Loafer Mountain Hike

Angela on top of her first mountain

Yesterday, we headed out on the Nebo Scenic Loop looking for a nice easy hiking trail. The idea was to get in better hiking shape so we could take a shot at Timp or Nebo next month. But when we got to the trail we had originally planned on, we realized we'd been there before, so we looked for another trail. That's how we found the Loafer Mountain Trail.

Now, originally, we thought we'd just stroll along it for a little while and turn back. But then we kept going and going. Every few minutes, we'd point to some new landmark and say, let's just go have lunch up there, but when we'd get there, we'd realize we had more energy and that there was an even more promising landmark in the distance. This is how we made it up Loafer Mountain Ridge, and in fact almost to Loafer Peak and Santaquin Peak (there was still a lot of snow up there).

Just to help you understand what an unusual accomplishment this was--Angela's never been on top of a mountain. And yet we did 9.5 miles and close to 3,000 feet in elevation in about 5 hours. Angela jokes that Karl tricked her--that going up the mountain had been his plan all along. But really, it was just an accident. It was worth it though--an incredible view, lots of green, and lots of snowpack. Honestly, it seemed even prettier than Timp (although that could be just becuase of the time of year and the amount of snow). It certainly was a lot less crowded (we ran into only 2 other cuples hiking during the entire trip).

The only problem--besides Angela little slip and fall on a rocky slope of the trail, which she handled quite well--was that we forgot to charge our camera batteries. So we only got a few pictures--and that was because Karl remembered that if you get batteries really cold--say, bury them in snow--you can squeeze a little more juice out of them.

Oh, and now we're beyond sore. We climbed up a mountain, but now we're too lazy to climb up our own stairs. Funny how that goes.

• Pictures

Posted June 19, 2005 (10:39 AM) | Comments (1)