Monday, September 1, 2008

Hike to Wolverine with Nate-O

I’ve been hiking around Brighton since I was born but for some reason I’ve never made it to the summit of Wolverine. My brother Nate offered to take me up so off we went. I hadn’t been on a really big Brighton hike since Andy and Nate took me up to Sunset when I was 17. They still make fun of how much I complained so this time I made sure to keep my mouth shut. We left pretty late but the weather was perfect. We didn’t even need jackets and there was no sign of the big storm that was predicted. It wasn’t even windy at the summit and along the ridge. We started by going up to Twin Lakes over the ridge above Wolverine Cirque to Wolverine and then Mount Tuscarora and down Catherine Pass past the three lakes, Mary, Martha, and Catherine and back to where we started. It was a fantastic hike and I’m glad I finally got it out of the way. We expected to see more people since it was Labor Day weekend but we only saw 2 or 3 people along the ridge and a few campers below Catherine Pass. (Although Nate commented on the fact that whoever had gone up before us left boot prints like Nutter Butters and that was all we could think about for the next 4 hours) I loved being able to look down on all the lakes and see Brighton, Alta, Salt Lake, and Heber all around you. Next time I think I’ll try to leave earlier. By the time we got to Lake Mary it was officially dark, my knees made me want to cry, we both had to go to the bathroom, and Nate was being buzzed by bats. Our patience for adventure had reached its limit and we got back to the cabin less than an hour before the storm arrived. I’m a new fan of those trekking poles. They made the last 3 miles bearable. Now the only Brighton peak I have left is Clayton. The hardest part of the hike is done. Top of the cirque looking towards Wolverine along the ridge. Nate's there somewhere on the right. Just below the Wolverine Summit. Looking back along the ridge where we just came from. It's a big deal to ski down this in the winter although it's notorious for avalanches.
Me at the top of Wolverine! Hooray!Looking down from Tuscarora to the three lakes below Sunset Peak. Mary, Martha and Catherine. I couldn't get a good shot of all 3 at the same time.
Millicent looks pretty tame from up here. You can see Twin Lakes on the left and Mary on the right. Nate on the summit of Tuscarora. On the way home down Tuscarora and Catherine Pass. Sunset peak is off to the left.