To the top of Timp

Wednesday is Timp Hike day, and this year, we had a lot of Walters Family hikers! Everyone started off the day at pretty much the same time, bright and early.

Early on on our way up - everyone still has lots of energy and enthusiasm, and most of the group is still together.

 

This was going to be Dani's first time hiking all the way to the summit. The night before, she was up until 3:30 with stomach issues, but she soldiered on.

 

The views were beautiful as the sun rose, and as we continued higher the vistas became even grander.

We continued up the mountain, still keeping much of the group together

  

There are lots of good picture places - Claire, Lydia, and Riley at a waterfall that you can walk under and Jacob and Riley at the first snow we encountered, well before we got up to Emerald Lake.

At the warming hut near Emerald Lake, we were greeted by a big family of mountain goats. They kept to themselves and didn't even seem to notice us or care that we were close by.

Looking up to the peak at Emerald Lake - still a few thousand feet of vertical to go!

 

After the warming hut, we traversed across the boulder field. It was a challenge - especially after Jared and Jacob took the harder route, following the smaller cairns that distracted them from the main trail. After the boulder field, we made it up the loose scree slope and made it up to the saddle, where we had our first glimpse of Utah Valley on one side and the mountains to the east, from whence we came.

 

After a little rest, it was upward to perhaps the most difficult part of the hike. Claire did an AMAZING job of overcoming fears on the steep slopes and narrow trails. She took it slowly, but was confident and sure-footed the entire time. The picture of Zach Harris illustrates some of the steep slopes that the trail climbs on the way up to the summit.

 

We were so proud of Claire for making it all the way up to the top!

We hung out at the summit for quite a long time, and eventually, the entire group of hikers made it and spent some time at the top together.

We took lots of pictures - some from the summit shack

 

I was proud of Dani for overcoming her fatigue and stomach issues of the night before. She was determined and felt remarkably well. It was a long time in the making, but we finally made it to the top together!

On the way down, Jacob and Mason started to run so they could get back together with their group to play laser tag. They made it in time. Claire took her time going down the steep parts but again felt confident and sure-footed.

It was one of our highlights of the entire year!