I’m out of shape.
It’s been over three years since I was approaching marathon distance on my hikes in the Uintahs – life took a couple of hairpin turns for me and that put a bit of a kink in that goal, but lately I’ve been doing more walking and it’s my intention to get back into the habit.
Yesterday I took a walk up the side of the hill toward Mollie’s Nipple (the green ball below) which I attained in July of 2011 via a different, longer route (up the back ridge); I only made it up the side about 1,000 feet before my energy ran out, but it was a good climb just the same.
3.48 miles
Followed the canal until I found a place to cross and headed up the face of the hill. By the time I got up there, the sun had crested the mountains and the slope up to the next level was warm and bathed in sunlight, so I stuck around a while enjoying the warmth before heading back down. Next time I go this route I think I’ll go up the shoulder instead of the face, it may be a bit easier.
Some shots from the trek:
The Payson temple framed by wildflowers.
Comparison shot of the temple location taken in July of 2011
Skeletons. A fire came over the ridge in 2008 and threatened homes in the valley; there are still reminders everywhere. It will take decades for the mountain to recover.
A patch of color
A sage field
Another kind of skeleton
Sunrise over Spring Lake
It’s sad in a way to see the summer coming to an end, but Autumn in Utah can be a beautiful season.
The Old Wolf has spoken.
Sad though it can be to see summer slipping away, it does so in a magnificent show of colour, and it helps to bear in mind that each season has its beauty, and that this is just part of the cycle which returns us to the warmth and brightness of another summer when winter has come and gone, like a Phoenix it ends in glorious fire, only to be reborn from the ashes a few months later. Winter seems less cold when your heart remembers summer.
That last shot is pretty awesome, by the way 🙂
Thanks kindly. As you well know, it was better in person. 😉
It almost always is 🙂