Alexander Basin Trail to the summit of Gobbler's Knob @ 10,200 feet - August 2, 2015

This hike was a doozy! It took off from Millcreek Canyon, roughly ~8 miles from Salt Lake.

The trail started out steep but shady with soft ground. We went up up up through the pines until things became more meadowed and extremely flowery.

We didn't have a good sense of distance which was for the best because if we'd known how far it really was I might have cried.

Looking back on the meager portion we'd thus far conquered...

Right after we started off we came across a couple hikers that were looking at a map. They asked us the way to Dog Lake, which we could not help them with. We told them we were headed to the Summit of Gobbler's Knob and the woman asked how far it was. Brian told her 2 and a half miles to which she replied "oh, you're almost there then!" We certainly said "almost there..." when we were still 30 mins away or so but this lady was delusional. She was in for a long day.

We made friends with a man and his dog that we kept almost-passing when they'd stop to drink. The dog was very concerned about us keeping up. He turned us on to using hiking poles for the ascent - apparently it helps with endurance and speed since you're able to use your upper body for some of the work. We are now pole people and always have been. I had accidentally acquired 1 (I assumed they came in packs of 2?) and it helped intensely with the descent.

Here is where we began to get false hope. Our path was up through the trees to that saddle and along the ridge to the right.

It was getting increasingly difficult and steep. Adding to the fun was the reduced oxygen. At least the flowers didn't quit!

Somewhere in here we met another hiking man that told me I could fix my chrondomalacia with a butter knife. That claim requires more research.

I learned a new word on this hike, "scree" - "a mass of small loose stones that form or cover a slope on a mountain."

The last push was intensely steep and the ground was loose. Even Brian was feeling the burn. But we made it!

It was pretty impressive.

SITTING. MY OLD FRIEND.

You can see the Great Salt Lake beyond the city and Antelope Island beyond that. There are hikes there that look interesting.

A friend.

Maybe these will be next?

We kicked it up there for 20 minutes or so and enjoyed the view and a kind bar but then it was time to return. The descent was slow going and I was very grateful for my knee brace and pole. With their assistance I more or less made it down pain free!

This hike was definitely a black diamond even though it wasn't too long. We gained 3,000 feet in 2.5 miles - that's some intense climbing. It whetted our appetite for summits - we're summit hikers now and always have been!