A very welcome cold front with precipitation came through the northwest and it hit Utah just right. I drove from Sandy, UT to Alta early this morning to take advantage of the freshly fallen snow. What a sight!
According to my Garmin watch, the snow level got down to just over 7,200 feet. I drove up in the early morning light and fresh snow blanketed the trees and mountains. It wasn’t a big dump, but it sure was nice to look at!
I started my hike to Cecret Lake at the Albion Basin Trailhead. Within minutes I saw a cow moose standing by her calf, which was laying in the snow-covered trees.
As I went through Albion Basin I expected to see wildflowers blooming, but didn’t see many blooms because they were covered with snow. The sun had already risen, but was still on the other side of the mountains. The mountains all around me started to catch the morning sun and the scenery was absolutely gorgeous.
On the way to Cecret Lake I made a small snowman. This is something I like to do during spring hikes just for fun. But the real fun in making what I called Sam Jr. today was the fact that this was June 29. I have never had the pleasure of hiking in snow this far into the summer!
After getting up to Cecret Lake I decided to push on higher and hiked up to Germania Pass. Germania Pass sits at just over 10,500 feet of elevation and is a dividing line between Alta and Snowbird ski resorts. The view on the way to and from the pass was amazing!
Cecret Lake sits at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain just below 10,000 feet at Alta. No matter what time of year I have seen it, it has always been stunning! After getting up to Cecret Lake I decided to push on higher and hiked up to Germania Pass. Germania Pass sits at just over 10,500 feet of elevation and is a dividing line between Alta and Snowbird ski resorts. The view on the way to and from the pass was amazing!
From here I hiked down to the top of the Collins chairlift, which is at a small pass that divides the man two parts of Alta ski resort. There were quite a few wildflowers blooming along this part of the trail and many had grown tall enough to be above the snow that had fallen. Walking back toward Cecret Lake I came across a marmot and it didn’t seem to be phased by my presence. I saw another farther down the trail.
I have hiked around Alta a number times an it has always been awesome, but today was special. June 19, fresh snow, 30 degrees at Germania Pass and wildflowers in bloom.
The hike was just short of 7 miles and my elevation gain was just over 2,100 vertical feet. I started hiking at around 6:15 am and finished in just over 4-1/2 hours. What an amazing morning!
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