Sunday, September 8, 2024

Utah, Day 8...One Big Donut

 Sunday, September 8, 2024

    Today was a drive day.  I packed up the room and headed south to Spanish Fork.  The question was, how much could I pack into the day.

   
   Leaving the motel at 7:40A gave me plenty of time.  First stop, a posh neighborhood overlooking Salt Lake City.  It's a steep drive up to the park.  Which begs the question, how do they safely drive it in the winter?
    The first trail starts here and is a steady .9 mile climb up to Ensign Peak.  Just follow the fence line and ignore the other trails that crisscross. 




       The monument at the peak.


      The plaque on the monument's side commemorated July 26, 1847.  Mormon settlers had only arrived in the area a few days prior.  Brigham Young took a small party up this hill to take a look around.  This is where the decided to raise their flag over the new settlement.
                                                                             
     The view of downtown Salt Lake City...


From the hike down...

     The second trail of the day involved a ten mile twisty, turny drive into Cottonwood Canyon to the aptly named Donut Falls.
      The first stretch of the hike was just a walk up the forest road



     When you arrive by the river, it's a short scramble down, ropes included.

     

     When I got this far, I pondered.  I had already slipped on two trails, leaving their share of scrapes and bruises.  I stood there for a while watching people climb up to the waterfall.


    I saw quite a few slip on the wet rocks.  No surprise, the kids just scampered up without issue.  In the end, I decided against the climb.  The blog RoadtripRyan has a photo of the donut waterfall.  You can see it here:
      
      

   The final stop of the day was in Provo Canyon at yet another Bridal Veil Falls.




  There were people trying to climb up adjacent to the waterfall.  There's also an established trail that goes up with switchbacks.  I looked at it, considered it, but just wasn't feeling it.




     Instead, I just drove south to Spanish Fork to the Comfort Inn and called it a day.





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