Lake Blanche Hike

In honor of Pioneer Day we decided to hike Lake Blanche and explore the wonderful country Brigham Young led his people to so many years ago. Actually, we just wanted to get the hell out of Salt Lake City and the parade chaos.

Lake Blanche is in Big Cottonwood Canyon, which I’d actually never been through. We spend so much time at Snowbird in Little Cottonwood that we’ve never made it over to big brother. We wanted to get to the trailhead early because it’s a State holiday today; Unfortunately, Dirk’s car had some unexpected engine issues and we ended up making a quick stop in Kaysville to buy oil.

Even with the delays, we were on the trail by 8:30am. The parking lot was packed and overflowing onto the Canyon road on both ends. One thing about Utah, you are never the first person to any outdoor destination. Whether it’s the lift line or the trailhead, someone is more diehard than you are.

Covering 5.6 miles and three lakes, the trail gains 2580 vertical feet on it’s way to the glacial basin that holds Lake Blanche. It was one of the better trails we’ve been on in terms of signs and trail condition.

We started along a rushing stream and hiked up through some beautiful Aspen groves. It’s been so dry in Uintah that it was great to get into a lush green area; it was also about 15 degrees cooler up in the Canyon.

The trail got pretty steep at some points, but it was much easier than the Malans Basin waterfall-climb-of-doom. Just before the lake is a huge area of glacial rock formations from thousands of years ago. The lake was cool and very pretty, but a little crowded. We hiked down to the more secluded Lake Florence to have a snack before heading back.

The whole hike took 4 hours, which was pretty fast considering the distance. Then we went to REI where we spent an obscene amount of money on equipment. We were hoping to go to the state liquor store while we were in the area, but it was closed in honor of Pioneer Day. 

Adam's Canyon Hike

Adams Canyon is a 3.4 mile hike along a beautiful river that ends in a 40 foot waterfall. We’ve come to the conclusion that Sunday is the day to hike because most people are at church. We got started early and were on the trail before 8:30am. We had the trail to ourselves except for a few early-morning runners.

The trail was pretty steep – it went up 500 feet in the first half mile of sandy switchbacks. The trail turned into Adam’s Canyon and followed a stream for the remaining mile and a half or so. The temperature along the shady stream was much cooler than the 80+ degree sun.

The trail got a bit strenuous along some rocks and steeps, but after the Malans Basin hike it seemed pretty tame. We were amazed how many people run and hike with dogs on such a steep trail.

The trail ended at a gorgeous waterfall that sprayed cool water over the entire area. We played around in the mist for a while before heading out. The trail is out and back, so it was just a downhill trek back the way we came. On the way back, the trail became significantly more crowded with families.

All told, the hike took about 2 hours, which was a nice because it was already 95 degrees out by the time we finished at 10:30. We headed home with pretty much the whole day ahead of us. 

Who says Utah doesn't know how to party?

The Park City Food and Wine Festival is a huge annual event spanning three days, and it was the first big thing we did together after moving to Utah. The three days have everything from large tastings, to group hikes/picnics, to mountain biking. There is also a huge variety of tasting classes on specific types of wine. No one is capable of hitting every event, so we decided to go to the Grand Tasting and a few smaller events after it.

Since it’s summer even the best hotels at the mountain resorts are very inexpensive. We got an all inclusive package at the Waldorf Astoria. The room was more like a suite and was completely amazing - not that we spent much time in the room, but it was still nice to be spoiled for a night.

We spent the afternoon hanging out at the pool and relaxing before getting ready. The Grand Tasting was from 3-6. We had to take a gondola to get there, which felt pretty strange without our equipment. The venue was amazing; it put the Grand Rapids Wine Festival to shame. There were tons of great vineyards and restaurants represented – and they were serving and pouring truly gourmet stuff. There were a ton of people there, but it was so open that we barely noticed.

The folk singer had the smoothest, James-Taylor voice. About halfway through the day he sang a version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by an amazing Hawiian singer named Iz. It’s one of my favorite versions of the song. We started looking around at the mountains and the people, and realizing that we really did what we’ve always wanted to do. The song was about dreams actually coming true, and ours had. We both got all choked up, but we were wearing shades so I don’t think anyone else noticed. It was a great moment to share together after spending so much time apart.

After the Grand Tasting there was a cocktail and food party at the hotel complete with a pig roast and tons of specialty cocktails. We hung out there for a few hours, but were totally spent by about 9pm.

The only downside to this wine taste was that – unlike in Michigan – you couldn’t order discounted wines during the taste. Most were available at the State Liquor stores, but at full price. 

Kitty Paradise

Yes, decorating the home is important. But what’s more important? If you have pets, then you know that finding the right home accessories and furniture for your pet just about trumps everything else.

The great thing about our new place is the open floor plan. Most of the action centers around the open kitchen and family room, which is visible from the upstairs and master bedroom. The cats spend a ton of time in this area – Breck and Shakespeare have always followed us around, but we see Kirkwood a lot more with this new layout. She prefers to spend most of her time on the stairs. 

I went to PetSmart intending to buy one cat tree for the main area. Note about cat trees: they are not cheap! If I had any engineering knowledge whatsoever, I know I could build one for about $15 with supplies from the Home Depot. Oh well.

I couldn’t decide on just one, so I went ahead and bought two. One was assembled, and one required some assembly. They both have been a huge hit with the cats - except Shakespeare who is still clearly pissed that he had to move. He pretty much just sits on the couch and/or bed in protest. 

There is just one downside to all these goodies: our living room now has almost as many pieces of kitty furniture as human furniture. We aren't just crazy, closeted cat people anymore - one look at our home and it's obvious we are the ones owned by our cats. 

The "Moderate" Hike of Doom

Today was our first hike as Utahans. After combing through two different hiking books for weeks, we picked a hike that was close to our house with what seemed like an appropriate length and degree of difficulty. The hike was listed as “moderate” by the hiking guide, which means it’s for “adults with an average level of fitness” – sounded perfect.

We started off on the Malans Peak Loop a little shaky. It's a 5.5 mile loop that goes up 2300 feet from trailhead to highest peak. Although there was a well-marked trail head at the beginning, it soon became clear that this was the type of hike that did not have signs and trail markings. At times we were not sure which trail was ours (or if we were on a trail at all). Luckily, we had detailed directions and a map to help us navigate through the hike.

The first section up to the hike was uphill along a stream to a 400-foot waterfall. The waterfall looked like something out of the movie Avatar – it was truly unbelievable.

After the waterfall, the guidebook described the following “look for the canyon continuing east up the gulch to the right of the falls. A few ledges warrant caution, but they are not dangerous, and no technical equipment is required”(13).

Now, it was pretty clear that there was only one way up the gulch – the rocky path to the right of the waterfall just as the book described. Unfortunately, I’d describe the “ledges” as mini-rock climbing walls a normal person would only attempt with at least a helmet on. We climbed a big group of boulders and up the first ledge, thinking a trail would magically appear. It did not.

At this point, Dirk was clearly nervous. From what I could see, there was one more tough climb and then things would level out a bit. We stood before the second ledge as he went back and forth about turning around. The problem was that it would be very difficult to get down the area we just climbed. I was 99% sure that we were on the right path, even if it was a treacherous one, but I didn’t want to say that because I didn’t want to be wrong and lose all my credibility on every future hike. 

Finally, I used all my former-camp-counselor skills and told Dirk to “try and push himself” and get up the ledge. Dirk is normally the one pushing me when we snowboard, so this hit a nerve and he climbed the “ledge” with no further complaints.

After the two death ledges, it was still a hand over hand, crawl/scramble for over 600 feet. I don't think you could even consider this hiking because we were not upright. By that time, I was convinced we were in fact on the trail, but Dirk thought there was no way this was a trail labeled as moderate in a hiking book. (Ultimately, I was right – we were on the trail and ended up exactly where we were supposed to be.)

After we reached the top of the gulch, things got much better. We dropped into lush Malans Basin and hiked a few miles of beautiful forest. After that, we made our way up to Malans Peak, which offered breathtaking views of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake and the entire Wasatch front.

By the end of the hike, we were both glad that we didn't turn around at the waterfall, and agreed that we's hike it again now that we knew what to expect. The hike was a great way to see a huge variety of land, water and foliage over a short 3.5 hours. 

A Room of One's Own

All the unpacking and moving and shifting has finally begun to turn an empty McMansion into our home. One of the first things I tackled was the guest bedroom. Although we’ve invited people left and right, we don’t have any plans for visitors in the near future. Still, it’s always good to be prepared in case Jake Burton needs a place to stay. (Shakespeare is actually under the impression that this is his room, so hopefully Jake likes cats.)

The guest room is one of three bedrooms upstairs that share a bathroom. By far the best part of the room is the Wanderlust Bookshelf that I put together. It has all sorts of random books that represent travel, nature and an overall sense of The Great Perhaps. There's also an area of my very old, collectible books.