Timpanogas Mountain Hike

We got out of bed at 4:30 a.m. on this Saturday morning. Joe and I left the house at 5:00 a.m. to meet up with our son and his wife at the Cabellas parking lot in Lehi. We left Aaron's car there and made the drive to the Timpooneke Trailhead in American Fork Canyon. Out on the trail we met people that had started their hike at 1:30 a.m!

Here are a few sights along the way:

Some of the trail was very rocky.
By about 10:00 a.m. it was hot, and shade is hard to come by:

We loved shade when we could find it:

Joe and I reached this meadow basin below Timp peak.
Aaron and Stefani  were ahead of us. We kept contact with Walkie Talkies.

Aaron and Stef were already up on the saddle enjoying the view.
See the two little pine trees on the left of this picture? That's were Joe and I sat ourselves down for lunch and a rest:

This is what we were looking at while we ate lunch.
We were sitting right on the ground under the tree:

So, in the end we waited for Aaron and Stef to come back down (about 45 minutes). We met them back at the sign post:
Partly due to time and a weather warning, Joe and I missed our chance to go up the last leg of the climb.

Last look:

Talking and gearing up for the descent:

Just for the record, Joe and I plan to tackle this one again on our own. We aren't as fast as some others, but we can do it. We just need to go at our own pace.

About half way down it started to thunder, lightening, and rain a bit;

Little did we know that our challenges were just about to begin!
Not long after this photo, Stefanie sprained an ankle! Fortunately I was carrying a pink ace bandage.

Aaron carried her on his back for about 2 miles.
It was a tough way to end an otherwise good hike.