Cache Valley Hiking 6–Swan Peak Trail

Behind the numbers:

• 4.5 miles out and back (Jeff went 5 with backtracking)

• ~1300 feet elevation gain/loss – 600+ feet in first .75 miles

• 4 hour round trip at leisurely pace

Swan Peak is a mountain peak on the eastern edge of the Bear River Range that overlooks Bear Lake.  The elevation at the peak is about 9080 feet, so it’s a substantial mountain in the range.  The Swan Peak hike starts at Swan Flats, a small mountain valley about 4 miles off the canyon highway at about 8300 feet.  The trailhead is not well marked with a wooden signpost like many of the other more popular hikes in the area…this would be indicative of the remainder of the trail as well (poor markings).  Susan and I drove past the trailhead before reading the Cache Trails book more closely and backtracking to it.

The trail starts with a very short descent to a dried creek bed and then gets serious with the climbing.  The next ~.5 miles are basically straight up the face of the mountain, gaining ~650 feet over this stretch.  One positive of this is that there is good foliage to provide some shade and the higher elevation is a little cooler than the usual summer Utah heat.  However, this stretch is slow and strenuous.  A couple areas along the climb, downed trees and brush have obscured the trail and we managed to walk off course twice before reaching the next section of the hike.

Susan picked up a walking stick to help her up the steep part

After taking a breather when you hit around 8900 feet and the path levels, the next ~.7 miles are almost flat along open meadows just below the ridgeline.  This section provides spectacular panoramic views of the surrounding mountains, had pleasant breezes despite being exposed, and had a lot of colorful wildflowers growing along the trail.  This stretch alone would make the initial effort worthwhile in my opinion.

  

The next portion of the hike climbs quickly to the ridgeline (only about 100 feet vertical) and then drops over the other side and back down a little bit to pick up an old jeep road.  The guidebook talked about a pond in a fir tree forest to the east, so Susan and I walked there and found a woodpecker, but then couldn’t find the jeep road (or any trail out of the forest).  The jeep road trail actually continues south before the forest and pond so going to visit that area is really an aside and not part of the hike proper.

Mr. Woodpecker

Once we navigated out of the forest and picked up the trail again we wandered along the jeep road through relatively flat exposed terrain.  The jeep road continues until it starts to descend a bit, and this is where things get sketchy.  The guidebook indicates that to get to the peak you need to leave the jeep trail for an “indistinct path heading eastward” once you approach the south-facing slope.  If indistinct was supposed to mean nonexistent, then the book nailed it.  I left Susan and scrambled with Derby through brush up the climb to the east until I stumbled upon the peak (noted by a stack of rocks and a metal antenna).  I assumed from the peak the trail would become evident…it did not.  However, the view at the peak was spectacular allowing you to take in the entire Bear Lake Valley in one unobstructed panorama.  Unfortunately, I was now lost from Susan without a trail back to the path and was disoriented as to the way I came from so the view was mostly lost on me…Derby also seemed too distracted to take it in.

After scrambling on the hillside again with Derby, I decided to turn on the breadcrumb trail on my Garmin GPS watch.  It showed me how far off the paths I’d previously taken I was (and how much I wandered around) and allowed me to work my way back until I was within vocal range of Susan…whew!  I’d have been pretty bummed about losing my pregnant wife on the mountain alone while I had all the water, food, and technology with me.

Once regrouped, we opted to not repeat my climb to the peak and instead followed the jeep road a little further until it opened up to Bear Lake itself further down the mountainside.  The view did have some obstructions, but was very impressive nonetheless.  In the area near the terminus of the trail we encountered 2 other sets of hikers who each were having the same problems locating the way to the peak.

Turnaround point (Bear Lake in the background)

The return trip essentially backtracked using the same route without the detours with one notable exception.  We stayed on the jeep road longer and it took us above our previous path allowing us to get a bonus view of the north end of Bear Lake from behind Swan Peak.

Susan with the lake in the background

The return route was much less strenuous until the last .6 miles where we had to descend the steep hillside.  Here it was slow going since the trail was so steep and littered with loose debris that footing was difficult at times.  Susan even took to “scooting” portions of the descent.  Eventually, we made it back to the car dried out and tired (Derby in particular, who completed the last mile of the hike under protest…laying down in the shade whenever possible) having completed maybe the slowest 4.5 miles of hiking in history.

Susan scooting down the mountain

Overall, we rated this hike as one of our top 3 favorites of the ones we’ve completed despite the trail confusion and the difficulty.  The variety offered by the open meadows, the mountain views, the pine forests, and the lake and valley views along with the milder temperatures and wind and shade available made this hike a winner.  If someone would just mark the path to the peak it would be near perfect.

Susan wasn’t the only one worn out by this hike!

The Other Side of the Canyon–Bear Lake Weekend

When Susan and I first drove across the country to move to Logan for the year, we stumbled upon Bear Lake which happens to be just on the other side of the Bear River Mountains to the East of us in Logan.  Since then, we had talked about going to the lake for a getaway and finally got around to it this past weekend.  Of course, with Ironman Louisville approaching, I am always on the lookout for long training opportunities and it so happened that a century ride was taking place Saturday morning just north of the lake, so I was able to check the lake weekend and training weekend boxes simultaneously.

Friday evening we drove through Logan Canyon along with a parade of other vehicles heading either to Bear Lake or to camp at various outposts throughout the canyon.  The drive usually takes just about an hour, but was a little longer given traffic.  This combined with us running errands on the way out of town led to us not arriving in Garden City until around 7PM. 

Bear Lake from the car

We stayed at a rundown motel that was basically one step above camping, but was pet friendly, had ample space and a mostly functional kitchenette so met all of our requirements.  With the bike ride looming Saturday morning, Friday night consisted of a short walk down to the lake shore before dinner, gear prep, and an early bedtime.

Susan & Derby by the lake

The lake from our motel

Saturday I woke early and left Susan and Derby to sleep in as I made my way north to Montpelier, ID.  At 7AM, I took off on my bike along with a couple hundred others to tackle the Bear Lake Monster Century.  The first 50+ miles consisted of a long out and back to a canyon climb before returning to Montpelier.  This was the featured climb of the ride and had a strict cut-off time for completing it since the road also leads to a cave that would be opening for tours later in the morning.  I easily made the cut-off and was rewarded with a green bracelet (Livestrong style) that I could redeem for a race logo shot glass at the finish.  The first half of the ride went by quickly and was completed before the temps came up (it was in the 30’s at the start).

Leaving Montpelier again, the ride headed east this time through a pass that is used in the LOTOJA bike event.  It was a longer climb than it looked on paper and mostly exposed to the sun.  However, I was mentally prepped for it by the warnings at the previous aid station.  That combined with great roads through this stretch made it an enjoyable cruise through mile 70.  The last 30 miles were when things got tough.  There was only one more substantial climb but the whole of the rest of the ride was on highway shoulders exposed to sun and wind and lacking in scenery.  By the end, I wasn’t spent which is a good sign for my fitness level, but I was definitely glad to be done.  The ride was 99.8 miles with over 3300ft elevation gain (1.5x the amount on the Ironman Course) and I finished it in around 5 hours 20 minutes while only using my own nutrition, so all told it was a success.  The biggest letdown was that my point and shoot camera I was planning on riding with had dead batteries, so no pictures.

When I got back to Garden City around 1:30, a couple of our friends from the USU internship had arrived and were hanging out at the motel.  After some cleaning up, we ventured out to the main strip of Garden City to pick up a raspberry shake.  The Bear Lake valley is famous for its raspberries and the shakes (which are actually more like Blizzards) are sold at all the cafes in town.  It seemed like all the shake shops were busy too.

Mesmerized by the raspberry goodness

The shake shop we decided on

Saturday afternoon was not exactly lake weather...it was sunny, but only in the low 70’s with a chilly breeze.  Instead, we spent the rest of the afternoon playing board games and sitting lake side where Derby, Susan and I waded into the very shallow water.  In the evening, we made dinner at the motel and played more games before our friends drove back through the canyon.

Sunday morning we slept in.  As with most small towns in Utah, Garden City had closed up shop for the day so only the gas station convenience store was open (and busy).  We checked out, grabbed coffee and left town for the canyon.  Before driving all the way back to Logan, we stopped for a nice 4 mile hike to Swan Peak that turned into a much larger undertaking than we had anticipated (and will be covered in detail in a separate hike report post). 

Susan climbing
  
Some white pines     &     Wildflowers with a view
Jeff & Derby with the lake behind them

The hike was beautiful and we were mostly successful in completing it, but were beat by the end and returned to Logan in midafternoon with another nice weekend behind us.  The next couple weeks are busy with visitors coming Friday and the 4th of July holiday the week after.

USMNT World Cup Qualifier vs. Honduras

The Salt Lake City area has a professional soccer team (REAL Salt Lake) and so has a professional level stadium south of SLC in Sandy (Rio Tinto Stadium). Luckily for Susan and me, this allowed Salt Lake to be a host site for a US Men’s World Cup qualifying match on the road to Brazil in 2014. Although we aren’t big followers of professional soccer, an opportunity to catch an international match was too good to pass up.

We drove down mid-afternoon for the Tuesday night game and tailgated briefly about a block from the stadium. The US was taking on Honduras and the majority of the early arriving fans were Hondurans…an impressive following.

As we made our way to the stadium we passed a variety of exhibitions set up on the edges of the main parking lot and started to encounter more US fans. Utah soccer fans are just not big tailgaters (not surprising). Inside the stadium, the fans of both teams were blended so it was hard to get a real good idea of the split, especially since Honduras also uses blue and white, but I’d guess the US had a 2:1 fan advantage at least.

The game itself was great. Close throughout with the US coming away with a 1-0 victory on a goal midway through the 2^nd half scored in the end zone directly in front of us. Despite the narrow margin, the US seemed to be in control most of the game. Watching this level of soccer in person was a lot of fun since there are chants going on in the stadium pretty much nonstop and you never sit down.  Photo highlights below.

At first, the sun was right in our face.. but soon went down enough for some shade
 
Pictures of the three of us

Each game has a different (free) scarf with a different line of the National Anthem

A couple shots of the game (including the winning goal!)

Celebrating after the score
 
Final score     &     Us right after the victory!

Cache Valley Hiking 5–Rick’s Canyon

Behind the numbers:

• 4.0 miles out-and-back (8.8 miles for complete trip to Marie Spring Road)

• ~800 feet elevation gain/loss over the portion we covered

• 2.25 hour round-trip at leisurely pace

Susan and I decided to check out the Rick’s Canyon trail, but given her pregnant state and our schedule we only planned to partially complete the trail.  Many of the out-and-back trails are too long to complete in a couple hours, so going out for a set amount of time, taking a break for a snack, and returning via the same route is a good option.

Jeff and Derby just past the trailhead

Rick’s Canyon trail starts in the Right Hand Fork off the Logan Canyon.  There are a lot of other trails in the vicinity so if you wanted to make a day of it, you could extend this hike and connect to a variety of other trails to keep things fresh.  For the first 2 miles of Rick’s Canyon though, you pick up the trail in the Right Hand Fork parking area (about 1.5 miles off the Logan Canyon Hwy.  The first section of the trail is on a multi-purpose “road” that is also open to motorized recreation vehicles.  After only about .25 mile or so though, the trail crosses the stream that has been running alongside the path and goes through a gate where only hikers, mountain bikers, and horses are allowed.  The path narrows some, but is still a broad trail compared to many others in the canyon.

Susan at the stream crossing

After passing through the gate, the trail climbs steadily through a dry canyon that is narrow enough to remain shaded through mid-morning.  At about 1.5 miles, a fork is reached and the Steel Hollow trail breaks off to the left.  Rick’s canyon trail narrows to single track from here and continues climbing gently through some fields dotted with large white pine trees (Jeff’s favorite).  About .5 miles from the fork, there is evidence of another trial split to the right.  There used to be a Little Rick’s Canyon trail that was covered by an avalanche in the 1990’s.  This is where we turned around, but if you continued ahead, there are still another 2+ miles of trail before it ends at a forest service road.  The last 2 miles climb more than the first according to the Cache Trails book.  The return trip is steadily downhill with the sun behind you.

Tall white pines and canyon walls

Susan, Derby and I enjoyed the seclusion of this hike.  We started around 8AM and were chilly in the shade early on, but it made the uphill seem less taxing.  The warmth of the summer sun didn’t really start to make itself known until the downhill trip back to the car.  We also did not see any other people on our way up the trail.  On the return trip, we passed 5 hikers and 2 horseback riders…a small number even considering it was a Sunday.  We like to limit our encounters on the trail since Derby can be a handful when meeting other animals. 

Susan bundled up     &     Susan + bump

At the end of the hike when we got back alongside the stream, butterflies had come out in droves so Susan spent some time photographing them before we returned to Logan just prior to lunch. A great short morning hike.

 

Cache Valley Hiking 4—Wind Caves (blast from the past)

Behind the numbers:

• 3.6 miles out-and-back

• ~1500 feet elevation gain/loss

• 2 hour round-trip with aggressive descending

The Wind Caves, along with Naomi Peak, is the other locally famous hike that is considered a must-do. The trailhead is right on the Logan Canyon Hwy, and not too far past 3^rd dam which is less than 10 miles into the canyon from town, making it hard to miss.

The wind caves are rock features along the canyon walls where wind and water erosion have carved out holes in the rock, some resembling caves and others windows. They are visible from the road level, but better views are offered along the Crimson Trail on the other side of the canyon or by walking right up to them in this hike.

While this hike is short, it is relentless climbing for the out portion to the caves. The trail is really just a series of switchbacks climbing up the canyon. Along the way there is opportunity to take offshoot trails along the ridgelines. Accompanying the steep climbing, the trail is fully exposed to the sun, so it can be a challenging hike if done on a hot afternoon. The Wind Caves trail is also notorious for being one of the most crowded hiking trails in the area.

This hike is steep (as seen by Jeff’s trail and Susan’s expression)

Susan and my experience with the trail took place on weekday evening in the late summer. I picked Susan up from work and we went straight to the trailhead, starting around 5:30 pm or so. It was a warm climb, but not as hot as the midday sun would have been. With it being a weekday later in the summer, the trail was pretty empty as well. The switchbacks were tough, but the views up and down the canyon provide ample distraction.

All the beautiful views along the hike

Full disclosure, Susan and I actually missed the last spur of this hike so only saw some of the lower caves. We realized this was probably the case at the time, but were losing sunlight and didn’t want to deal with the descent in the dark. On the way down, we jogged some portions to beat the sunset, but also stopped for more pictures because as the sun set, the canyon seemed to look different every minute with the growing shadows and changing colors.

Looking back, I would recommend taking on this hike in exactly the way we did (or in the early morning of a weekday). We were able to limit our exposure to the crowds and the heat (it cools quickly as the sun goes down) and really enjoy the trail. Plus, the low-light periods of the day are more picturesque.

Cache Valley Hiking Part 3 - Temple Sawmill

Behind the numbers:

• 6 miles out-and-back
  
• ~700 feet elevation gain/loss
  
• 3.5 hour round-trip with pregnant wife
  

The Temple Fork Sawmill hike is a good option for an easy partial day hike with less climbing involved. The trailhead is at the Temple Fork turnoff from the Logan Canyon Hwy, which is not quite as far up the canyon (from Logan) as Tony Grove where some of the previously reviewed hikes begin. Also, once turning off the main road, you only venture about a mile before arriving at the trailhead (all on gravel roads) and there is little change in elevation through this mile. This means that the Sawmill hike starts at a lower elevation than Tony Grove hikes (around 6000 ft).

At the trailhead

The first 1.5 miles of the Sawmill hike follows along the Logan River in an area where the river isn’t much larger than a creek. There is evidence of beaver dams throughout the first/last .5 mile. The terrain is very mildly upward sloping along this stretch and you walk through a valley with grass and sagebrush covered fields all around, so shade is limited. You can monitor your progress here by looking for the 2 bridges across the river that take you back to the Temple Fork Rd (1 at ~.75 miles and the other at ~1.5 miles).

 
Hiking along the river

Just past the 2^nd bridge, the trail turns along a smaller creek that feeds into the Logan River. Most of the climbing takes place from here to the sawmill site, but it is not a steady uphill drag. While much of this section is also exposed, there is more shade available due to tall pine trees and rock faces nearby.

Snowy mountains in the background

Derby loves hiking!

Only about .25 mile or so past the turn onto this stretch there is an area with more evidence of beaver activity (chewed stumps and felled trees) and there is a partially shaded “pond” in the creek that provides a good area for rest…it may have been our favorite spot along the hike.

    
Susan (and bump) along the route & Jeff and Derby navigating trees


At the beaver lodge

The rest of the trail to the sawmill continues to follow the creek before opening up to a flat field with some remains of the sawmill used to provide wood for the Logan Temple and a sign talking about the area. There was a small campfire site nearby as well if you intended to stop here for a picnic. As with most hiking in the Bear Mountains, there are trail options from the sawmill to venture further into the wilderness.

Derby with the Sawmill

Us with the Sawmill

Susan, Derby and I took a small snack break at the turnaround before retracing our route back to the car. Compared to some of the other trails we’ve hiked this one was less trafficked so was easier on us considering Derby’s behavior around other animals. The trail does lend itself well to mountain biking though, so we encountered a couple bikers.

 
Pika in the sagebrush     &     Jeff’s favorite kind of bird in the valley

Derby’s viewpoint

Overall, we enjoyed the Temple Sawmill hike and I’d recommend it to larger groups of variable abilities or those walking with children since it’s not as demanding. However, I wouldn’t want to hike this trail during afternoons in the summer since there isn’t enough shade. A nice payoff to the Sawmill hike is the bonus of seeing some history along with the natural beauty.