June 19, 2024

 Dimple Dell

hikers:  Grandpa, J, Emmy, Nana

distance:  under a mile

elevation gain:  89 feet

This was really more of a walk, not a hike.  But it is what we had time for.  The trail was not paved, we went down a hill, found a creek and that makes it sound like a hike.  Plus we passed some friendly horses and riders.  It was a loop.

Strava

After leaving the parking lot we followed the sign.

Down the hill we went.

I didn't get a picture of the horses but you can see there have been lots of horses!  

The riders were friendly and let us pet the horses.

Lots of water in the stream and this is where we stopped for a snack.

Back up the hill to the parking lot.  It was a loop and soon we were back at the car.

Friday, June 7, 2024 North Fork Park Waterfall

 NORTH FORK PARK WATERFALL

hikers: Mark & Lecia

distance:  about a mile

elevation gain: 187 feet

location: near Eden, Utah

This was an out and back trail. I had been on this trail 3 years ago and didn't complete it so I wanted to do it again.  That was at girl's camp and because it is a steep trail I stayed with someone who didn't go all the way so I was glad for a chance to do it again and make it to the falls.

There's not a lot of parking and no bathrooms 

at the trail head but this is where we started.

This was a shade part of the trail.  Very pretty.  Lots of ups and downs.  

After a lot of going up the trail you go down 

these steps to get to the best view of the falls.

The falls are beautiful.  

My daughter recommended this for a family hike later this summer.  

With my memories of girl's camp my first response was no.  There is a lot of uphill on the trail and I think that would be hard for our youngest family hikers.  

But a couple of the grandkids have already done it.  There were kids on the trail.  The trail is short.  

So we shall see.

We started to go up even further to get another view of the falls but that section was really steep so we turned around.

My strava map.

Saturday, June 1, 2024 Alpine Poppy Fields

Alpine Poppy Fields

hikers: Mark & Lecia

distance 1 mile

elevation gain: 134 feet

difficulty:  easy, basically a walk on a dirt path.

beauty:  definitely worth it to see the poppies. If it exists go at a non busy time.

time of day:  7:45 am on a Saturday

Mark and I went to the poppy fields in Alpine for an early morning hike.  OK it wasn't really early although we thought it was early enough to beat the crowds but we were wrong.  Sunrise would be a good time.  There were lots of people, photographers and influencers.  I had to work at my photos to get them without people.  I'm sure it was even busier as time went on.  

We found a parking spot in the parking lot.  It fills up but there is a church before the parking lot where you can park when it is busy.  There are lots of biking trails in this park.

Here is my strava of our hike or walk!

We followed the well marked path.

It took us to the ruins.  At one time this was a house.  

Now the brick walls remain and they are surrounded by flowers at this time of year.

Because there are so many people to see the poppies they rope the paths.

The view of the poppies and the mountains is beautiful.

So colorful!

February 24, 2024 Ensign Peak

 Ensign Peak

Hikers:  3 bigs and 2 littles

Short and steep. Out and back, or up and down. But manageable for kids, usually, because the trail is short.  All Trails says .9 miles and moderately challenging.  

Our first hike of the season!  The snow isn't down this low and the trail was mostly dry.  There were a lot of people out and about today because it was such a beautiful day, and the road, where you park at the trailhead had lots of cars.  Both kids had short naps in the car on the way there and their energy was not at its usual level.  Meaning they wanted to be carried!

Little legs get tired quickly and the girls found a spot to sit and look at the valley and watch the hikers.  

We saw the boys way up there and we waved to each other!

Going down was easier and Rosie found the energy to run and hop!  It was a beautiful day to get out and enjoy the sunshine and the hope of spring.  

Monday, January 1, 2024 Butterfield Canyon

 Butterfield Canyon Road

hikers/walkers: mark and lecia

This was our "first day of the year" walk!  Happy 2024!  We went quite a ways, 7.2  miles to be exact with 824 ft. elevation gain according to strava, so I am including it as a hike.  We walked a couple a miles before there was even any snow and turned around at the 3.5 mile marker giving us the total of just over 7 miles out and back.   At the beginning there were more walkers and less the further we went.  It appears lots of people like to walk their dogs here.  There were also at least one runner and some people on bikes.  

The start is not so pretty but that's where the parking lot is and there's plenty of parking.

The stream goes from one side of the road to the other.  

There was a lot of watercress growing in it.

This is where we turned around.  The nice thing about walking in Butterfield canyon is the road is closed to cars this time of year.  By the time we turned around there was snow and it was a little colder.  On the road the snow is packed down from lots of use, including snowmobiles although we only saw their tracks. 

Saturday, November 18, 2023 Suspension Bridge

 Suspension Bridge and Bear Creek Loop

 from Hidden Valley Park

hikers:  Mark & Lecia

distance:  about 3 miles

We started at Hidden Valley Park and went on the Bonneville Shoreline trail and then on the way back we used the aqueduct trail.  The most commonly used trailhead is the Orson Smith Park.  The shoreline trail is longer and not as steep as the trail from the Orson Smith park and it has some fun rocks you hike by that really add to the hike.  We started this hike in September and never made it all the way to the suspension bridge.  This time we did it and even the loop to see the falls above!  By the time we got back we were walking in the dark!  Even so, it was a really enjoyable hike.

The rocks!  This part would be fun for the 

grandkids but the hike would be too long for them.

The falls you see from the upper bridge on the bear creek loop.  

Not a lot of water this time of year.

The colors are mostly gone.

View of the suspension bridge and the valley from above. It is definitely worth hiking this loop up bear canyon a little further.  In spite of the lack of color this time of year we still had an enjoyable hike!  I liked getting in a longer hike from the trailhead we used this time.  After crossing the suspension bridge on the way back we went left and down to the aqueduct trail.  It took us back to hidden valley park but is lower than the shoreline trail. It went right behind the homes in that area. We hadn't been on this trail before and it was dark but it is a well worn trail and we used the flashlight on the phone.

October 16,17 2023 Three hikes in Shenandoah National Park

 Shenandoah National Park

Mark, Seth, and I spent a couple of days exploring the north part of the park and while there we did 3 hikes: 

Stony man Overlook, 

Dark Hollow Falls

Rapidan Camp.

Stony Man Overlook

length:  1.5 miles

elevation gain: 321 feet

We parked at the Stony Man parking lot and set out on the Appalachian Trail.  The Appalachian Trail goes thru the park and we were able to hike on it a little ways.  

There are blazes on the trees to tell you what trail you are on.  They are a vertical rectangle painted on the tree at eye level.  The color corresponds to the trail it is on.  

  At the intersection we went on to the Stony Man trail to get to the overlook.  You end up on a large rocky area and you can see for miles.  I

This was a good hike to go on.  We got to do a bit the Appalachian trail, it looked like the rest of the trails in the area, and the overlook was amazing.

Dark Hollow Falls

From a parking lot by Skyline Drive we hiked down a utility road, a fire road, to get to the falls.  It was an easy walk, and there were other families with young kids on the trail.  We got to some falls and it was pretty then we headed up the hill to some other falls.  

The falls were beautiful although busy, but we got a photo.  

We took one for someone and they took one for us.  

After leaving these falls we took a different trail back, the Dark Hollow Falls Trail.  This was a steep trail.  This section doesn't show it, but we seriously wondered if some of the other hikers were going to make it.

Look!  We saw a deer! From the Dark Hollow Falls trail we followed 

the Skyland Big Meadows Horse Trail back to where we were parked.  

Rapidan Camp

The next day we hiked to Rapidan Camp.  I thought it sounded interesting and I'm so glad we went! Rapidan Camp was the summer home for President and Mrs. Hoover during his presidency.   We started at the Milam Gap Trailhead and took the Mill Prong Trail. The colors were beautiful on this trail.  The leaves on the ground were like colorful confetti.  It was about 3.7 miles, 748 elevation gain.  

One of the unique trail markers.

The  trail goes through the forest.  Lots of it is flat 

like this but there are definitely some ups and downs.

Here are some of the beauties along the trail.

On the left you can see some small falls we passed.

The bridge over the creek.

Rapidan Camp was the summer home for Herbert and Lou Hoover while he was president.  This was just before it was Shenandoah National Park.  The Hoovers had lots of money and he didn't accept a salary as president.  They paid to build the camp. (1929ish) It isn't fancy by today's standards but it was a lovely place.  Not everything is still standing but we were able to tour his cabin and one other.  We also hiked up Camp Hoover Road a ways.  The Hoover's cabin was called The Brown House and there was a tour guide to show us through.

                            The Brown House (instead of the White House!)

Exploring near the camp. Then we took the same trail back to our starting point.

It was a beautiful hike through the forest and interesting history at Rapidan Camp.  It was nearly 4 miles plus the time we spent there, but I'm glad we had time for it.