daddy and pace hiked timp!

( i copied and pasted from david's fightingmean blog)

Sometimes a mountain needs to be climbed. Sometimes the stakes need to be upped by escorting a three year old to the summit. Today was that day. Tyson, my neighbor, Pace my son, and I took on Mount Timpanogos today. This mountain dominates the landscape at 11,752' and provides endless breathtaking scenery. Climbing the mountain is relatively easy but was much more difficult and sometimes scary with the large heavy pack. At the end of the day taking my son with me proved to be rewarding and added to the adventure.

The adventure began at 5:00am Saturday morning. I'd be prepping Pace all week for the big hike up the mountain. You'd think a three year old would struggle getting up that early but this was as good as Christmas for this three year old. He sprung out of bed and was racing out to the car to begin the adventure. This trailblazer spirit stayed with him for the entire 10hrs that it took us to do the climb. 

Because Saturday is always the busiest day to climb the mountain we were forced to drive 3/4 of a mile up the road past the trailhead. This is no big deal at the beginning of the hike but at the end of the hike it added a seemingly insurmountable paved road back to the car. The cool morning temperatures are almost entirely under appreciated by hikers. Many will begin at midnight to reach the summit for sunrise. Only to find the summit to be windy and freezing. This is ALWAYS the case. There is never a day during the year where the summit is warm early in the morning. But we were prepared and had Pace bundled up for the beginning of the hike. Here is Tyson feeding the local wildlife some Ritz crackers, which you should never do. 

The hike starts gaining some elevation over the valley and passes a few springs and waterfalls. Then it begins switchbacking up a feature known as the 'staircase'. This set of cliffs makes for narrow trails and wide views of the peaks that fill American Fork canyon. 

After the staircase a wide meadow opens up that is completely glowing with a nature's bouquet of Indian Paint Brush, Lupine, and Milkweed. The cliffs above the meadow are permanent residence for a herd of mountain goats. They are fearless in walking around on the cliffs and will permit hikers to travel within a few feet of them. 

Once the scenic meadow is travelled the hike steepens and my heart rate rose in response. The pull up to the saddle, a dip between peaks that looks into both valleys, had my heart rate well into the red. It felt great to really hammer the steep trail with poles. 

The final mile to the summit is unforgettable. In this last mile all vegetation, evidence of civilization, and remnants of safety are left behind. The loose rock, narrow trail, and sheer cliffs provide for a true mountain experience. The summit is marked by a small white steel shack that can be seen from the valley below to a trained eye. The rotation of graffiti provides for endless entertainment. Today was sponsored by the challenging 'Go Utes!' looking down on Utah County day and night. However, the most entertaining part of the hike wasn't the scenery, it was Pace's interaction with fellow hikers. 

The female hikers would often let out their gender unique, 'aaaaaaaaaawwwwwwww' noise. This peculiar female coo has existed since the very beginning of mankind and has passed down from generation to generation. Some of the comments prompted by Pace were: "You're the man", "Father of the Year!", "How much does a ride cost?", and "Cute!". It cannot be overemphasized how courteous Pace is on the trail. As soon as he saw another hiker approaching not only would he make room for them he would fling himself off the trail with total disregard for his own safety. He would frantically climb up the steep side of the trail often falling back down to get off the trail for the coming group. When the passing group said "Thank you" he'd always reply "You're welcome!" 

Somehow Pace proved to be the toughest of the three of us. Although I did carry him for much of the 16.5 miles he did walk for several hours. He would climb over rocks, wade through small creeks, and jump over roots that were in his way. He never complained, never asked for a break, and always had a smile with nearly limitless cheerful conversations. The topics ranged from the red landing lights on the movie 'Wall-E' to 'G-G-G-Ghosts' that only come out at night to enthusiastically commenting, "Daddy, this is a really long walk!" The last stretch of a hike always becomes competitive. Once we were almost within sight of the car I asked Pace if he wanted to race Tyson to the car. He took off at a dead sprint, laughing hysterically, and looking back challengingly at Tyson. Pace won.

a couple other photos i liked: