Hiking
Bonneville Shoreline Trail – The Northeast Part, Salt Lake Valley
The Bonneville Shoreline Trail (BST) is a series of trails where the old shoreline of Lake Bonneville used to be many years ago! Parts of the trail run from Ogden to Payson. We recently hiked the BST that runs along the northeast area of the Salt Lake valley.
One of the most famous landmarks on the trail is the “U” on the mountain. You can have fun climbing all around the big letter on the mountain then stop and check out breathtaking views of the entire Salt Lake valley. Near by you’ll see the University of Utah, University Hospital, Jewish Community Center, Huntsman Cancer Institute and several other businesses and residential homes. In the distant background are striking views of the Oquirrh and Wasatch Mountains. We hiked what is known as the “foothills” of the Salt Lake valley. Pay attention to the Dog Signs. Some areas of the BST allow dogs and some do not.
In addition to hiking, the BST is a popular place for mountain bikers and runners. If you get far enough from civilization and lose yourself in the foothills, you’ll see deer, wild life and wrecked, rusted out old cars. Why they are there I don’t know but they are there. This was a particularly great Saturday morning hike since we got lucky and captured some amazing photos of spring storms rolling across the valley. The BST is relatively easy and there are plenty of places to get on and off of this trail.
Access this part of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail by going to Virginia Street (1250 East) and Popperton Parkway (360 North) in Salt Lake City where you will see a public park and Shriner’s Hospital. Popperton Street is on the north side of Shriner’s. Turn east on Popperton Parkway and drive to the end of the road (about ¼ of a mile). Park and you’ll see the trailhead next to a gated residential community. NOTE: You can take 1300 East all the way to South Temple, go ½ block NORTH to turn on Virginia Street.
April 6th, 2006
Well, mid-week and last-minute don’t make for a lot of company on a trip, but Zion was beautiful last week. I caught a window of sunshine in an otherwise cold and rainy week and enjoyed a lot of beautiful scenery. Here are just a few of my favorite photos to share.
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April 5th, 2006
For a scenic, easy, flat trail high in a beautiful mountain valley, McLeod Trail is a great choice. There are four other trails that split off from this trail. Our group hiked along this snow-packed trail in late March on a bright, warm sunny day and loved it!
It is used year round for walking, horsebackriding, biking, snowshoeing and/or cross-country skiing. Park City does a great job of keeping this trail groomed throughout the winter.
You will pass horses pastures, old barns, cross over bridges and wide open fields. Gaze into crystal clear streams and ice-cold ponds, admire highly unusual art and sculpture out in the middle of no-where and travel along boardwalks. As a bonus, Willow Creek Park is in the middle of it all, complete with restrooms and a playground for the kids.
There are several places to get on this trail. We prefer parking at a small public parking lot across the street from the Big White Barn. Around the barn you will also find part of the White Pine Nordic Ski Track.
To get there from Salt Lake City, take I-80 east-bound to Kimball Junction. Get off at the Kimball Junction exit and head for Park City. You will pass the Olympic Park and The Canyons Ski Resort on the right side of the road on SR 224. Your landmark is the Big White Barn on the RIGHT side of the road about a mile past The Canyons Ski Resort. Slow down as you come closer to the Barn. Get into the middle turning lane on your far left and start looking for the little public parking lot. In the winter it can be harder to find since the snow is piled up around it.
For a short four-mile hike, plan ahead so you can drop off a car at your final destination, which will be the new Redstone Shopping Center near Kimball Junction. The Trail ends at Wild Oats, which makes for a great place to sit outside, relax and eat
By Sheryl McGlochlin, Sheryl’s Hiking Tours
www.crazysheryl.com/hiking
March 28th, 2006
Last summer, while on a 2-month medical service mission in Katmandu, Nepal, I took a 10-day leave to hike the Annapurna Circuit. The craziest part of the trip was a 7-hour bus ride on winding roads, to the trailhead at 1500 feet. I followed the footsteps of Marco Polo as he made his way from Nepal to Tibet. The trail goes up and over a 17,770 foot pass and then forks; one trail goes into Tibet, the other circles around the Annapurna Range and takes you back into the lush foothills of Nepal. Unlike most hiking trails, this trail is a highway connecting a string of small farming and mercantile villages (50-100 people per village) established mostly by Tibetan refugees. Nearly all of the people hiking are the flip-flop-clad native Nepali people carrying heavy loads from the cities–live chickens, boxes of food, bags of rice, wheat, etc.
I found no one who was willing to do the 135-mile loop in 10 days with me except a scrawny older Nepali guy, about 45, who spoke very little English. He plays great chess though! So, I packed a pocket chess board, a camera, 5 books, a journal, three t-shirts, a sleeping bag, some cash, a water bottle, and a big first aid kit with all sorts of just-in-case medicines. At one point on the trip, I self-prescribed ciprofloxacin, a strong antibiotic used for food poisoning. My guide soon found out I had medicine and I gave him most of my ibuprofen for his toothaches. I stayed in the “tea houses” as they call them, for about $4 to $5 a night, which included dinner and breakfast. The food was actually great, and the weather was just perfect! I cannot describe the feelings I had, though, of walking right up to the 8000-meter peaks of the Annapurna Range and not having the time or money to climb them! I’ll have to return one day for sure.
Of all the hikes to do in Nepal, I’ve heard this is the best. Not only do you see what most say are the most beautiful mountains in the world, but also you stay with the Nepali farmers and experience true hospitality. You travel through historic sites and visit ancient Buddhist and Hindu monasteries, find oceanic fossils in river beds at 11,000 feet, and, best of all, eat lots of yak cheese! What a trip! I would definitely say this is the best trip I’ve ever done so far.
March 7th, 2006
If you saw the movie Chronicles of Narnia, then you saw Adršpašské Skály. You may have seen the scenery in the movie and thought “wow, nice scenery! to bad it’s all computer animated.” Well, do not worry, it wasn’t. Every the scene where the kids are crossing a crazy-looking stone arch is real. Adršpašské Skály is in the Czech Republic and is what I consider my favorite trip ever.
While serving an LDS mission I had the opportunity to spend a p-day hiking in Adršpašské Skály which is just outside a little city called Adršpach in the Northern part of the Czech Republic. It was summer and the scenery was beautiful and the park was extremely green and alive with all sort of foliage. To properly visualize Adršpašské Skály think of the Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park but granite instead of sandstone and plants instead of sand. We spent the day hiking a leisurely loop around the park and walked through tons of granite slot canyons. There was even a point where the path turned into a river and we had to take a boat to cross (a public boat, of course.) At other times, the way got a little rough and there were steps and platforms built into the rock.
While traveling the park, many of the stone monoliths had plagues attached to them which identified the name or characterization associated with the stone figure. We saw one that was The Giant’s Piano and looked very much like it could be just that. This just added to the mystical feeling of the park and the mid-evil feeling that Europe has anyway. In fact, much like the Chronicles of Narnia, I would describe the whole trip as magical.
March 7th, 2006
The Wonderland Trail is a 92 mile loop all the way around Mt. Rainier. It is considered one of the top two or three backpacking trips in the United States. So, my friend and I decided to give it a try. We didn’t have enough time to go all the way around, so we only hiked a leisurely 45 miles over 6 days.
The trail on that side of the mountain goes up and down ridges, past picturesque lakes, raging glacial runoff rivers, over a huge suspension bridge, by glaciers, across rock fields, through high alpine meadows, and in evergreen forests. There was so much beauty and variety in scenery! We saw all kinds of wildlife, including small squirrels and marmots, even a bear. It was by far the longest hike I’ve been on, but also the most rewarding.
March 5th, 2006
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