We are arguably well into fall by now so I can wrap up the summer recap with some more photos of places I escaped from the heat. If you haven’t yet, you should check out my previous blog entry which highlighted the wildflowers and wildlife I encountered this summer.
Normally I would spend summer traveling but this year I decided since I spent May in Europe and will do more traveling this fall, I would enjoy the beautiful areas in my own back yard hiking, backpacking & camping in the mountains of northern Utah.
Sunrise at Cecret Lake
Wasatch Mountains
Not only is the Wasatch beautiful, it is very accessible. In 20-30 minutes I can leave my home in Salt Lake and be on any number of different trails in Big or Little Cottonwood Canyon. If you didn’t know any better, you might not believe there was a large urban area nearby until you reached a vista that gave you a view of the valley. But it’s just as easy to completely disconnect from the world for a bit and is one of the biggest motivators for visiting the canyons in the first place.
Oftentimes I can wake up after a decent night’s sleep and still make my way up the canyon and squeeze a in a hike before the sun comes up.
Lake Blanche at Sunset
Uinta Mountains
While the accessibility and beauty of the Wasatch is great, sometimes I feel the need for a little more solitude. That’s when I turn to the Uintas, the largest east-west mountain range in the lower 48 states. Luckily there isn’t any real development in the Uintas, only one paved highway, and there are parts of it which require multiple days of hiking to access.
Backpacking in the Uintas has become one of my favorite things and I am already looking forward to next summer and some of the other parts I didn’t manage to get to this year. It’s going to take many years to see the highlights and probably multiple lifetimes to visit all of the 1,000+ lakes & ponds that dot the mountain basins.
Sunset at Notch Lake
While summer passed by quickly, I am really happy how I spent it. I am transitioning into the busy fall season now and am looking forward to sharing more photos of some more great places. Stay tuned!
