I have hiked to Emerald Lake twice and have taken the Timpooneke Trail several times. I summitted Mt. Timpanogos last year by taking the Timpooneke Trial. Every time the trail has been absolutely amazing.
A couple of days ago I did the Timpanogos Trail from Aspen Grove to Emerald Lake and it was stunning!
The third week of July turned out to be a fantastic time to hit this amazing trail. There was enough snow still melting from the Timpanogos Glacier and other areas to keep multiple waterfalls along the trail flowing very nicely. The wildflowers were amazing and probably close to their peak blooming cycle. Weather, although warmer than I liked on the way down, was fantastic.
The Mt. Timpanogos Trail starts at the Aspen Grove parking area.
In less than a mile the lower Timpanogos falls come into view. The falls were flowing well and even in the darkness of a particle moon they looked amazing. (some of these images were taken later in the day on the way back down the trail)
After the first couple of waterfalls the trail traverses sharply in places with some steep drop-offs on one side. As the trail continued up through the canyon the view became more incredible with almost every step. I started several hours before sunrise so I didn’t see a lot of this until I was on the way back down to Aspen Grove.
As dawn approached I started to see the amazing valley I was hiking up. East Peak, which rises to 10,792 was towering above me on the left and the ridge leading to 10,886 Roberts Horn was on my right. Waterfalls were visible for the next two or so miles, with some being right by the trail and offering a few creek crossings. This is also when I began to see many more wildflowers.
After traversing a long section the trail became a series of switchbacks with steep drop-offs on one side. There were still large patches of snow in places and the wildflowers were starting to really show off their colors. After passing a small waterfall and crossing the creek I came across mountain goats. Not just a few, they were all over the place.
Mountain goats in the Mt. Timpanogos area see a lot of human traffic and are pretty used to people. Having said that, getting too close is never a good idea and this is especially true when they have little ones with them. I kept my distance and took photos and videos, but the goats didn’t want to move off the trail. They were just taking their time munching on the grass on either side of the trail and would not get out of my way.
I looked at my AllTrails app and found a way to bushwhack around the goats. My path took me up between a couple of cliffs, through some dense trees, across a few dry creeks and through some amazing wildflowers before I picked the trail up again.
From there it was a pretty easy hike up to Emerald Lake. On the way to the lake there was another small waterfall with a snow bridge still standing across the creek.
I followed a trail that went about half a mile east from the lake to the cliffs above a huge basin. The view was incredible!
I then did a lot of boulder hopping below a peak called The Shoulder, which rises to 11,162 feet and got another pretty cool selfie. There was a small lake here and then I went over a rise and dropped down to Emerald Lake.
After wandering around Emerald Lake and seeing more mountain goats it was time to head back down. I went down the trail that had been blocked by the goats on my way up and passed through a large basin beneath the cliffs I had just visited. The stream went through the basin, which was surrounded by towering cliffs and mountain peaks, and fed a couple of small lakes.
Taking the trail back down to Aspen Grovel where I was parked was a little hard on this Old Hiking Dude’s knees. The Timp trail on the Aspen Grove side is steeper than the Timpooneke trail and I felt that!
On the way back down to Aspen Grove I took a lot of video of the waterfalls I had passed on the way up the Mt. Timpanogos Trail. Some I had to scramble off trail to get to, but they were worth it!
With the off-trail jaunts I took my hike tallied a little over 13 miles and a bit over 4,200 vertical feet. The trail was much more difficult on my somewhat old knees and I was pretty worn out when I got back to the parking area. However, with the sun high in the sky the views on the way down were absolutely incredible!
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