Glen and I invited a bunch of family and friends a few months ago to hike to the summit of Mount Timpanogas with us on August 18, grown ups only. It was going to be our last bit of fun before he started back to meetings and school. We knew it might be hard for some people being on a Monday but really didn't want to deal with the crowds on the trail that the weekend brings.
As it worked out no one could make it work, and the new teachers at school needed Glen's help on Monday if he could make it work.
We were really bummed that no one could join us but didn't want to give up on our plan. So with our babysitter being willing to switch days(Thank you Grandma Richins, you earned an A++), we decided to go, just the two of us on Tuesday(8/19/2014).
We got up at 4:45 am and got ready, though it took longer than we thought. We checked the weather. It said 30% chance of rain, so we put ponchos in our packs and I put in a light layering jacket. We ended up getting to the Timpanooke trailhead at 7am.
It was raining when we got there. We decided we were there so we might as well hike and if it got miserable we could stop and come back.
This is the basin or cirque, not sure what it is really called, that you hike around to go to the saddle and then summit. I don't think we saw the summit the whole time. It was always covered in clouds. We almost stoped here and went back. It was colder than we expected and we were wet. When we saw how small the glacier was, we decided to get a little closer, so we could see what the rest of it looked like.
Proof we made it to see Emerald lake. The decision to go to the lake ended up getting our feet soaking wet. We had to walk through this beautiful meadow of wildflowers. As we brushed by them the rain water went down our legs and in to our shoes. It was the worst part. Our shoes were not too wet prior to that.
This is Emerald lake and the glacier. The glacier was smaller than we have ever seen it. Usually you can hike over to it on your way down from the summit and slide down. I don't think that would have worked very well this year or would have intailed a lot more hiking than sliding.
It was raining when we got there. We decided we were there so we might as well hike and if it got miserable we could stop and come back. 
This is the basin or cirque, not sure what it is really called, that you hike around to go to the saddle and then summit. I don't think we saw the summit the whole time. It was always covered in clouds. We almost stoped here and went back. It was colder than we expected and we were wet. When we saw how small the glacier was, we decided to get a little closer, so we could see what the rest of it looked like.
Proof we made it to see Emerald lake. The decision to go to the lake ended up getting our feet soaking wet. We had to walk through this beautiful meadow of wildflowers. As we brushed by them the rain water went down our legs and in to our shoes. It was the worst part. Our shoes were not too wet prior to that.This is Emerald lake and the glacier. The glacier was smaller than we have ever seen it. Usually you can hike over to it on your way down from the summit and slide down. I don't think that would have worked very well this year or would have intailed a lot more hiking than sliding.
The weather made this hike very memorable. We weren't as prepared as we could have been for the conditions. Next time we will be better scouts. The clouds being so low made it amazing, beautiful and fun to watch them rolling around.
Also because of the weather not many people were on the trail. I think we only passed fifteen or so people. Two encounters were noteworthy. One was on the way down, we were passed by three late teenager or early twenty something year olds going up. Only one of them had a pack, none had jackets and the girl was in a tank top and short shorts. We mostly shook our heads at them, and warned them it gets colder the farther you go up. Ah, youth, right?
The other was a man by himself that was coming down the mountain as we went up and still as we were coming down. He said he was older that both of our ages combined. He had climbed up to the lake yesterday and stayed the night in the shelter. He was having a rough go of the whole thing and was using his sleeping bag as a poncho/cover from the rain. In our little bit of conversation with him he mentioned having a rental car and then something about if the FBI got involved... This made me want to hurry down the mountain away from him fast. It was very weird. I am sure he had some great stories though.
When we got to the car we turned the heater in as high as we could. We definitely got chilled. We went to El Ferrols for lunch. It was very good as always and the waiter only thought I was a little crazy for asking for hot chocolate in summer. He was still nice enough to make me some.
I am so glad Glen and I got the chance to do that. I have a feeling the coming months will be busy and our time together may be sparse. I am glad we got to stick up a bit.
Comments
From the bottom of my heart -- thank you for posting photos of every phase of the hike. Thank you for the Glen & Kayci photos. The entire experience was beautiful and both of you are great people.
I can't believe I let this post slip by back in August. I could have used the refreshment when life was still over 110 degrees here.