A beautiful hike today up to Red Pine Lake, another alpine lake on the west side of the ridge between Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons (White Pine Lake is to the south, Red Pine Lake to the north -- both trails originate from the same trailhead). As the gorgeous trail climbs, the terrain drops off precipitously on the right, opening up a panorama of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Tiny cars can be seen meandering up from the canyon mouth on a gray thread of asphalt two thousand feet below, but after a few hundred feet the trail ducks back again into the trees and the brief contact with civilization is lost. The grade then becomes somewhat steeper as the path climbs deeper into Red Pine Canyon. Finally, at an elevation of 9,030 feet and a distance of 2.5 miles from the trailhead, the trail reaches the creek in the bottom Red Pine Canyon. At this point there is another junction in the trail, with the path to Maybird Lakes crossing Red Pine creek on the right, an amazingly beautiful spot. The forest now has turned from aspen to conifer, and the wildflowers along the grassy river bank are breathtaking.From here the path gets noticeably steeper near the top of the canyon, but finally, at an elevation of 9,600 feet, it abruptly levels off. The lake is a five or ten minute walk to the left from the top of the canyon. The setting of Red Pine Lake is pure alpine postcard beauty. The rugged crest that separates Little Cottonwood and American Fork Canyons, as well as the Wasatch and Uinta National Forests, lies just beyond the lake. Pfeifferhorn Peak (11,326 ft.) juts out prominently only a mile to the southwest, and to the north, across Little Cottonwood Canyon, Dromedary Peak (11,107 ft.) and Superior Peak (11,132 ft.) are clearly visible. The lake itself is about 600 feet across, with a smaller bay protruding on the south end where the forest comes right to the water’s edge.
The hike is just over 7 miles round trip, and slightly easier than the White Pine Lake hike. The altitude gain/loss is 2,040 feet. This is one of my favorite hikes and not to be missed if you have the time.
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