Images (.JPG format ):

(These images are by Gordon, K7HFV)

• IMG_1129 - Bryan and Chris, near Silver Lake
• IMG_1130 - A view of Silver Lake from above (on the trail, partway to the Twin Lakes Dam)
• IMG_1131 - Chris and Bryan on one of the steeper parts of the trail
• IMG_1132 - Chris, on the Twin Lakes Dam
• IMG_1135 - The obligatory group photo:  L->R:  Bryan, Gordon, Chris
• IMG_1137 - The trail wasn't entirely devoid of snow, as this picture demonstrates...
• IMG_1138 - The silent, swampy solace of Lake Solitude.
  

We received word Tuesday night that the regular chronicler of these hikes, Clint, KA7OEI, would be out of town on the 23rd, and hence, no doubt with considerable trepidation, he left the recording of events to others. It was tempting to supply some out-of-focus pictures, some with heads cut off, and some interesting text such as:

“The persun that yooshally rights this stuf down wasn't hear, so we wuz abul to due it for him.”

“We don't remember the name of the trail we took, but it's the one that starts by some trees near a big rock.”

“We think this is a picture of Bryan, but it's hard to tell. The blue is either the sky or the lake.”

But maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that.  The reader may conclude we did little better.

I arrived at the parking lot a few minutes after 6 and found Bryan and..., uh, well, that was about it.  Chris had called us on '62 a few minutes before, saying he was on the way and we should just tell him where we were going.  When it got to 6:15 and no one else had appeared or called on the radio, Bryan and I decided we just might be the entire group.  It was, after all, the eve of Pioneer Day when much of the world departs on a long weekend.  There was plenty of parking available.  We discussed the options with the entire assembled group and were able to get a majority vote in favor of Twin Lakes, one of the lakes above Brighton.

(We found out later that Ron, K7RJ, could have come, but he got busy on a project at work and simply forgot.)

The transporation arrangements were a bit simpler than usual: I got into Bryan's truck.  We called Chris and found that he was almost to our parking lot, so we waited and soon he piled in with us.

At Brighton, we parked across the street from Silver Lake to avoid the threatened 10 P.M. locking of the gate into the official Silver Lake trailhead.

The trail begins by going around the north edge of Silver Lake. According to an article in the following day's Salt Lake Tribune, this was particularly appropriate for a Pioneer Day Eve.  It seems that in 1856 the settlers blasted a wagon road up Big Cottonwood Canyon and Brigham Young declared a two-day outing at — guess where — Silver Lake (although it may have been called “Trout Lake” at the time).  The very first Pioneer Day celebration was held right at this spot!

We started gaining elevation behind the lake and soon had a great view over the lake and the Brighton Bowl.  The conversation centered on the things you would expect any group of hikers in a beautiful mountain setting to talk about: where Chris had gotten a plate transformer and bandswitch for his 8877 amplifier.

We reached Twin Lakes which, despite its name, is usually a single large lake — a merger of two smaller lakes resulting from a dam built in the nineteen-teens.  We stopped for a few minutes to swat mosquitos and ponder how they got cement trucks to the dam during a recent renovation.  We saw two parties emerge from the trail around the lake — the only other humans we saw after leaving Silver Lake.

We needed to plan our next step.  We could return via Lake Mary, circumnavigate Twin Lakes, climb to Twin Lakes Pass, or return via Lake Solitude.  We chose the latter option and started to gain our last bit of elevation, just so we could say we had gained a full thousand feet.  In this section of trail we passed the one place in the Wasatch where the author has observed large, healthy limber pines.  They are most often found on high ridges where conditions are harsh and water scarce, but in this one place near the lake they have grown into tall, sturdy trees.

We reached our high point of the hike and decided it was a good spot for “the obligatory group photo.”  We found a great spot overlooking the lake.  Too bad we didn't think to adjust positions so the camera could actually see the lake.

We proceeded down the service road toward Lake Solitude and found a few snowbanks on this north-facing slope.  We stopped at the famous “Suck-'n-blow” mine to feel the strong, cool breeze coming out.  We speculated on how we could find the other end of this air stream, thought to be in Grizzly Gulch.  Map study?  Colored smoke?

As we approached Lake Solitude we saw a large electrical panel on the left of the road although there were no obvious electricity consuming devices nearby.  Chris suggested it was likely for snow-making equipment.

We crossed the dam and found the trail back toward Brighton.  We have traveled this trail many times, but somehow it looked different.  Maybe it was because in the past we'd never seen it prior to sunset.  Usually we take this return route after going to Twin Lakes Pass and pausing there for some time.  What a novel idea to hike the trail when we can see it!  As we approached the point where our loop trail closed on itself, Chris pointed out an area on the left known to be great for playing frisbee golf.

We passed back across Silver Lake where we saw some fish, but no moose or humans.  We got back to the car shortly after 9 P.M., well before gate-closing time.  It was sad to realize that we could have saved a good 50 yards by parking inside the gate.  Don't you just hate it when you have to walk to these hikes?

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