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This Saturday was a full moon and it had recently dumped some snow up at Timp so I was eager to do my first night hike up one of the most popular mountains in the region. I did Timp once before in July and our moving time was about 10 hours. This summer has really paid off well as it took me significantly less time. There was more snow, it was much, much colder, and a snow storm moved in on me on the way down.

Total distance: 13.55 miles
Elevation gain: 4904 ft
Round trip time: 6:53
Temperature at summit: 25*

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The trail head is right above the Timpanooke campground in American Fork Canyon. The campground is just over 8 miles past the ranger station on the right, directly off the 92. There is a sign for it. If doing the hike during the day, it is recommended to get there at 7am or earlier as the parking lot fills up very quickly, and there aren’t really any good parking alternatives that are close. For non-mountaineers late Spring to early Fall is the best time to summit. Bring some shoes with heavy tread if you are expecting any snow at all – if you can’t trust your feet it will be a much less enjoyable hike.

I felt some anxiety preparing and starting out as I have never done a night hike, so it was one of the few times I knew little about what to expect. This was an exciting feeling. I had a headlamp but realized after about a half mile that there was enough light and the trail was marked well enough to not need it. So the walk to the top was done completely with the aid of moonlight only. I am reluctant to look at my watch because by knowing my elevation I can figure out roughly where I am at and it starts a habit of constantly looking, akin to watching the minute hand on a clock.

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It was fairly uneventful all the way up to the saddle. There were times I had to do a double take as I thought I saw some sort of wildlife. Before the saddle, none of them were confirmed. I felt an overwhelming drowsy feeling come over me right before I reached the saddle, enough to lay down on the trail and drift off to sleep. I slept for about a half hour, woken only by the cold attacking my extremities. From the saddle to the summit there was a continual 30+mph wind gust nearly freezing my face. I had fluids freezing on my nose almost creating icicles and my beanie was frosting over from the moisture departing my head. This part of the trip was the hardest. At one point I thought my nose was literally going to freeze. I was not expecting it to be so cold! Humbling, however – and a great experience.

When I wrapped around the back side of the mountain I saw some glowing eyes and upon getting a closer look realized it was a red fox! She was staring at me very curiously and suspiciously and around the time I tried to get a picture she disappeared into the shadows. For several minutes I was contemplating what exactly her day entails, and where she went home to for shelter. Did she have any kids? What will she do when the winter becomes extremely harsh? Will she perish or will she hibernate safely in a den somewhere? At any rate, I wish only my best to her.

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The remainder of the walk to the top was very grueling with the high gusts of wind and significantly colder temperatures with a even mix of snow and ice covering the trail. I made it to the top and took shelter immediately in the derelict remainder of a weather station. I took my stove out and started to boil some water for some hoooottt Ramen noodles. I did not expect this to take 30+ minutes! There were wind gusts that kept coming through and slowing the process. I nodded off a few times during this process but they finally finished. Cold and tired I hurriedly finished, packed up, and descended to the saddle as fast as possible.

[simage=62,160,n,right]From the top I saw some pretty ominous clouds and the light from the moon was illuminating the precipitation falling from them. There were a few strikes of lightning in the distance. It began to snow on the way down, but it wasn’t cold enough at the elevation to stick and it was moist, like a mix between rain and snow. Near the trail head I caught a glimpse of glowing eyes in the trees and with a closer look it appeared to be some sort of a cat. It was much smaller than a mountain lion.. maybe around the size of a bobcat.