrow with a steep drop off in some areas, which was difficult to see because of the shrubbery and trees. This was my personal best for the second time in one week. I hiked up for 43 minutes. Then I fell down because my legs were getting weak, so we went back down. But hiking up for 43 minutes! That felt really good. It took 27 minutes to go down. So I was hiking for 70 minutes in all.
My goal has been to be able to hike 2 ½ hours. Eileen told me at a party last night that she and a friend hiked up for 3 hours and then back down for 3 hours yesterday, and she still went to the party! Well, that just terminated my goal of 2 ½ hours. I’m going to have to be content with my progress but place my goal a bit higher.

Hiking along Little Cottonwood Road

This is Little Cottonwood Creek about 2 weeks after some flooding in Midvale from the spring runoff. That is a large log.

My trainer, Eileen.

An irrigation head gate probably from about 1870s. Ore was found in Little Cottonwood Canyon in abt 1860s.

Great view of the craigy mountains of Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Eileen then took me up Little Cottonwood Road to several hikes that were still a little easy but more difficult than the one on Wasatch Blvd. These hikes couldn’t have been better. There is nothing that can surpass hiking along the Little Cottonwood, listening to the creek, and the chirping birds and finding the PLFs, except going to the temple. PLF is what Eileen calls the pretty little flowers when she doesn’t know what they are. She loves looking at the flowers so much I felt I could do something for her for all she has done for me. I bought her a book and take along guide for the flora of the Wasatch Range.
I have been improving slowly but surely. Sometimes I would be so discouraged because this new physical exercise would flair up some of my health issues. But I just have to think that if I wasn’t doing this really fun hobby, these problems would probably flair up anyway. And I would have the flair up and not be as happy as I am now with my new hobby.