Halloween

On Saturday my son came home from Provo for a visit. He and his younger sister spent the afternoon making Halloween costumes.

I personally don't know who these characters are, but they claim that a lot of people their age will understand.

My son is a Legends Of The Hidden Temple contestant.

My daughter is a Survivor Of The Zombie Apocalypse (relates to a video game).

The costume seems a bit creepy to me, but she really is a sweet girl:

Halloween is a weird holiday. These two are prepared for a party this weekend down in Provo.

All I like about Halloween is the small children coming to my door.

Columbus Day Picnic

Today is Columbus day and Joe had the day off from work. I packed a picnic and we went up to Redman Campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon. It's closed to campers which just means we had our pick of tables and lots of quiet mountain road to walk on.

Can you see the two deer peeking out at us from the trees? Enlarge the picture to see them better. There were actually three deer, but one ran away.

While exploring the area we found this Yurt. It's part of the Solitude ski resort. We looked in the window and saw tables, chairs, shelves full of dishes and a huge 1800's style, metal cook stove (wood burning). Joe said that you can make reservations for dinners here (neat):

While in the campground we found a few excellent pieces of firewood which we brought home. There was a huge amount of it laying on the ground, so I doubt it will be missed.

Sunset Peak

It's October and we are running out of hiking days, so Joe and I went up the Catherine Pass trail to Sunset Peak. The trail begins in the Albion Basin area.

This is Sunset Peak. It was 10,655 feet high at the summit. It looked like the trail was going around the face of the mountain, but the real trail goes over a saddle and around the back:

Looking down into Catherine Lake from the trail. We went to this lake last week, but we got to it from Brighton.

Joe on the trail to the Peak:

We are on the summit here. It was 25 degrees and the wind gusts were strong. I found it hard to stand up straight. The top of the hill was small and dropped off on every side. I was seriously scared and just wanted to get off of there. Joe took my camera from me and got a picture of the moment.

We made it all the way to the top; now get me off of here!:

The view of the lake from the summit:

Looking down on mountain tops:

There were a couple of spots in the trail that I really hated. For example, I was hanging onto Joe as we went down this narrow and slippery place:

At last we are down where it is very safe. It was still cold at this point and we did this hike without our gloves. I put my hands into my pockets a lot.

Joe thought I looked like Darth Vader in my hood so I took it down for another photo. I took all of the scenery pictures and Joe snapped the ones of me:

Driving out of the canyon we enjoyed the color of changing leaves on the Aspen trees:

We made it home safely and were a little amazed at how pleasant and warm it is in the valley.

On Monday Joe is off work so we will do another mountain walk, but it will be less adventurous than todays trail.

Fall Hike

It's already October 2nd which means our hiking season will be wrapping up soon. Joe and I went on a hike that started at Brighton, in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We climbed to three different lakes.

Lake Mary was a real surprise. Most of it had been drained! It was a really strange sight.

Remember to click on the pictures to make them bigger.

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Lake Martha was the next lake:

There were lots of yellow leaves near Lake Catherine:

We sat on some rocks near Lake Catherine for about a half hour while we rested and ate apples, carrots, granola bars and beef jerky:

Scenery going back down the trail:

I collected some big pine cones at this spot. When I got home I put them into a glass punch bowl. They'll be part of our Holiday decor this year:

Going down the trail:

We think that very soon we will go up Catherine Pass from Albion basin to Sunset Peak. That sounds like a good view spot. My goodness, before we know it we will be snow shoeing again.