Weather:  Cooler - in the 70's in the valley with (mostly) clear skies.
Present were:  Mike, K7DOU;  Tim, KK7EF;  Dale, WJ7L;  Gordon, K7HFV;  Clint, KA7OEI.
Destination:  Scott's Peak, (somewhat) near Guardsman Pass.
Question of the day:  "Is that Jupiter and Venus?"
Total distance:   3.11 miles, round trip
Times:  Depart vehicle: 1850;  Junction (Left turn onto road to Scott's):  1910;  Arrived at Cell sites:  1934;  Arrived atop Scott's Hill:  1946;  Departed Scott's Hill:  2010;  Returned to Cell site:  2018;  Junction in road:  2046;  Returned to vehicle:  2105
Altitudes in feet ASL (approx) from GPS:  Vehicle:  9100;  Junction in road:  9540;  Cell Site:  9930;  Scott's Hill summit:  10120
Altitude gain/loss (approx.): 1020 Ft.
Local sunset on this date:  8:01 PM - (We've lost 11 minutes of daylight since last week - about 62 minutes since the solstice.)

Images (289-814k each, .JPG):

• IMG03023 - Dale and Gordon, looking down into Big Cottonwood Canyon.
• IMG03024 - The entire crew (Dale, Mike, Gordon, Tim - in back, and Clint) atop Scott's Hill just before sunset, with Brighton in the background.
• IMG03026 - A view into the setting sun.
• IMG03045 - "Scott's Hill" - the radio site - as seen from the real Scott's Hill.
• IMG03048 - Brighton, as seen from the Cell Site just below Scott's Hill.
• IMG03049 - Tim and Dale looking at Venus and Jupiter.
• IMG03050-4c - "Silhouette of a hiker" - Mike, against the dimming Belt of Venus toward the west.  The un-cropped version of this image is #3050.

These pictures are composites of many smaller pictures.  Please note that they may not display properly on some browsers.  You may need to use an image viewer like Irfanview to view them properly and zoom in on some of the details.  Note that details of these images (exposure, time, location, etc.) are noted in their EXIF "Comments" fields.

• Scott's Hill Panorama - This is a panoramic view from the top of Scott's Hill.  The Uintas may just be seen on the far left and the Great Salt Lake on the far right, and many features of the Brighton/Big/Little Cottonwood area in between, with the middle of the image being approximately South.  (Size:  2069kB)

Maps/profiles:

Note that GPS elevation data is sometimes a bit "ratty" due to frequent blockage and degradation of the satellite signal.

• The elevation profile of the hike
• A detailed map with the GPS track of the hike (plus surrounding landmarks)

This is the time of year that we begin to realize how much daylight can be in short supply.  No sooner do you get to where you are going and then the sun sets.  What this means is that the hikes are getting shorter and shorter - much of this to make certain that we can get to our destination before the sun sets and we miss some of the best lighting of the day.

Scott's Hill is certainly one of the shorter hikes, but it offers a spectacular view of the Brighton Bowl and the area behind Guardsman Pass and even includes the Uinta range in the distance.  We were able to get to the (scat-covered) summit 10-15 minutes before sunset and watch the changing light on the surroundings, watching the warming colors as we got colder.  With a cool air mass having moved through the area, we had to don jackets and windbreakers and keep our hands warm - a task that is somewhat more difficult if you aren't moving around much. Note that we visited the peak, not the nearby radio site of the same name - none of has had brought a key to the building.

Even after the sun had set, that wasn't the end of the light show:  It so-happens that Venus and Jupiter are (optically) very close to each other.  Fortuitously, the evening of our hike was almost the date at which they are closest to each other (the date of "closest approach" being September 1st, 2005.)  Next week, weather permitting, we'll see this duo joined by the nearby crescent moon on September 6th. For more info about this celestial encounter, read about it on the August 26 NASA Feature Article.

Returning to the cars in the dark, the group went down to the Silver Fork Lodge and checked the schedule and menu.  At first it was decided that it might be too late (about 15 minutes before the closing time of 9:30 PM on weekdays) so we departed.  A short distance down the road, Mike & Co. decided to try it again, but Dale and I (together in my vehicle) passed on the opportunity and we said our good-byes.

Comments:

• If you want one (or more) of these images and wish some sort of adjustment (color, brightness, exposure, etc.) please let me know:  All of these image have been processed in some way.
• These images are in chronological order.
• No-one ever said that all of these images (or any of them) were good.  Some of them may have definite focus/exposure "issues."
• EXIF data is present for most of the images, showing time, date, and precise exposure conditions.  Recent versions of Irfanview will show this in the "View->Image Information->EXIF" tab.  Note that cropping/noise reduction required the use of another program which may have removed some/most of this EXIF data.
• Images suffixed with "h" (if any) are half-size.  This was done for images that were somewhat out of focus (due to misfocus or camera/subject movement associated with long shutter times) or those that required some extra noise reduction and had lost some detail anyway.
• All images taken using a Sigma SD-10 camera and were taken using the 18-50mm zoom lens, except as noted in the EXIF data.

Go to the 2005 Wednesday Night Hike page, or main Wednesday Night Hike index page.