Big Cottonwood Canyon
Personal Notes:
Four Lakes Loop Hike
This page presents our personal notes on our hike to Lake Martha, Lake Catherine, Lake Mary, Silver Lake, and Twin Lakes in Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains in Utah.
| Sunday, August 24, 2003 | |
Sunday, August 24, 2003
Trailhead
We headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon, to the Brighton Ski Area, and parked near the Brighton Center, at the far end of the loop road, near the trailhead for the Lake Mary and Lake Catherine trails. There is a large log framed map that you can't miss.
The morning was cool, so the sun, as it came up over the mountain peaks to the east, felt nice. We started up the trail at 8:30 a.m. The trail passes between several buildings and near several ski lifts, and is pretty steep. For about the first half mile the trail follows an access road for several cabins in the area, then narrows down to what you would expect for a forest trail. However, it is pretty steep for a trail rated moderate, but some of the difficulty comes from the elevation, which tops at over 9,500 feet near Lake Catherine.
Trail Conditions
The trail is in good condition, and varies between packed earth and broken granite outcrops. It is easy to follow and well signed. The trail also varies between shaded areas beneath the tall pines and aspen, and exposed slopes over boulder flows and around the lakes.
Lake Mary
On this hike we opted not to walk the 500 feet down a side trail to visit Dog Lake, but continued on up a short climb to Lake Mary, one mile from the trailhead. This is a very pretty lake with a picturesque island and wonderful reflections of the peaks behind it. The water is clear and inviting, although swimming is forbidden in this watershed. The level of the lake has been increased by the construction of a dam, but by the looks of it, the dam was built a very long time ago.
Lake Martha and Lake Catherine
We continued on up the trail toward Lake Catherine, another mile through cool pines and over several switchbacks which made the hiking much easier. Along the way the trail skirts Lake Martha, a much smaller alpine lake, and passes above Dog Lake, sitting down in its own secluded meadow. Other than a pair of backpackers who were just getting out of their tents, we had Lake Catherine to ourselves. This lake is much smaller than Lake Mary, but larger than Lake Martha. It is a tarn, and sits in the bowl of a cirque, with Catherine Pass and Sunset Peak as a backdrop. We noticed several small trout in the lake. Before we left we spotted several people arriving at Catherine Pass above, apparently from the Albion Basin side (a route we had taken two weeks prior to this hike).
After enjoying the quiet of the lake, and speaking briefly with one of the campers, we headed back down the trail toward Lake Mary. As expected, we ran into several people on their way in. And as we moved farther along our hike, the closer to Silver Lake we got, the more hikers and touristy-types we encountered.
Just below Lake Mary, below the dam, there is a marked trail to Twin Lakes Reservoir, a 1.25 mile route across the lower reaches of Mount Millicent. As we descended toward the junction, we noticed a narrow, seldom used trail which seemed to head toward Twin Lakes. We almost took that, suspecting that it would meet up with the more heavily used trail. And sure enough, is did. It would have saved us a good climb back toward the north side of the dam.
On the north side of the dam there is an old log cabin. My guess is that it was used during the construction of the dam. It is boarded up and secured, but still makes for some rustic photographs. There are also some twisted Limber Pine in this area, and at several other places along the trail. Also, in this area, we spotted a good sized marmot, who hung around long enough for me to get a few nice shots. They are a very appealing animal, with their rusty brown coat, their dark brown tail, and the white stripes across their faces.
Twin Lakes
As we headed northwest, toward Twin Lakes, we found ourselves climbing and descending over some rugged terrain. We crossed several open rock flows that opened up vistas to the Brighton area below. There were also several interesting plants along this stretch of the trail, some with clusters of very bright red berries.
When we reached Twin Lakes, we found many other hikers already there, probably having hiked up from the Silver Lake area. We didn't spend much time there, took a few photos of the lake and the dam, and began our descent toward Silver Lake. In this area we got a few sprinkles, as clouds had been moving in steadily.
Silver Lake
Between Twin Lakes and Silver Lake we encountered a large number of hikers, both coming and going. Many seemed ill prepared for the steep climb. The hike up from Silver Lake looked to be a real chore.
Critters
However, there was one great reward along this route. Just above the lake, and just above the junction where the unmarked trail splits to go to either Lake Solitude (to the left), or down to Silver Lake, there is a good sized rock flow. Among this tumbled rock we spotted many pika, either sunning themselves, or scampering across the rocks. Some were gathering vegetation to add to their quite obvious stashes in front of their nests. We were able (finally) to get some really great shots of several of these shy little critters. We also got to witness at least two making their little sounds of protest at our presence. In addition to the pikas, we were also able to observe two very large marmots going about their business, as if we weren't even there. We even got several photos of a marmot and pika in the same shot.
We spent quite a while watching these critters and then headed down to Silver Lake. This area is very flat and the paths are wide enough and flat enough for wheelchair access. It is a marshy area and is more of a nature walk than a good hike. The trail around the lake is .78 miles. Just as we reached the lake it began to rain. We slipped into the Forest Service Visitor Center, looked around a bit, picked up a brochure on the area, spoke to the ranger, slipped on our rain coats, and walked the last bit along the road to return to our Trooper. The total distance was about 5.5 miles.
