Going Hiking

One of the benefits of traveling for work is that you get to see all sorts of different places all over the country.  I have been to 38 of the 50 states and I can honestly say that Utah is one of the most beautiful.  One of the benefits of NOT traveling for work is that Eric and I have much more time to enjoy this beautiful place where we live.  Earlier this year we decided that we were going to take up hiking as a hobby.  We enjoy going on long walks together on the Jordan Parkway Trail, so we figured we would just take it to the next level.

Last week we went hiking in the Muir Woods.  It was so much fun we couldn't wait to do it in Utah.  Kristin and Dan were kind enough to invite us to come to Millcreek Canyon with them on Saturday.  Dan carried Skylee in a carrier and it was oh-so-cute.  She babbled the whole way, and then fell asleep, and then woke up and continued babbling. She LOVED it.  The puppies also came and they were super fun to have on the trail - such good dogs.

The top of the trail is an SLC overlook. I can genuinely say that I have always loved Salt Lake City.  It's the perfect size city for me to live close to, so seeing it from above is always a treat.

One day of hiking was not enough fun so we decided to go after church today.  Eric was wise and said we should just do Ensign Peak because it's short, but I wanted more of a challenge, so we picked Bell Canyon.  In retrospect, we probably should have done Ensign Peak.

Bell Canyon starts with a whole bunch of stairs and sand.  It's pretty much the stair master from hell.



Start of the trail Selfie - we didn't know what we were in for yet!

After a while of that, you come to a beautiful reservoir.  One of the reasons I love Utah so much is the mountains are so beautiful - this picture doesn't even do it justice.  In fact, none of the pictures below do any of the views justice.  It was a breathtaking hike.

After the Reservoir the trail was pretty moderate.  Flat surface with a pretty gentle incline.

Then we got to the rocks.  Oh my goodness - so many rocks.

The last half-mile of the trail were rocks like this.  It was so challenging, and we were exhausted.  It was constantly pulling yourself up while trying to maintain a stable footing.  We had to stop a few times along this part of the trail - this definitely took us the longest.  At the end of the rocks, however, was a beautiful waterfall and view of SLC.  It was more than worth it.



End of the trail selfie - still smiling but very tired

We sat and enjoyed the view for a while and then began the treacherous road back to the bottom.  it actually wasn't as bad as we thought it would be heading down, but I slipped more than once.

This part of the trail was not even the worst part - there were so many damn rocks.  Eric asked me at the end if I would have done it knowing how hard it was and I told him I wouldn't have done it, but now that I know I would do it again.  It's such a rewarding feeling knowing when you have done something hard.  And now that I know I can do it, I would definitely do it again.  We have blistered feet and tired eyes, but happy hearts.