Chilly Peak

Another beautiful day for a hike in northern Utah. Charlie and I set out around 8:00 and immediately began to hike at a pretty good clip. We didn't look to switchbacks to make things easy on us. Instead, we took some of the cuts in the trail system along the route (I know, for shame) but we were looking to make great time. My wife and kids were off at church praying for my soul while I was out taking in some of our Creator's greatest works.

The Great Western Trail that passes along the southwest side of Chilly Peak seemed much too easy to follow. Truly experiencing the great outdoors means being adventurous at times - and sometimes dangerously adventurous. Rather than remaining on the dedicated trail, I fearlessly led my ignorant Lab up a steep incline just southeast of Chilly Peak. Although this saved us quite a bit in terms of distance, I think we would have been about even in terms of time had we stayed on the longer and easier trail system. Live and learn.

The climb, although lacking a trail, brought Charlie and I to a couple of beautiful, wildflower covered plateaus that were breathtaking. We followed the ridge line as much as we could until we encountered the welcome sight of the trail. From here on out it was a walk in the park to Chilly Peak.

Turning north into a canyon just west of Chilly Peak provided some amazing views of Ben Lomond Peak. I plan to return when I have more time and will have my family in tow.

Becoming wiser in my still increasing age, I maintained a strict adherence to the rules and followed the trail the entire way down the mountain. This added a significant amount of distance to the overall hike, probably around a mile or a mile and a half, but the time was well spent. The enormous pines in the area were so impressive having seemingly taken over a particular neighborhood in this part of the forest. It served as a reminder to me that it still amazes me how much the terrain of this state can vary in such a short distance. Rocks, wildflowers, forest, tall grasses, and lakes can all be found within such a relatively short hike. Perfect for those of us who suffer from minor cases of ADD.

The rest of the hike down was almost uneventful until I happened to catch a glimpse of Charlie trudging along, limping as he went. Figuring he had an infernal goat head stuck in his paw, I took a close look. Ready to pull out the sticker that I believed I found, I quickly realized his paw pads were in quite literally in tatters. Apparently the rocky portions of the trail did a number on him. I was devastated as he so enjoys getting up to the mountains. We pressed on and gave him a thorough disinfecting, antibiotic, and gauze wrap as soon as we got home.

The toll of a 4.5 mile hike Saturday followed by an intense leg workout at the gym was eventually realized on the descent down the mountain. About half way down it felt as though I had performed approximately 35,000 leg extensions. Apparently we don't automatically acquire some magnificent gift of wisdom at the age of forty. If I had perhaps I would have thought better about the leg workout even though I anticipated to hike at least eight miles the following day. A friend from the gym told me one time that he thought I was a sadist and that I liked the pain. Just as President Bush had looked into the eyes of former President Putin, I think that Dwayne may have likewise seen my soul when he uttered those words.

I met a handful of people on the trail. A couple were really nice and talkative while others were zombies. But overall, the hike itself was moderate and I recommend it to anyone. Hell, press on to Ben Lomond and tell me how you like it.


Map for this hike:

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Stats:

Created by My Tracks on Android.
Total Distance: 14.86 km (9.2 mi)
Total Time: 3:59:46
Moving Time: 2:50:42
Average Speed: 3.72 km/h (2.3 mi/h)
Average Moving Speed: 5.22 km/h (3.2 mi/h)
Max Speed: 36.06 km/h (22.4 mi/h)
Min Elevation: 1876 m (6155 ft)
Max Elevation: 2545 m (8348 ft)
Elevation Gain: 930 m (3052 ft)
Max Grade: 0 %
Min Grade: 0 %
Recorded: Sun Aug 21 07:43:41 MDT 2011
Activity type: hiking

Link to the albums:

Chilly Peak - 2011-08-21