I decided to take the Timponeeke trail (as opposed to the Aspen Grove trail), as I've heard there are more interesting geological features on this route. The Timponeeke trail is a 14 mile round trip starting at an elevation of 7,360 feet (total elevation gain is 4,389 feet). It's about a mile longer than the Aspen Grove trail. The first feature of this trail that I encountered was the "Giant Staircase" -- a series of glacier-carved levels that really feels like you are a tiny, tiny person struggling to climb the front entrance to a giant's castle. As you climb, you start to get views to the north showing off some of the other rugged peaks such as the Pfeifferhorn and Twin peaks. The trail climbs and contours, climbs and contours until you eventually find yourself with a view of the north face of Mt. Timpanogos when you enter the basin at 10,000 feet. From this basin it is only another 2.1 miles to the summit; however, to get there you have to scale the side of the north face, a sheer 1630 foot drop that is quite impressive (and more than a little frightening).
As you crest the north face, you are standing in the "Timp Saddle", which is 900 feet above the basin, and well above the treeline. As you cross from east to west, the winds are very powerful, and I kept feeling like I was going to be swept from the ridgeline! The views are spectacular, and you can see Provo, Orem, Utah Lake, and the various summits of Mount Timpanogos. At the summit is the "Glass Hut", an old geological survey hut originally built of metal and glass, but the glass has long since been blown out and pulverized by the winds. Unfortunately, jerks and assholes (excuse me) have covered the metal structure with graffiti, but it's still an interesting structure. Although I didn't see many people on this hike, I did run into a few people on the summit.
One of my favorite hikes, although it is not for the faint of heart and is definitely an all-day trip. Come on out and let's go!!
SIDE NOTE: Although I didn't have time to visit it, there is a short side trip to the site of a WWII B-25 bomber that crashed into Mount Timpanogos in 1955 during a blizzard. The airplane didn't ignite on impact, and both engines are still intact, as are the main landing gear and some sections of the wings and tail. Next time I'm up I want to make time to visit this site.
Educational Moment: Mount Timpanogos is situated directly on the geological boundary that separates the Rocky Mountain Province from the Great Basin Province. To the east, as far as the eye can see, is nothing but mountains; to the west, the Great Basin Desert stretches across Western Utah, Nevada, and into California. Mount Timpanogos displays many examples of textbook glacial processes and provides stark evidence of the sculpting power of moving ice. Ice Age glaciers mantled the peak until relatively recently, and dramatically shaped the mountain into an Alpine tableau of knife-edge ridges and yawning, U-shaped amphitheaters. A remnant of these glaciers persists in the deeply recessed valley below the main summit. "Timp Glacier" is a rock-covered mass found on a long, north-facing slope, and is snow-covered for much of the year. It exhibits morphological characteristics found in both true glaciers and rock glaciers. Periodically-visible crevasses and sporadically audible flowing water below the rock-strewn surface hint at deeply-buried glacial ice, while other elements of the "glacier", such as an apparent lack of movement, suggest to some the jumbled assemblage may in fact be a rock glacier, composed of unsorted lithic aggregate cemented together in an icy matrix, flowing downhill. Furthermore, it is also possible that Timp Glacier may indeed be a small glacier completely obscured by talus and other debris: thus, a "rock covered glacier". The locally-unique ice is a relic of the region's formerly colder climate and has long been a major attraction to hikers and climbers on the mountain. Its precise classification remains the subject of spirited ongoing debate, whether "real" or not.
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