Sunset Peak

Sunset Peak

Panoramic view of Brighton from near Sunset Peak ( elev. abt 10,600ft)

 On July 24th, Grandma Hutchings invited us to spend the day at the cabin up at Brighton. While we were there, all of the kids (Mike, Jodi, Ben, Christie, Amelia, Danny and Russ) and most of he grandkids decided to hike up to Lake Mary.

Cassie and Maddie stopping to take in the view.

The hike to Lake Mary is quite steep, but it isn't very long. The grandkids all made it up without any problem.  We stopped for a few minutes to throw rocks in the water, then we decided to proceed up to Lake Catherine.

Mollie, Cassie and Grace challenged Russ to a rock skipping contest at Lake Mary.

Even though it was a little difficult for them, the grandkids all made it up to Lake Catherine.  Along the way, we saw a large patch of snow and stopped to have a snowball fight.  Once we reached Lake Catherine, Alex, Ben and I continued up the trail toward Sunset Peak while the others went back to the cabin.

Uncle Ben and Alex near the summit of Sunset Peak.  My good camera ran out of battery power at the top of our hike so I took this picture with my cell phone.

We nearly made it to the summit of the peak when we ran out of time and decided to turn around.  At 10,678 feet in elevation, the view from the top was quite impressive.  Alex and I had a good chance to talk along the way.  I was proud of him and I was impressed with how well he hiked.  From the cabin to Sunset Peak is about 4.5 miles out-and-back.

My self portrait from near Sunset Peak.  Lake Catherine is in the lower right corner.  Lake Mary is in the background in the center of the frame.

Kanarra Creek Canyon

In July, Jodi and I went down to Cedar City to see a play ("The 39 Steps") at the Shakespearean Festival.  While the play was entertaining, the highlight of the trip turned out to be a hike that we took on the morning of the play.  We decided that we needed something to do while we waited for the play to start later that day.  While looking on the internet, we came across a description of a canyon located about 9 miles south of Cedar City, just east of Kanarraville. It was advertised as a sort of "mini-narrows" type hike.  Kanarra Creek Canyon is a slot canyon with a couple of waterfalls and several other obstacles which can be fairly easily navigated.

Mike and Jodi in one of the narrow sections of the canyon.

So, in the morning, Jodi and I drove the 9 miles from Cedar City to Kanarraville to look for this canyon.  Once in Kanarraville, we stopped to ask one of the friendly locals about the canyon.  He told us that he had lived there all his life, but had never been up the canyon very far.  He mentioned that there are rattlesnakes in the canyon, but that if we were cautious, we would probably be OK.  The man's comments caused us to pause for a moment, but we decided to proceed with caution.  We found the trail-head and started up the canyon.

The first mile or so was a dry, somewhat boring maintenance road.  At the end of the road, the trail drops into the creek where the real interesting part of the canyon begins.

Jodi contemplating the best way to get across the creek.

The trail crosses the creek multiple times; much of the time, the trail is in the creek. There is no way to hike this trail without getting wet.  The temperature that day was over 100 degrees, so the cold water felt good.  As we followed the creek up the canyon, we waded through waist deep pools, climbed over a small waterfall (with the aid of a log ladder and ropes), and passed through a lush area with interesting flora.
 

Mike wading through the creek.

The first waterfall and the log ladder.

Interesting reeds found along the creek.

At one point we slid down a natural water-slide into a waist-deep pool of water.  We gasped as we came up out of the cold water.  It was so much fun, that we back-tracked and rode the water-slide again.

Mike on the natural water-slide

The scenery in the canyon was beautiful.  We both really enjoyed the sound of the running creek, the sights and smells of the canyon and the feel of the cold water on our feet.  Jodi and I had a great time, but we ran out of time before we reached the second waterfall.  We found ourselves wishing that we could stay longer and we promised each other that we would go back again sometime.

Jodi getting a good view of the trail ahead.

 Jodi loved the narrow section of the hike.

Directions:  Going South from Cedar City, take the Kanarraville Exit and follow the road until it gets into town.  Locate 100 North and turn east toward the mountain.  Follow 100 N until it turns into a dirt road.  There is a parking area on the left just before you come to the gate.  Hike past the gate and follow the maintenance road for some distance. The road will cross the creek.  Do not enter the creek at this point.  Continue to follow the maintenance road to its end where it drops into the creek.  The hike is about 4.5 miles round trip.  The creek is the water source for the town of Kanarraville.  As always, be considerate and do not leave any litter behind.

Lake Blanche Hike

On Friday, Alex and I decided to try a little hike that we found in a trails book that we borrowed from the library. The trail begins in Big Cottonwood Canyon at the bottom of the "S" curve and ascends 2,580 feet to Lake Blanche (alt. 8,900 feet) in the Twin Peaks Wilderness Area. The round trip is 5.6 miles. We didn't think the hike would be too difficult, but it turned out to be very tiring. The day was very hot (near 100 degrees F) and the trail was very steep, but the reward at the end of the trail was well worth the effort. Lake Blanche is a high alpine lake that sits in a glacial basin. Sundial peak stands in the background.


After spending a few minutes at Lake Blanche, we decided to continue along the trail for a short distance to the next lake, Lake Florence (Below).


The lakes sit in a basin that was formed by a glacier during the last ice age. As the glacier moved, it dragged boulders across the ground leaving large scratches in the red rock. In the picture below, these scratches can been on the surface of the rock where Alex stands (below).


Alex and I enjoyed the view at the top for a while before heading back down the mountain. We had a limited amount of time that day, because Cassie's all-county track meet was scheduled for that afternoon, and we didn't want to miss it. Because the hike up to the lakes took us longer than we expected, we had to hurry down the mountain. We made it down the trail in about one hour. Alex is a good hiker and he had very little trouble with this fairly strenuous hike. I was proud of him for not wanting to give up when the trail started to get difficult. My legs were pretty sore the next day, but the little adventure was worth it.

Alex, checking out the creek on the way up to Lake Blanche.

Alex and me (Dad) at Lake Florence.

All-County Track Meet

Cassie in her heat of the 50 meter dash at the all-county track meet.

Yesterday, Friday, Cassie had her first All-county track meet. She ran the 50 meter dash winning her heat (8.2) and placing 3rd overall. She ran the 100 meter dash, finishing second in her heat (16.6) but finishing out of the top six. She tried the long jump for the first time and jumped very well. Her jump of 9 feet 9 inches placed her 4th in the county. This was Cassie's first year running track. She had been "sidelining" it the last few years while Alex and Maddie ran. As it turns out, Cassie is pretty good at sprinting and jumping. Her sprinting form was great and she actually has some "hops" in her. She was fast enough that she was asked to run a 4x100 relay with the older age group at one of the meets. Cassie had a great year and was a little sad to see it end. She has set some goals for next year and is looking forward to good things in the future.

Today, Alex and Maddie had their all-county meet. Maddie has been working on the hurdles for the last two years. At the all-county meet, she ran a really good 80 meter hurdle race finishing 2nd in her heat and 4th overall. Maddie also ran her best 100 meter dash race ever. Maddie's relay team finished 5th. Maddie finished the season really strong and looks to be getting faster and stronger as she gets older.

Alex also had been working on the hurdles for the past two years. At the all-county meet, Alex ran a PR in the hurdles and became all-county champion, besting the field by over a half second. Alex finished 6th in the 200 meter dash. But, the most exciting event for Alex was the High Jump, an event that he had only done twice before. Alex outlasted all of the other competitors in his age group except one. He competed hard and cleared 5 feet 0 inches for the first time and nearly cleared 5-2. The only other competitor in his age group ended up clearing 5-0 also, but beat Alex by having fewer misses throughout the competition. Alex was noticed by several of the other coaches who all had good things to say about him. In the end, the season was a success for Alex, Maddie and Cassie

Much Ado About Nothing

Today, Maddie's 6th grade class gave their final performance of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Maddie gave an excellent performance as Ursula, one of Hero's servants. Maddie was stunning in her period costume and her spoken lines were performed with clarity and inflection. She carried herself with grace and elegance. She truly gave a performance to be remembered. One of Maddie's friend's from the neighborhood, Josh Shetlin, was also in her class. He won over the audience with a spirit-filled performance as the sheriff.

Maddie did a perfect job when she was asked to fill in at the last second for a classmate who was sick.

Maddie, er Ursula, going incognito with the other ladies.

Maddie with her acting troupe (6th grade class). Josh "S" is standing behind her and to the left (wearing a black hat).

Snowshoe Hike

Front: Nathan Montgomery, Mikey Peterson    Back:  Mike Hutchings, Randy Melara, Braden Chappell, Bishop Scott Eliason

Since the beginning of 2009, I have been serving in the Young Men's organization in our ward.  In February, Bishop Eliason and I took our group of Priests on a snowshoe hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon.  We hiked a trail that began near the Jordan Pines camp site near the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon.

Self portrait in Big Cottonwood Canyon

I had never been snowshoeing before, but I really enjoyed myself.  We walked a couple of miles up the trail, stopped for lunch and then turned around.  On the descent, we had a lot of opportunity to play in the snow and have some fun.

Panoramic view of our group taking lunch

Braden and Nathan demonstrate how to eat Top Ramen straight from the package raw.

Bishop Eliason takes a moment to enjoy the view.

The weather was beautiful that day and the hike was not too strenuous.  The Priests that came with us were Randy Melara, Braden Chappell, Nathan Montgomery and Mikey Peterson.  In the end, everyone had a good time and deemed the hike a success.