As if to make up for the not-so-great weather of Friday and Saturday, Sunday bloomed clear, sunny, cool, and gorgeous. I'd pointed out Mount Olympus to Bonnie during our drives around town (it kinda looms over the part of town we live in, down to Murray), and she decided she'd like to hike it. So we packed up our packs, put on the hiking boots, and off we went.Mount Olympus is one of the most prominent and recognizable mountains viewable from practically every location in the Salt Lake Valley. Mount Olympus is not the tallest peak along the Wasatch Front, but its unusual form and location make it a popular hiking destination (this is one reason I've never hiked it before, because I dislike hiking with crowds and prefer the solitude of the back country). The mountain is situated immediately east of the center of the Salt Lake Valley (due east from Murray and Taylorsville). One distinctive feature of the mountain are its twin peaks and other outcroppings, the highest of which is called "Summit Peak" and towers above the valley to an elevation of 9,026 feet. Thus, the peak looms about 4,800 feet above the valley floor.
Initially this is a desert hike. The trail winds upward from the parking area on Wasatch Boulevard through the dry grass lands that dominate the foothills, finally coming to the first juniper trees after a climb of about 500 feet. Then, as the trail enters Tolcats Canyon, the dominant vegetation turns to Gambel oak. The path crosses the bottom of Tolcats Canyon 1.7 miles from the trailhead, but, except in the spring, there is seldom water in the canyon. We were lucky with all the recent (late) snow-melt, so not only was there water in the streambeds, but we also were treated to a couple of gorgeous waterfalls. Once we got up above 8,000 feet Bonnie started feeling a bit of altitude sickness, so we called off the hike shortly thereafter, but with no regrets. The trail was fun, beautiful, and I was pleasantly surprised to enjoy it so much, especially given that we really did see a lot of people -- but, hiking people are a different breed, and everyone was super-friendly. We worked our way back down the mountain, took a rest, and headed out to dinner (The Blue Iguana). Bonnie left early the next morning, and we were sad to see her go. All in all a great weekend!
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