Mount Timpanogos!

Jason and I finally had a free weekend and some beautiful weather so we were able to go down to American Fork and hike Mount Timpanogos.  For those of you unfamiliar with the hike, here are some stats:

Length: 15 miles round-trip
Elevation Gain: 5300 feet
Elevation at the Summit: 11,730 ft.

What a great hike!  We woke up bright and early (3:15 for me!) and drove down.  We got to the trailhead at about 5:30 and it was still pitch black.  It was really cool to see people's headlamps shining way up on the mountain.  It gave you a really good idea of where the trail was, how high you would be climbing, and why people have to start so early to see the sunrise!  Jason and I didn't wake up early with the intent to see the sunrise--we just wanted to avoid the heat!

So, without further ado, here are the pictures!

So many beautiful fall colors!  It was perfect timing--we still had the gorgeous greens that offset the bright reds, orange, and yellows.

The tiny shack at the top is our final destination!

These pictures won't import in the right order, but here is the final stretch of Mount Timpanogos.  There is a survey shack at the top that provides (minimal) shelter.  I was happy to have it though as it was windy and COLD up top!

This is about the halfway point (not-quite).  The trailhead is at the bottom of the valley.  At this point we had already climbed a couple thousand feet!

This was our first time seeing mountain goats.  Yay!

This is called the "saddle".  This is where I nearly lost all my courage because of the sheer drop offs on both sides of this mountain.  I was way nervous!

You can see the trail has quite a bit of loose rock that makes for some unstable footing.

But nonetheless, we made it!  This is us hanging out in the shack. 

Fearless Jason at the top of the world...

Not so fearless Becky freezing at the top of the world...

Incredible views.  You can kind of see where the trail drops off over the edge of the mountain where you go down a ton of switchbacks to the valley floor.

Jason and me at Emerald Lake.  This is the lake you see two photos above.

Scout Falls at the end of the trail.  It was so nice to cool off in the spray from the falls!  No wonder I was so happy!