Twin Lakes Pass, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah: Thursday, August 06, 2009

Yesterday was a beautiful blue day (90 in the valley, 78 in the peaks) and so I loaded up the backpack and took off for the Twin Lakes Pass trail.  This trail connects Little Cottonwood Canyon and Big Cottonwood Canyon via the Twin Lakes Pass, and depending on which route you take, takes you past several gorgeous alpine lakes.  The total hike (for the route I chose) should have been about 9 miles altogether, although it was longer (more about that in a moment).  The Catherine Pass trailhead starts out of Alta ski resort -- from the resort you drive 2.5 miles up a dirt road to the Albion Basin Campground where the trail starts.  Unfortunately for me, the Forest Service decided to close the gate on this road for maintenance (or some such), so the first 2.5 miles of my hike were up this dirt road.  Nice views, but who wants to hike a dirt road??  Finally, I reached the trailhead, and looking back towards Alta there was this massive raincloud settled over Davenport Peak (see picture).  Although this cloud hung around for a while, it never rained and the occasional and sporadic shade it provided was very nice.

From the trailhead the trail climbs a reasonable (for non-experienced hikers) mile to Catherine Pass (10,220 feet) with Catherine Lake directly below it (9,940 feet).  The view here is great, but NOTHING compared to what comes next.  A trail to the right takes you up another 600 feet and .6 miles (very steep) to Sunset Peak (10,648 feet), where you have an amazing 360 degree panoramic view that is truly stunning.  Coming back down to the pass, you wind your way down to Catherine Lake, and continuing on for another mile and a half or so, you come to the small but picturesque Lake Martha which feeds into the prettiest alpine lake I've ever seen - Lake Mary.  I stopped here to swim (OMG the water is cold!) for about an hour or so, and of course got quite sunburned in the thin mountain air).  From Lake Mary I was supposed to take the Granite Lakes Trail which leads to the Twin Lakes Reservoir.  However, trails in the mountains aren't always as clear as they are on a map, and I missed my turn-off.  By the time I realized I had taken the wrong trail, I had traveled about 1.5 miles and lost well over 1,000 feet of altitude.  Since the mountains in this part of the Wasatch Front are very rugged and cliff-y, trying to regain my trail cross-country presented too much of an obstacle, so I had no choice but to retrace my steps -- adding another 3 miles and significant climibing to my already 9+ mile planned trip.  Live and learn, huh?  :)

Finally, I made it to the beautiful Twin Lakes Reservoir (9,400 feet) and climbed up to Twin Lakes Pass (9,993 feet) crossing back over into Little Cottonwood Canyon and headed back down towards Alta and my car.  From here the trail descends rather steeply through Grizzly Gulch, named after an old mining town in this area in which once upon a time Grizzly Bears were rather common (or so I was told).  However, supposedly there are no more Grizzly bears in Utah.  :)  Finally, several hours and several miles later than expected, I reached my car, dragged my aching legs into it, and headed home. 

The first portion of this trail, from the Catherine Pass trailhead (when the stupid gate is open!) to Lake Mary is relatively easy, and definitely beautiful, so those of you who come to visit, plan on this trip!!  We can come back the same way we go up, so I promise not to take any wrong turns or add extra mileage.  

http://www.utahtravelcenter.com/activities/hiking/hiking-trailsnorth/lakemary.htm 

http://utahpictures.com/Twin_Lakes.php 

http://ka7oei.com/wnh/wnh_2005/wnh_20050817.html 

http://www.utah.com/hike/great_western_trail.htm