summer is coming: trip report: mount olympus

I did this hike last weekend but am just now getting around to posting. This was the weekend before Zach's 100 mile bike ride, so he had to train and didn't have time to go on a long hike, but with the temperature at a perfect 75 degrees and clear skies, I couldn't not go out - so I decided to hike alone for the first time ever.

I chose Mount Olympus since it's a pretty popular hike and close the where Zach was going to be riding. The hike ended up being a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. It's about 3.5 miles to the top, which took me about 2.5 hours. Then another 1.5 hours down to the bottom. The elevation gain was ridiculous, but I did feel very accomplished by the end of it. I'll definitely do this again with Zach, but I'll have to wait awhile until I forget how long and arduous the journey to the top is.

I stopped for a short break at this stream about a mile in. I had no idea at this point how much longer I had to hike.

Here's a nice view of the Great Salt Lake that I got along the way.

Nice view from the trail.

Here's a nice flat, forest area at the mini-summit, before the last climb to the top.

I had to scramble up these rocks to the top. This was the part when I was really missing Zach - especially when some other hikers told me they had spotted a rattle snake!