WHS Over 50 Jamboree – Sunset Peak – Joel and Alison’s Excellent Adventures

The Wine Hiking Society has different subgroups that they organize. One such group is the “Over 50” hikers. I suppose that when one gets to that age, in theory, they need to make shorter, flatter and slower hikes. I had actually never signed up for any of the events because it boiled down to me not enjoying shorter, flatter and slower hikes! At least not yet! They advertised an old-fashioned cookout, overnight and then a Sunrise hike to Sunset Peak complete with Tequila Sunrises, which sounded like a different sort of fun so I signed up.

The Albion Basin Campground is almost at the end of Little Cottonwood Canyon and just past Snowbird and Alta ski resorts. It is very hard to get reservations and they only have a couple group sites to boot, so it was scheduled for a Sunday/Monday event. We started out as 10 participants which turned into 4 by Sunday and then 3 overnight for the hike next morning and then down to 2 that actually made the summit. As this was the first/inaugural event, there will be a lot of kinks to be worked out!

Great little firepit to roast hot dogs, s’mores and catch a giant ember that burned a hole through my new fleece jacket!

Heading up the trail we were met by seas of flowers.

Looking across Little Cottonwood Canyon to Mt. Superior.

Hairy Beardtongue and Giant Red Indian Paintbrush in the foreground as we went off trail to avoid a young moose having breakfast.

Cynthia and Maureen detouring around the moose.

With an early start there were not too many other hikers on the trail. We saw the moose (above) and also a Mule Deer doe and fawn.

Some of the other flowers:

Colorado Blue Columbine – looks white to me!

Colorado Blue Columbine and a few friends!

White Camas – a species of Death Camas exceedingly toxic to humans and apparently more potent than strychnine – look but don’t touch!

As we got up to Catherine Pass the views opened up and we saw Sunset Peak at 10, 648′ above. A little bit of scrambling but nothing worse than what we encounter on most of the hikes around here. It was very windy at the top so Cynthia and I did not spend too much time on the top. Maureen opted to stop about 1/2 mile down the trail and just chillax.

Cynthia pointing out the route with Sunset Peak to the left of the frame.

From a point on the ridge trail looking to Mt. Timpanogos in the far back of the photo.

Another view of Mt Timpanogos from the summit of Sunset Peak.

On the way down we again marveled at the meadows and hillsides just bursting with flowers. Although I am finding that most of these WHS organized trips do not really cater to people that have hiked before, it is always interesting to hear others’ stories. Cynthia and Maureen both knew of the Green Gentian plant aka Elkweed. There were maybe 20 plants in one partially marshy meadow with one plant right by the trail. Come to find out these are very unique and can live 30 – 80 years. Once the plant flowers, it dies.

The one right by the trail had beautiful flowers. It was probably 4′ tall. The large ones can get to 9′ tall and when they die can produce over 60,000 seeds. Crazy but this is the second time this year that I have gotten to see sort of a once in a lifetime blooming flower (the first being the lone yucca in Monument Valley in May.)