MikeSandy.net / Web Log (Hiking)

After 3+ years living in Salt Lake City, I finally decided to make an attempt on Mount Olympus. The weather had been unseasonably warm, and I didn't start hiking until around 2:00 p.m., so it was viciously hot.

Aside from the heat and the fact that the trail has almost no shade, I was a little nervous about the storm clouds developing above the peak. Afternoon thunderclouds typically form all around the valley in the summer. Normally they produce no storms and most often evaporate by the evening.

About halfway to the top, I heard thunder a few times coming from the now ominous-looking clouds above Mount Olympus. I decided to turn back. I suspected that the storm would dissipate as it got later in the day, but I didn't want to take any chances.

My suspicions about the storm clouds turned out to be correct. They had turned into wispy, harmless clouds by the time I returned to the trailhead, but based on the information at the time, I made the correct decision. Hopefully, I'll get another chance to hike Mount Olympus this fall.

I decided to hike some of Mount Olympus this evening to get some good sunset photos. I wanted to hike up as far as I could to get the shots, but when the trail turned a corner and headed east up Tolcat Canyon--away from the setting sun--I stopped and headed back to the west-facing side of the mountain.

From the trail, I bushwacked up a hill to a collection of rock outcroppings for a better view. I took some photos from that spot, and then started hiking back down. On the way, I stopped several more times to get photos.

That trail was great for getting sunset photos because the first part of the trail has an unobstructed view to the west, and because the trail starts off so steep, which yields a ton of vertical very quickly. One of these days I'll actually keep going and make it to the top of Mount Olympus.

Mindy and I hiked up to Cardiff Pass in the mid-morning. The weather was perfect, and we arrived about an hour after we started. I continued up to the peak just west of the pass. The hike to that peak was short but steep, and the views of the ridge to Mount Superior and the mountains on the south side of Little Cottonwood Canyon were well worth the extra effort.