Tuesday, May 29, 2012

walkin in a winter wonderland .....

life gets busy. 
we are swimming in end of school madness. 
a graduation is quickly coming up (hooooooray!!!)
a little girl turned five. 
house work.
yard work.
garden work (why! weeds! why!)
family visiting.
wisdom teeth coming out soon (ok so I'm totally dragging my feet making the appointment.......not really looking forward to that moment in my life)

my brain gets crowded.
jumbled and unorganized.
and loud.

so we head for the hills,
 where it's clean, calm, and quiet.
(mostly quiet, except the occasional (or constant) hoot and holler of excitement)

we love love loved this little hike.
so fun to be playing around in winter, knowing summer was waiting for us below.
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Silver Lake, Utah
Trailhead: Make your way into American Fork Canyon (exit 284 off I-15)
After about 5 miles, turn left onto N American Fork Canyon Rd towards Tibble Fork Reservoir.
Drive through the parking lot, and then take the sharp left turn. Just before Granite Flat Campground, take a right onto Silver Lake Road (super crazy bumpy road.....make sure your car sits up high)
Follow this road to the Silver Lake Flat parking lot, where you'll find the trailhead.
Distance: 4.5 miles round trip
Elevation gain: 1686ft. We hiked up to 9014ft!
Trail: mostly smooth single track. not too steep. we had quite a bit of slush towards the top but there was a big storm just two days before our hike. The next few weeks into summer I'm sure the trail will be dry.
Destination: Silver Lake. pretty pretty pretty.
Worth mentioning: You cross over a smaller creek (there are some logs to use if you really don't want to get wet). There's also a larger creek crossing that you most likely are going to get wet, so wear shoes that will accommodate that.
Dogs are allowed and will LOVE the icy cold lake.
We ate: peanut butter, honey, and chia seed tortillas
trail mix
dried fruit
beef jerky
snow, because, why not.

so if I'm a little absent over the next few weeks......I'm either ear deep in life (and wisdom teeth), or I ran away to the mountains again......
yes, let's hope for that one.

10 comments:

whitneyingram said...

What a coincidence! My friend Kalli and I are hiking Silver Lake a week from Saturday! I am so glad for this post so we know what to expect. The big goal is hiking Timp in August. That bad boy is 15 miles round trip. You are welcome to join us!

Eid. said...

What a wonderful view! I can't wait to see a different kind of view like this. It's so cute that you all are together!

eden greer said...

So fun! I wished we lived closer to the mountains! Anywho, I am hoping maybe you could post about chia seeds, would love to see your ideas with them!

Ally said...

even though i did not like living in utah... i really miss american fork canyon and silver lake was my favorite to go to... a little jealous over here in cali.

Stacy said...

lovely pictures! i need an escape like that. hope all goes well with your wisdom teeth. i need mine removed and i have managed to put it off for a very long time.

Laura said...

Oh oh oh. So lovely. I love how you just up and go to the hills. And this is really going!! A bunch of elevation gain! Your kids are getting better at that hiking stuff, eh? Good luck with the teeth. It's a great excuse to eat ice cream and yogurt...

Unknown said...

How wonderful it would be to run away to the mountains. It's hard to imagine such cool fresh air with our heavy humidity here in TX. Don't worry about the wisdom teeth. I had all 4 out when I was 33 and it wasn't bad at all. Good luck!!

Bert and Benton said...

I Love the Silver Lake trail! It was the hike that made me enjoy hiking after a bad experience and a few years avoiding it like the plague. It was more fun than I ever imagined! And that water was freezing!! It was July and there was still snow, but we jumped in anyway. That will always be a great memory for me. Thank you for bringing it back for me. :) I could use a little "winter" down here in AZ . We're dealing with record heat 110! Bleh!!! Enjoy!

Hayley said...

oh that water looks cold charlie!!

Anonymous said...

wow.

this.

makes me want to move to utah.