Dry Creek Trail

Trailhead

The trailhead is on the northeast side of Alpine, Utah. There is a nice gravel parking area, with tall trees for some shade. There are no restrooms nor drinking water. On this day the sky was cloudy, so we didn’t suffer from the sun, but the air was warm and humid because of the previous night's rain.

The trail climbs immediately, for almost the entire four miles to its junction with the Deer Creek Trail and the Box Elder Peak trail. There is approximately a 2,500 foot elevation change. But the trail is mostly easy to follow, and very rocky for most of the way. The footing isn’t too bad, but there are plenty of loose stones to trip over.

The trail crosses several small streams and in most places there are rocks or downed trees to scurry across. We had to share the trail with several horse parties. One, of two horsemen, passed us on our way in. One of the riders was drinking a can of beer and carried a large holstered pistol. That’s always a disconcerting combination. But the fellows seemed pleasant enough. The other groups of horses were encountered on our way back down. Several in the groups had their dogs as well.

About one mile along the trail we ran into a trio of young people camped near a large rock. They had spent the night and had built a nice fire ring, right near the trail. One fellow was up and asked us if there was anything especially interesting in the area. We told him what we knew and then explained to him that there are no fires allowed in the Wilderness Area. He explained that they had come up around 9:00 p.m. the night before and were not aware that they were in a wilderness area. We also explained that they shouldn’t camp within 200 feet of a trail. They didn’t know about that either.

The trail is hard to follow in a couple of places farther up. The horses have made side trails that confuse things, and there are a couple of side trails that head up to Lake Hardy and Box Elder Peak. So watch carefully. They are not all marked, and we almost got off on the wrong trail and had to check the map.

Waterfalls

There are a couple of small water falls along the way, and one larger one. It is very pretty and at this time has a large amount of white water sliding across its surface. We crossed a couple of meadows with views of the peaks above us. Lots of pines, and higher up, aspen.

Below Box Elder Peak

We reached a large meadow that sits below Box Elder Peak, where the three trails meet and are marked with a sign. Thinking that was our destination, we turned around and headed back. We didn’t realize it until we got back to the trailhead that we had cut our hike short by not climbing to the saddle above Deer Creek. Our hiking time and GPS numbers didn’t jive with the guide books. We had turned around a mile short of our intended destination, giving us a round trip of eight miles instead of our originally planned ten. But it was a nice hike anyway. We got plenty of exercise, pumped lots of sweat, took in great views, and avoided the storm clouds that seemed to be coming in.

Return Trip

The hike down wasn’t as bad as on some trails with steeper climbs, and because of the large rocks and soft soil, we could descend without much concern about slipping.

On the way down we met the three young campers on their way up. They claimed that they were headed to “the summit.” They obviously had more energy than we had. We gave them our printed map that we’d made from our Utah Topo software. They seemed appreciative.

There was only one other set of hikers, near the trailhead. By then the sun was out, and the temps had risen.

Critters

We saw a young buck deer (probably a mule deer); a small cottontail rabbit; a ground squirrel; a couple of chipmunks; a hawk carrying what looked like a small mouse or rodent of some sort; and lots of butterflies.

Timpooneke Trail

Timpooneke Trailhead

We got up early on Sunday morning and by 6:00 a.m. we headed out to American Fork Canyon. We wanted to hike up toward Mount Timpanogos about five miles. We drove up into the canyon and found the Timpooneke Trailhead within the Timpooneke Campground. We hiked the Timpooneke Trail (#053 and #054). There is a large paved parking area with a restroom and nice, fresh, cold water.

The GPS Coordinates for the trailhead are: N 40 25.883; W 111 38.334; elevation: 7,308 feet (the map shows an elevation of 7364).

We hit the trail at 7:15 a.m. and signed in at the trail register. The first mile of the trail is fairly flat and is packed earth. It passes through pines and aspen, with a meadow slightly below to the left (east). Eventually the trail becomes more rocky and you begin crossing shallow streams and a series of small to large cascades, springs, and waterfalls.

Scout Falls

At about 1.5 miles you’ll reach Scout Falls. At this time of the year there is not much water left to flow over the top, but one can imagine how amazing it might be in the spring. The GPS Coordinates for Scout Fall are: N 40 25.065; W 111 38.463; elevation: 7,984 feet.

From here the trail gets more rocky and begins to climb more through a series of switchbacks. The vegetation also closes in and you’ll find yourself pushing through a considerable amount of foliage at several places along the path. Also in this area, where the streams begin to appear, you’ll discover that there are a good number of mosquitoes about, as well as other insects. A good dose of repellent seemed to help.

Giant Staircase

Above the falls you’ll begin to understand why they call this the Giant Staircase. The geology here has not been tilted and folded as it is in other areas, so there are a series of horizontal shelves or terraces that step up toward Timpanogos Basin, just below the peak. Eventually you’ll come to an open area just above one of these steps. We didn’t see them ourselves, but other hikers said they had seen moose and mountain sheep in the area, as well as deer. About the only critters we saw along this hike were a solo marmot, two or three pikas (although we heard many more), several types of ground squirrels and chipmunks, and a variety of birds. We heard many humming birds, but didn’t actually see them. And we did hear a woodpecker off in the trees at one point.

From this open area you’ll sweep toward the west and begin climbing again through a vegetated area to a tight, long switchback. Once you head south again you’ll climb along an open ridge through a scree slope. This can make for some difficult stepping, since the odd sized rocks roll and move as you pass along. It’s an exposed area, and if we didn’t have cloud cover it could have been a bit toasty in full sun. This stretch, although not exceptionally steep, did seem to drain off a bit of energy.

Timpanogos Basin

Above this area the trail climbs into some pines and brush and some wonderfully interesting cliffs, and the trail returns to packed earth and gravel. Shortly you’ll climb out through a series of tight switchbacks to the lip of the meadow that is Timpanogos Basin. Here you’ll get fantastic views of Mount Timpanogos and the pass to Emerald Lake. An old weathered sign marks the junction of the trails that go on from this point.

Also at this point we’d reach our original five mile destination, but we felt we had the strength to go on. The trail is really not that difficult compared to many others in the Wasatch Range. So we decided to go on and see if we could reach the peak, another three miles. The GPS Coordinates here are: N 40 24.112; W 111 38.666; elevation: 10,136 feet.

The wind had come up, and the temperature dropped, so we slipped on long sleeved shirts.

We took the route to the west, across some rolling hills, and then a climb up through some low brush in a series of switchbacks. Some portions of the trail are weathered, narrow, and steep. You just have to make your way along as best you can.

It should be noted here, as well, that there are many places where less scrupulous hikers have cut the switchbacks. All along the trail. We found that by staying to the trail and not cutting that we actually made better time. We came upon a group of five hikers who were quite a ways ahead of us on the trail. But they were cutting almost every switchback. We arrived at the junction at the same time as they did. The shortest distance between two points might be a straight line, but in the mountains and on the trails, the shortest time between two points might be along the trail with the switchbacks. Besides, the steep climbs provided by cutting the switchbacks take much more energy than the extra distance over the more gradual switchback.

This becomes a long, fairly steep climb, but if you just keep placing one foot in front of the other, before long, you’ve made it to the saddle. There are some places along the way where hikers have cut the switchbacks and the trail has eroded to almost nothing. You have to take care in these areas because the rock is loose and the trail tilts a bit down slope. Just be careful with your footing and you should have no problems.

The Saddle

At about 6.6 miles you’ll come to the saddle at about 11,000 feet. This is a wide, flat area where you get fantastic views of Utah Lake, Orem, and Provo, on one side, and the Timpanogos Basin and surrounding peaks on the other. It was very windy and cold up there while we were there, and it actually began to rain just before we headed back down. The GPS Coordinates here are: N 40 23.770; W 111 39.276; elevation: 11,026 feet.

At this point we were physically able to go on, but I have a mental problem with steep, exposed slopes with drops on both sides, loose rock, and wind. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I was raised in the flatlands of Nebraska. I just freeze up when the footing isn’t good and there is nothing to grab on to. So I couldn’t get myself to go on. And it’s not so much the going up that bothers me, as the coming down. I’m always afraid that I’m going to fall on my ass. I think if I would have kept on walking when we reached the saddle I would have been okay. But stopping and looking with the wind and cold I froze up. I'll psyche up for it and we'll make it all the way the next time.

So ... we sat for a few minutes and enjoyed the view, took a few photos, then headed back. We decided to take the trail that links to Emerald Lake, then switch to the trail across Timpanogos Basin, back to the junction. This was a steep descent, with lots of loose rock on a packed surface. Other hikers moved right down the slope, but I had to pick my way down. But once we got to the bottom I was okay and we made better time.

Return Trip

On the way down the slope we met a friend of mine from work, his daughter, who were on their way up. We talked briefly, then were on our way.

The trail crosses a good sized boulder flow and is difficult to see in some areas. Watch for the cairns to find your way across. From the saddle to the junction to Emerald Lake is about .75 miles. Eventually you’ll come to the junction and head down slope, back toward the west, along the lower portion of the boulder flow. The rocks here are smaller, but the going is still a bit tricky because of all of the loose rock. In this area we encountered a string of about ten mules and riders coming up the trail. We had to stand aside and let them pass. Some of the mules seemed a bit frightened by us, but with some coaxing they passed us by.

We crossed the meadow on packed earth, where there are lots of wild flowers of a wide variety of colors. In some areas the scent is overpowering and I got a bit of a sinus headache.

Again, in about .75 miles, we reached the junction at the five mile mark and headed down. As expected, there were more people coming up and that slowed our return some. We were also getting a bit tired as we moved along, and, even though we were going down hill the entire way, it’s not always as easy at is it would seem. You still have to step around loose rocks, your toes get jammed into the front of your boots, your feet and ankles get tired, and your body eventually just get tired.

It took us 8.25 hours from trailhead to trailhead. But we had no blisters, and other than being tired and sore we came out fine.

There were Forest Service Rangers in the parking lot giving out tickets to those who did not have American Fork Canyon passes. There was also one young mule tied to the side of one of the transport trailers. He was probably too small for the trip. He brayed a few times with displeasure. He was really an odd color, with splotches and other unusual markings.