Mount Timpanogos revisited

I convinced a couple of co-workers to join me for an overnight hike up Mt. Timpanogos. Scott, Sam and I meet at the Aspen Grove trailhead at about 2:30 and were hiking before 3. This was my first time hiking Timp via the Aspen Grove trail. The Primroase Cirque is a wonderfully beautiful backdrop for a hike. As I looked up the cirque at the trailhead I thought there was no way there is a trail up that thing. The trail zigzags up however and provides numerous viewpoints and spectacular waterfalls. Once we crested the Primroase Cirque we started looking for a campsite. We found a nice place a stone’s throw off the trail near Hidden Lake. There was a herd of mountain goats grazing on the west facing slope just above our campsite. They are awesome to behold. Scott was kind enough to pack in my binoculars so we got a good close-up view of them. After we set up camp I strapped my skis on my empty backpack and hiked up to Emerald Lake with my peeps in tow. I put on my crampons at Emerald Lake and hiked up the lower section of the snow field until there was a break in the snow. I should have hiked higher for steeper angles but my legs were pretty squishy from carrying skis and camping gear up that much vertical. I called it sufficient for my August turns. We hiked back down to our campsite and tried to enjoy our freeze-dried meal. The blueberry cheesecake pouch was a big hit. We filled our water bottles and headed to bed. The night was something else. We could hear what seemed like a steady stream of hikers going up and down the trail. Some were singing. We also experience a heck of a light show with a lighting storm that rolled through in the wee hours of the morning. Our plan was to get up at 5am and head for the summit. It was still pretty nasty weather so we just enjoyed the comfort of our tents and sleeping bags. We laid there wondering what had become of all the hikers we heard walk past us throughout the night. We found out later in the day that at one point there was over 60 people crammed in the quonset hut at Emerald Lake. I'm sure glad we stayed in our tents. After I heated water for my oatmeal I ran out of gas for the stove so Sam and Scott were stuck with granola bars and other dry foods for breakfast. I felt pretty guilty for not bringing a full canister of gas or at least heating water for someone else first. I packed up my skis and boots, water and snacks and we headed up toward the summit. It was about 8:30am. I stashed my skis, boots and backpack at the quonset and we headed for the saddle. From the quonset we could see the saddle but the summit was under a cloud. I was surprised to see so few people. At the saddle the wind and cold hit us hard. We were prepared for the weather and added another layer. Just as we got to the saddle the sky cleared and we could see some blue sky. At one point we could see the summit hut too. We thought we had timed it perfectly to have clear views from the summit however after about half way up the to the summit from the saddle the clouds had come back. A solo trail runner passed us on the way up and a couple of hikers passed us on their way down. When we arrived at the summit only the solo runner was there. He said it took him two and half hours to summit from the Aspen Grove trailhead. Pretty impressive. He looked real cold sitting there and headed down. We didn't stay long as there was no view but we were there all alone. We passed a few more hikers going up as we were descending. Near the saddle I came face to face with a mountain goat. Before I could get my camera out though he had walked over behind some rocks. I was able to snag a quick video of him before he disappeared in the fog. From the saddle back to the quonset we ran into more hikers heading for the summit. Many though were not dressed appropriately for the cool, damp weather. While our hiking experience was that of pleasure they were probably suffering. Back at the quonset I was please to see my skis were still there so I did a September 1st repeat of last night's ski. Scott got video evidence. I NOW HAVE 24 MONTHS OF CONSECUTIVE SKIING IN THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS. We dashed back down the trail to our campsite to pack up and pack out. We were lucky to have a space of weather where we could pack up without rain. Our gear was still wet from the wet weather. Once we started down the rain picked up. It rained on us most of the way out. The waterfalls were even more beautiful. Just before the trailhead the sun peeped out for a few minutes and dried our pants a little. Put another Timp summit on the list for Sam and I. For Scott it was his virgin Timp excursion.