My roommate Casey “The Kid” Sullivan talked me into this little hike. He and his climbing buddy Brian were headed strait up and over to climb the Question Mark Wall in the Lone Peak Cirque. He told his sister that he would show them the way to the trail head and get them started before he and Brian would bolt and motor to their destination. I tagged along with his sister and their group.

We got up pre crack of dawn and drove over to pick up the rest of the group. As with every other big group scenario we ended up behind schedule. We drove on down to Alpine Utah, and did the weave and bobbing that it takes to find the trailhead. The City of Lehi has some water right claim up there so they royally messed up the beginning of the hike by installing a gate. This makes the trek all that further. We got going on the switchbacks and headed up past all of Lehi’s destruction and fencing. Basically the first hour or so was on this road that was less than pristine.

Once we got to the fist Hamgog (sp?) the trail singled out and started to look more like the scrub oak and aspen that I would expect. Brian and “The Kid” took off and headed for their version of the peak experience. The trail wound around through some scenic spots with pines and great views of Utah Valley. Then we got to the second Hamgog. This is where the serious hiking started.

From the second Hamgog we basically started hiking strait up. The trail was marginal. Bushwhacking and trying not to slide on gravel-covered rock was the norm. As we topped out of the first major draw above Hamgog 2 the mountain mellowed out and the hiking was a bit more like a staircase rather than a brush infested slide with ball bearings. After another 45 minutes of “stairs” the south wall loomed up before us. We stopped for lunch and talked of “where to from here”.

I was feeling great at the time. We hadn’t pushed the pace, so my non-hiking for the season was not yet apparent. From our lunch spot all of Utah valley was in view. There were also some great looks at Box Elder Peak. We headed northwest and wondered what Brian and “The Kid” were up to. We basically walked around the base of the south wall to the west. Most of the altitude gain was behind us until the last push so we motored around to the west side and then into the cirque. There was this problem of no trial and huge talus fields that we lost ourselves on for a while until we got some idea of where we’d catch the summit trail. I learned that I’m no good at scrambling. Jumping between rocks with nowhere to put my hands was a bit unnerving. Missteps and loosing your balance was a recipe for pain! I was slow.

Once the talus obstacle was overcome we were in the cirque and headed northeast to where the north end of the cirque wall met the fields were marching across. The cirque is magnificent.

It is a little paradise up there. The scramble to the top was more stairs mingled with the brush choked/ball-bearing-ed slippery slide. The last 300 yards was where my wits left me and I was sure I would die. I didn’t. Being scared of heights is not a virtue I espouse, but it’s with me nonetheless. The 300 yards is another talus scramble where the misstep consequences are not so much pain as quick lesson in flying followed by a short bit of quickly ending pain. The summit is 3 boulders, each with a surface area equal to that of this desk where I’m typing.

I stayed for the picture and headed back to solid ground. Little did I know…

Up was a good time, down is where I will start to whine. I don’t hike all that much. My legs are not used to the jarring that comes on a decent like the ascent that we just finished. I had my trekking poles and boy was I glad that I toted those all the way up. I was about ah hour behind the group as we finished. I met Casey and Brian on their way down. Casey walked with me through the last hour. He is a great guy and knows all about sore IT bands. The funniest thing he had me do was walk backwards. It was as if he had just cast the devils out of my legs. If only I could figure out the eyes in the back of my head thing.

What a day. I vowed never to hike again, though I’m sure I will. The realization that I came to was that all of the hiking I usually do involves a ski or snowboard descent. Winter hiking is where it’s at. If I summer hike like we did on Lone Peak I’ll train! Really I will.