My Utah Adventure 2025

 Partly sunny day with temps in the low 60s. Heading up Little Cottonwood Canyon to hike the Alta Summer Road. It was closed at the first snowfall probably a month ago. Not the most exciting but the views along the way are nice and I'm hoping to see some Marmot. I arrive after 8am. There's one other car outside the gate. I gear up and start up the road. A little surprised at the lack of snow but I shouldn't be; but the peaks are snowy. Just a quiet walk; no deer, no moose and sadly no Marmots. Just views! Stopped at the Catherine's Pass TH. Took a very short trip up the trail to get a photo of Devil's Castle with man-made snow. And then a quick the parking for a view canyon. Thought about taking the trail for a shorter trip but headed back down the road. Til next Spring! Good day!

 Sunny day with temp in the mid-60s AND it's Veteran's Day (a holiday this work year)! I was supposed to be flying to Chicago to visit my family but air traffic is impaired due to the Govt Shutdown (boo!). Although my outbound flight was confirmed, there's no guarantee my flight back will. I'm not a gambler so I sadly cancelled my trip to see family. :( But I'm pumped today because I AM getting to Twin Lakes today! No more bailing at the last; today is Twin Lakes. And I'm taking the main trail. It's been open for a couple now and it's the quickest way to get up there (and not bail). I'm curious to see what it looks like as it's been closed for Solitude's water improvements. Hey, it can't be worse than it was before as I always hated going down the rocky steep beast.  I arrive at Silver Lake around 8am. Only one other car in the lot (surprised for a holiday for some). It's in the low 30s as I make my way to the TH. As in prior weeks, n...

Sunny day with highs in the 50s. Heading back to Lake Solitude with the goal of getting Twin Lakes. I arrive just before 8am. It's mid-20s with the sun still coming up. Surprisingly the boardwalk is not frosty but it is chilly. I head directly to the TH. No deer or moose or beavers. But there are definitely signs of busy little beavers with wood chips and visible gnawing. Oh, and Silver Lake has a thin layer of ice on it (all of it)! For time I've seen that this Fall. I head directly to the TH and start up the trail. A lot less packed snow and ice which is nice. But no deer or moose. Or squirrel, chipmunk or even Pika on the way to Lake Solitude. :( Lake Solitude too is totally covered in ice. And of course, I decide to not go up to Twin Lakes (again). The return trip is uneventful except I did finally find deer tracks! Good day!

 Sunny day with highs near 70. Heading up to Antelope Island to hike up to Beacon Hill and yes, I'm taking a vacation day today. Uneventful drive to the gate and for the most part crossing the causeway. However, I do spot a coyote moving east in the distance. He definitely caught breakfast today! And that Blue Heron again! I reach the Island and there are no bison behind the VC but there are a few just on the other side of the fence. Very quiet under the Frary Peak area where I see a handful of bison and then a bigger herd and then another big herd! Some are near the road. And I see a "little red" too! And a bit farther down is a lone bison. I continue onto the Ranch and there's no bison down near Sentry Peak. I really should hike that doing Beacon Hill. I turn and drive back to the Gravel Pit TH. Thankfully, I see no bison around so I gear up for the hike. As I'm nearing my climb out of the Pit, I'm being watched by between 7-10 Pronghorn on top of the ridge....

 Sunny day with temps near 70 degrees. Heading back to Lake Solitude; just trying to force myself up to Twin Lakes. See what happens when I get there today. Clocks rolled back last night so in theory it's an earlier start. I arrive to a single car in the lot. Sun is still coming up and temps are around 36 degrees. I head directly to the TH.  No moose or deer or beaver along the way. BUT there is a very loud single female Mallard duck swimming around. The trail is the same mix of snow, ice and open ground. No moose or the obviously absent deer. But I do see a Downy Woodpecker!! However, I see two Pika. One in the first little slide and one in the second slide. Both took me a long time looking to find them and that was only because they moved. Stay still little critters! Lake Solitude is 1/2 frozen (like Friday) but nothing moving. I again look at the climb and decide to pass and make my way back to Silver Lake. On the way back, I notice that the sign of Twin Lakes closure is no...

 Sunny day with temps in the low 50s. It's in the low 30s when I arrive at Silver Lake this morning just after 8am. And surprise, only 1 car in the lot. I gear up and start my hike my skirting an icy patch next to the VC. Hmmm, I guess we did have snow/rain this week. The boardwalk is clear (not even frosty). Scanning for critters and I find nothing but a few birds. I arrive at the footbridge just in time to catch a Belted Kingfisher taking off and flying away. Well, at least I've seen something! After the bridge is gets to be hard walking with lots of frozen muddy footprints but it levels off as I walk down the lake.  I reach the TH and start up towards Lake Solitude. More patches of icy/snowpack then open patches; seems like a microspike day. (And yes they did on.) I'm seeing squirrels and a Pika at the 1st little avalanche. But no deer (not even deer tracks) or moose today not even around Lake Solitude.  I think about climbing up above Twin Lakes and again just head ba...

 Cool morning but sunny day in the mid-50s. Heading to hike up to my perch above Twin Lakes but that change as I have to be home noon so just heading to Lake Solitude. Arrive at Silver Lake and the sun is still below the mountains. It's around 34 degrees and the boardwalk is frosty. I decide to head directly to the trail this morning to save some time. No beavers, deer or moose in the area. I reach the TH and head up the trail. At the trail split, the path up to the switchback (and Twin Lakes) was not blocked as the last time I was up; though the sign at the TH says that the trail to Twin Lakes is closed. Oh well, I continue on to Lake Solitude. Quiet walk except I get yelled at by several squirrels. No deer or moose. Where did all the deer go? Did all the construction scare them away? No Pika sightings either though I did hear one on the big avalanche. I reach Lake Solitude. Ice has formed on parts of the lake last night. I take a brief break before heading back. Since the other p...