fiberhart

I am exhausted- but it has been a glorious day hiking in the mountains above Sundance. Yesterday I picked up my long-time friend Judy at the airport, she is visiting from Phoenix. We go back a very long way- dare I say it, we go back at least forty years. We were in high school together many many moons ago in Southern California. Judy and I shared some wonderfully wild and wacky times together in high school and college, and usually manage to pick back up where we left off- even if it has been years since we last saw each other. Since Judy has spent most of her adult life living and traveling in far away or exotic places- Alaska, Montana, Nepal, Guatemala to name just a few- there have been times where we haven't seen each other for years.
Today we drove up the Alpine Loop just above Sundance, and went hiking up the back side of Mt. Timpanogos. Judy is also in much better shape than I am- she is here in Utah to run the Salt Lake marathon tomorrow. I'll be there to cheer her on- but running, not on my knee!! Anyway, we saw some spectacular scenery today; here's the view up where we hiked to, at the trailhead.

It was beautiful and green- and, since I had to stop rather frequently to catch my breath (there was quite the incline!!- I had plenty of opportunity to observe the flora. Judy and I also were talking the whole way, catching up since we last saw each other! We made it up to the falls, although not on the trail all the way. Somehow we missed a turn, and ended up bushwacking our way up part of the mountain. But, we found a nice flat rock to have lunch on, and could walk down to the falls. That water felt so good, and standing next to the roar of the falls was awesome. I haven't been out hiking in awhile, and this reminded me how much I love it and the mountain outdoors. Here's Judy next to the falls:

And, here's the view from the top of our hike:


Coming back down the mountain, Judy noticed webs on the bushes, full of eggs and some hatching caterpillars. Fascinating to look at. .

All in all, a great day. We'll be to bed early tonight, we have to leave for Salt Lake before five am to get Judy to the starting line on time. I'll post pictures from the race tomorrow!