Summiting Mount Timpanogos

Man, this one was a long time coming…something that has been on our bucket list for a couple of years since we moved to Salt Lake City, UT, from Upstate New York in 2021.

I can laugh about this now, but looking back, this was insanely foolish of us…so it was the very first winter that we had moved here and something had possessed us to try and snowshoe Timp in Winter -? We picked the highly desired hike in our “Utah” saved collection in our AllTrails app, and off we went. I’m being generous, but I think we made it maybe a mile, haha. Again, I can laugh about it now but we were totally unaware of the risk of avalanches, and just how extreme that area is, and the danger that we could have potentially gotten ourselves into… just over this hike. Well, the adventure wasn’t really a bust. Scenario: My boyfriend and I moved out here and basically succumbed to the ski bum life, working for basically minimum wage and just barely getting by, but man, were we stoked to be here. We had Tuesdays and Wednesdays off from work, which, if you think about it now, would be MONEY, because the weekends are just too busy, but what are you going to do? There is money to be made and goals to be accomplished, so we must make sacrifices, haha. Okay so it’s a Tuesday…mid-day mind you and we are probably on our 45th break to catch our breathes, because hello, we pretty much came from sea level and we were still very much adjusting to the elevation…all of a sudden we hear this wooshing sound, so concerned, we look up only to see a paraglider WITH SKIS on basically jump off a cliff and glide by us and land further down near the trail head. It was honestly unreal… You probably had to have been there, or if you’re a local, you’re probably like uh, that is like a daily occurrence here…well, little ole us from our hometown with no traffic light and the closest “mountain” was 5 hours away…this was crazy. It definitely affirmed that we were in the right freakin place. We also met a really kind gentleman who was also out snowshoeing. So maybe we weren’t too far off. It may have been the fact that we thought we were going to summit the mountain that day…

Fast forward two and a half years later and we’re ready to tackle this beast. We’ve had plenty of time to get in some moderate/hard hikes around the valley/moab area/ Idaho…we felt freakin.read.to.go! We set a date, made a plan, and had a glimmer of hope that maybe our FAVORITE hiking pack brand would sponsor our adventure…and they did. Shout out to Osprey Packs for not only sponsoring our adventures but sending us all the good vibes that day.

5:30 am wake up, fueled our bodies, and we were out the door. Our pup sat this one out, but he had a sitter for the day, so I’m sure he wasn’t too mad. We typically take Leo with us on most of our hikes pending the duration, activities, temperature, and difficulty. A couple of weeks prior to this, we hiked to Emerald Lake, which is about 2 miles from the Mt Timp summit, and he joined for that, but we figured that was about as far as he could go in a day. The temperatures were getting pretty unmanageable in the afternoon, too, so we just didn’t think it was the right move. Not going to lie, I was struggling a bit with the heat!

We got to the trailhead about 7:15 am, only to find barely any parking spots left. We really got lucky when we found ours. It was kinda calming to know that other people were just as crazy as us. We geared up, buckled up our packs, planned our fuel for the day, and made sure all our water bladders were full, then we were off. Signed in at the trailhead, and we started making our ascent. The first couple of miles are pretty chill. Mostly shaded, the trail is paved? Not sure how that happens, but I’ll take it. We passed a few stunning waterfalls, which gave us a perfect opportunity to cool off and take a breather. About mile 3 (not even kidding), I was getting some serious shortness of breath, mild fatigue, and what felt like the beginning of one of the worst headaches. I took a seat, snacked on some trail mix, and tried to rehydrate. At this point, it was pretty hot, but if I’m being honest, it felt like my nerves were getting the best of me. I mean, this is something we’ve been talking about doing for a couple of years now…we were filming content for a dream brand, this was by far the hardest hike that I’ve ever done, and in the midst of Summer? What was I thinking!? - totally my nerves getting the best of me. I took about 10 minutes, talked my brain out of whatever it was that she was doing, and on we went - with some help from some passerbyers who had really positive things to say - I love the outdoor community so much. Not to mention, we heard some commotion up the trail a ways and I had to see what the hype was all about…

Are you kidding me? We saw a few mountain goats a few yards away from the trail, and it was SO cool. Everyone was extremely respectful and just grabbed a photo as they were passing by, and the mountain goats just carried on. It was so cool! We read that they are pretty prevalent on the trail, so we weren’t overly surprised, but it was really sweet to see.

At about mile five, we arrived at Emerald Lake - so stunning. As mentioned, we hiked to the lake a couple of weeks prior, but the snow had melted around it, and it was absolutely jaw-dropping. We took a break here and mentally prepared for the last 2 miles - I did not prepare enough, let me tell you. We snacked on some Chomps, filled up our bladders (they have a spicket at the lake where you can fill up!), and just really slowed down to take in Nature’s true beauty. This was such a surreal moment for us.

After a quick power nap (nah, I’m just kidding..I wish though..), we were ready for the last two miles! We planned our hike around peak wildflower season, and it did not disappoint. I felt like such a tourist taking my camera out literally every minute just to capture something. The hike was insanely diverse with the landscapes and the features…between the wildflowers, waterfalls, mountain goats, alpine lakes, SNOW - that’s right, we hit some snow at about 6 miles! It was honestly just such a fun and incredible hike. I may not have mentioned, but you can hike Timpanogos a couple of different ways - Via the Timpooneke Trail or via Aspen Grove near Sundance. We opted for the Aspen Grove side because it was a bit shorter in length compared to the alternative. Although this added a few hundred more feet of elevation, we would rather do that than hike longer. Call us crazy.

but man, that last mile is no freakin joke. I am telling you, I had to stop like every 4 minutes just to catch my breath. I’m not sure if it was the elevation (I totally felt like it was just harder to breathe up there), or what, but it took me some time. Thank god, I have a very patient boyfriend who just waited along beside me. It was tough. You were basically climbing on the side of the mountain on rock and shale, but I mean, the views were unbelievable. I made one turn around a cliff, and I could see the metal hut - the end was near! Something took over me in that moment, and I just entered beast mode and climbed up the rest of the mountain as quickly and hard as I could - a true test of my willpower - but we made it!!

The views up there were spectacular. I just felt a rush of accomplishment and I felt so.freakin.good and SO strong. We of course signed our names on the booklet in the hut and settled in for a quick rain shower and ate some lunch, and enjoyed a nice cold summit beer - honestly it smacked! We made our way back down as we were greeted by the gnarliest hail/rain storm, but it honestly felt NICE. It came at the perfect time, it cooled us down, and made for a really beautiful descent. The last couple of miles were pretty trying between some knee pain and just the desire to get back home and in an epsom salt bath or something, haha. We eventually made it back and clocked an insane 14 miles and 5,000 elevation gain in just over 8 hours (moving time), the stoke was high.

This was honestly such a surreal moment for us. This will forever be one of my absolute FAVORITE hikes I’ve done and hope to continue doing this hike every year as a tradition…maybe in 2025 we’ll make it up here for sunrise, because I hear that is an absolute trip. Thanks for stopping by and listening to me chat about this once-in-a-lifetime experience - See you next time! - Sarah

Hiking Mt. Timpanogos

Summiting Mount Timpanogos