Tuesday June 21, 2011
I never thought I would do a blog. To me blogging had always seemed rather silly. I just thought of it as a way for people to seek some form of Internet fame or brag about what they have done. After this class I have realized otherwise; blogs can be great. They can be funny and entertaining and even teach you something new. My sister started a blog a few months back-called www.undermyknife.com that follows her through the world of culinary school. Ever since I can remember my sister had wanted to attend culinary school; however there was just one problem, she could cook at all. She was horrible, and I mean bad. Maybe it was because I was comparing her cooking to my moms cooking, but I mean come on it’s hard to mess up a grilled cheese. Am I right? In the end she ended up going to college instead of attending culinary school. Sure enough after graduating college and having a secure job in Boston for a few years she decided she was going to take a chance and go to culinary school. If you have a little while her blog is pretty cool, she does reviews of restaurants and bars, occasionally puts up some damn good recipes and talks a little bit about the school aspect of culinary school. But enough about that for this post I wanted to share a pretty fun hike that is up in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
The area is called White Pine, and I have talked about it in previous posts of mine as a popular backcountry skiing spot. That area has some of the best jump spots above and cliff zones I think I have ever seen. One of the best things about it is that it is located so close to snowbird and Alta yet it rarely sees much traffic other then the occasional “Wasatch Wiggler” a term reserved the die-hard granola eating “mountaineers” who would rather pack more turns into a line then just ski it.
Can you spot the "Wasatch Wiggles"?
There are several ways up to the area, all of which require a little huffing’ and puffing’ and take a little over an hour; unless you have a Snowbird pass in which case you can cut the time half. But for those who don’t have a pass, start off by driving about 7.5 miles up Little Cottonwood canyon and park in the White Pine parking lot on the right hand side of the road, it stands out but can come up quick on you since its right after a turn. The trail start behind the restrooms and begins with a bridge you crossing over Little Cottonwood creek. After you cross the bridge follow the trail right until you reach the open patch. When you reach the open patch walk to the right of the lake and from that point the trail marking should become visible. Take the trail that is marked Jeep Road, this road is actually fun mountain bike spot in the summer time. The road meanders back and forth up the steep section of the headwall. When you final get to the top of the first headwall you actually get to see the peaks that you will be hiking to and the hike get significantly less steep. From the top of the headwall you will have three obvious peaks White Baldy, Red Baldy and the Pfeifferhorn, one of Utah’s classis peaks. Both White and Red Baldy have lakes located just below their aprons.
I have gone camping at both lakes and I would have to say my favorite time is during the summer at Red Baldy Lake. The lake is about double the size of White Baldy Lake and has some fun cliffs and a rope swing to jump off of. I love it up there. I can guarantee that it is well worth the view to hike up there. It is a fun way to get outdoors and have fun with your friends. If you have never been hiking before it might not be the best trail to start out on, but I honestly think that everybody should make it up there at least once in your life time. The views are breathtaking and so is the hike but the payoff is well worth it. Watch out for wildlife and always bring a snack and plenty of water. Good luck out there and have fun! See ya
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