"Timpanogos" Falls

On Saturday Anders and I went hiking with his sister, Nisha. Our destination was Timpanogos Falls. None of us had ever been there or really even heard of it, but I found information on it on about three websites, so we decided to go. The trail head starts at the same location that the trail for Stewart Falls does, so I wasn't too worried about finding our way because I had been up there several times. When we got there, we couldn't find any information on Timpanogos Falls or where to start our hike. We found a Forest Ranger and we were informed that there were no Timpanogos Falls, but there were falls on the hike up Mt. Timpanogos. We decided that must be our destination, so we headed out on the Mt. Timpanogos Trail head with the intention of only going a few miles. Just after starting we ran into another ranger who informed us of the conditions of the trail. Only 4 days earlier, the trail had been washed out. We told of the detour and sent on our way. It was a beautiful hike and a great day to do it, but we ran into a few difficulties along the way. Okay, they really weren't difficult, just unusual trail circumstances. Here are a few pictures to show...


You can see several water falls from this picture, taken just as we began to hike. These were our fabled "Timp Falls." It was absolutely beautiful. Note all the snow-this was July 9th.

Trail problem #1: Trail blocked and completely covered in rock and plant debris. Those rocks are not flat and easy to walk on-they looked like landslide rocks.


Trail Problem #2: Apparently the first part of the trail used to be completely paved. We had no idea it was until we ran across this. There was a ton of destruction from the flooding they had a few days ago. It was pretty amazing to see.


Trail Problem #3: Water. It looked like there was a newly formed river that followed the trail for a while.



Trail Problem #4: Snow. Lots of it. This is Nisha sitting on a rock on the trail. You can actually see the paved portion of it behind her. We climbed over this snow pile and continued on.


Trail Problem #5: Where did the trail go? It disappeared as we came across this field of snow. This marked the end of our trail. I am wearing shorts and sandals and enjoying standing in the snow.