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Emerald Lake 8-2011

I have been following the trail reports all summer on the TERT site anxiously awaiting for the snow to melt so I can do my favorite hike in Northern Utah. I look forward to climbing up Timp every year. The alpine valleys, cirques, mountains, goats and the glacier always make the busy trail worth doing at least once every year.

I started out on a Wednesday at 5pm and for the first time decided to hike up the Timpooneke trail, I could not believe what I had been missing, The trail is a bit longer but is much more gradual than the Aspen Grove trail. I passed a half dozen hikers on the way up none of which had made it to the summit. As I reached the upper flats I ran into a man who had reached the summit and was on his way down. He said that there was a large snow patch near the saddle that was easy to cross on the way up but in the shade it had set up so it was a bit sketchy with a bit of exposure. After hearing this I figured it would be best to camp and then summit in the morning. I headed up to Emerald Lake and set my gear down near the shelter 3hrs and 5min after I left the Timpooneke trail head. I shot photos of the mountain goats and made dinner as the daylight faded and the last day hikers headed down the mountain.

Much more snow than there was last year.

After the sunset I found myself all alone, I wandered around Emerald lake shooting long exposures. Once it was nice and dark I set up my tent just outside of the shelter and set up for a star trail. I feel asleep and let the trail run for a little under two hours.

I did not get much sleep that night. The winds picked up around 2am and shook my tent all night long. Then at 4am a group of high school kids arrived at the shelter and were very loud playing music and well.. just being kids. As the sun came up I was beat. With the long hike and no sleep I felt horrible. I ate my breakfast, broke down camp, then wandered around the upper basins shooting photos before hiking down.

I was slightly disappointed by not hitting the summit but at least that gives me an excuse to head back up here soon.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 8th, 2011 at 4:04 am and is filed under Wasatch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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