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