Mount Olympus was definitely the hardest hike we've done so far - 4,000 foot elevation gain in 3.5 miles is insanity. That's about 3/4 of a mile vertically...yikes. The summit was just over 9,000 feet. The wildest part about this hike is it's proximity to Salt Lake City - the trail head is only a couple blocks from the nearest neighborhood.
Have we talked enough lately about how bad ass the Salt Lake City area is. I don't think there are any other major US cities with such proximity to such incredible nature.
The hike started off with a lot of switchbacks and was not so steep.
Soon enough, however, it started it's upward trajectory and never really lessened up on us.
A nice picture vs. a reality picture.
Our destination!
This is what the mountain looks like from Salt Lake.
These photos are taken from the saddle to the side of the right hump. It was a breathtaking view there but we still had higher yet to climb...
The last stretch was bouldering, which is always fun. Very much reminded us of Camelback in Phoenix.
MADE IT!
The views were so sick. All of the city, all the way to the Great Salt Lake, you could see for at least 60 miles out towards the West.
We got to the top in 3 hours, which was about what we expected. Brian could have done it a lot faster but he had my gasping ass slowing him down. If only the photos showed the level of redness that had afflicted my face...
We had a Cliff Bar and rejuvenated.
The altimeter on Brian's phone was only about 30 feet off!
I channeled my inner Alyssa.
The descent somehow felt longer than the ascent, and we kept remarking "I can't believe we just hiked all of this!" For a lot of the way up the sun was blocked by the mountain, but as it was later in the day a lot of the downward hike was very exposed. Brian had to pour water on my head a few times to keep me from overheating - thank goodness there was a breeze. We are Park City Princesses and not used to such extremes! ;D
I was a happy human to get back to the ground level. My knees had held up like champs though! Cho-pat knee braces are jesus for knees.
And even happier to get back in that sweet sweet A/C.
This 'tah Trail has been Begzin approved.
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