Hiking to the top of Mount Timpanogos has always been in the back of my head as something that I would like to accomplish some day. Last week Markee's best friend, Brittany Hanks, put together a hiking trip for Saturday and invited me. How could I pass that up?!So, at 3am Saturday morning my friend, Tabitha (Brittany's mom) picked Markee and I up and we were off. We arrived at the Timpooneke trailhead and started hiking at 4:30 am; Tabitha and Brittany, Markee and I and five more of their friends, all excited for our adventure.
It was still dark and guess who chose not to search the whole house for a flashlight? I had to rely on those in the group that had flashlights and headlamps, but hiking in the dark is really pretty fun, I decided. It was a beautiful sunrise. That is the moon up in the top right corner.
I am a fast hiker, not liking to stroll. I'd rather walk fast and then stop periodically to enjoy the scenery. I am also one of those hikers that people make fun of for taking pictures of flowers and rocks. I took well over a hundred pictures of our hike. This is one of my favorites because I looked up - and there was a pyramid! I made a couple of the boys go up the hill so they could flank my pyramid. This picture also captures a small bit of the fields and fields and fields of flowers. I have never seen so many wildflowers! It was gorgeous.
After running up much of the hike with one of the boys, we arrived at the meadow, waiting for the rest of our group, and someone coming down told us that we were only halfway there and pointed up at the very tip-top of the peak. We have to go all the way up there????! Yeah, I slowed down from there. Getting up to the "saddle" was pretty steep, but that was nothing compared to getting the rest of the way to the summit. Markee was scared to death and her ankles were hurting, but a really nice man asked how we were doing and took Markee by the hand when he realized what a hard time she was having. He guided us from the saddle to the summit, he and a couple guys with him. I am not afraid of heights, well, at least I never have been, but I have to say, that trail from the saddle to the summit was one of the scariest walks/climbs I have ever done. I could NOT look down - I was so intimidated - and I was very concerned about getting back down. Markee and I were so relieved to make it to the shack up at the top. Here are Markee and Brittany at the top and then our whole group just before we were ready to make the descent. It was so cold at the top because of the wind!
Fortunately we discovered that going down was MUCH easier and I had no fear of the height at all. Odd that what scared me so much as I was going up didn't even faze me at all going down. Hmm. Our whole group really scattered as we went down. I was with the front group at first until one of our boys decided he was going to scamper down a rock fall "shortcut" and ended up doing a somersault down the rocks. I stopped to do some first aid - he was remarkably unscathed - and we were left in the dust. We ended up in the middle group until we decided to sit and wait for the tail to show up. Finally Tabitha, Brittany, Bryce and Markee arrived at our waiting place. Markee was in excruciating pain - ankles - and Tabitha was just entirely done in. We let the others go ahead and we made our way down at the only pace Markee could endure - snail. I felt so bad for her! We didn't make it down to the trailhead until 4:30pm - exactly 12 hours round trip. We were all SO sore!
This adventure was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done, but so worth it. I fell, exhausted, into bed Saturday evening and my thighs are still tender, but I think now that I would like to do it again. Call me crazy!
Not with me. :)
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