David Ryder – Designer – Blog
Posts tagged timpanogos
Night summit to Timp, Solo
12 years ago
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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.
Mt. Timpanogos Summit
02 years ago
I knew Mt Timpanogos was a very popular destination, but I didn’t really have a strong notion of how unique it is. I spent the weekend at Timp and it was probably one of the most rewarding destinations I have reached. It was full of adventure, snow, and diversity. There is a suggestion that mountains are living, moving entities, and that they aren’t inanimate and unintelligent. I would have to agree with this sentiment and add that every new destination (for some) creates more desire to explore the unknown.
Lance and I started at the parking lot of Timpanoake trail in the American Fork canyon. The first day was to be 5 miles, 3,000 feet, and the establishment of a camp site. The second day was going to be a packless ascent to the summit of Timp. Approximately 2 miles and 1,000 ft would land us on the top of the mountain. Nearly 2 miles into the hike we came across Scout Falls and contemplated its beauty. The rest of the first day climb was fairly relaxed and we reached our destination at around 1pm. It gave us the entire day to nap, read, EAT, reflect, and contemplate.
We woke up the next morning and cooked some dehydrated breakfast and packed everything up. After stashing our packs, we headed for the base of the mountain. Nearly the entire surface of the Bowl and the faces of the initial ascents were covered in snow. At the ascent to the saddle we couldn’t see a trail so we were compelled to make our own. We weaved up our own blazed trail winding through switchbacks and steep, slippery rock faces. There is no doubt that without snow boots I would not have made it up, or likely would have slipped down the face of the mountain. There was surely an easier path but it was completely covered in snow.
Once we got near the saddle we saw a herd of mountain goats. Some juveniles that were born this season. And they weren’t giving way to us so we got close enough to smell them. The juveniles were extremely curious but the adults were fairly lackadaisical about our presence. We reached the summit and I sat and read a few chapters from Into The Wild. We headed around the ridge of the summit towards the glacier. Somehow me must have missed the actual trail and ended up at a dead-end that was a 20-ft vertical face to the trail. Not wanting to walk back to find the trail we decided to do an easy downclimb.
To the glacier. This was definitely the steepest and longest snow bank that I skied down. But, I stayed on my feet the entire time. This one of three slopes I “skied” down (with shoes) and at one point I had gained so much speed I faceplanted and tumbled over once (with my backpack on) and stood up and kept going. By far some of the most exciting portions of the weekend.
This is a great mountain to practice on for larger and more technical summits as it shares a lot of characteristics of larger mountains. I don’t think it would have been nearly as exciting without the snow and I look forward to a harsh winter so I can get some practice and conditioning for future planned trips.