Red Butte Foothills

My work is right up against the foothills in Salt Lake. In fact we're almost at the mouth of Red Butte Canyon and I go up and walk along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail all the time on my lunch breaks. Lately though I've gotten a little more adventurous and started exploring the trails going into the foothills. I can't believe I've worked here so long and never gone up there. They are amazing. I'd never have guessed those barren looking hills could be so pretty. The fall leaves were great, the weather is perfect, there's lots of snakes and rabbits and weasels to see, the views and sunsets are fantastic, and I almost never follow the same trail twice. In fact I've started calling them the choose-your-own-adventure hills. I've gone down a trail and had to choose which way to go at a 5 way trail junction and then just around the bend I came to a 4 way junction. It's literally a maze. Sometimes it's hard to pick which way to go. It's almost impossible to not get lost, but with the city so close by, it's also impossible to stay lost. I tried to go to Beacon Hill once and ended up on Red Butte Summit. Usually I get back to my desk and look at google earth trying to figure out where I was. I hope I can still find time to go up there with the snow and the days being so short. Oh yeah, besides snakes, rabbits, and weasels there's the occasional tarantula.

This old homestead is in the boundaries of Red Butte Gardens, at the very back end. When I had a pass to go in there I didn't even know it was there.

Red Butte Summit (Megan should have been in this picture...)

This guy passed me going up the trail as I was hurrying to get back down before I ran out of light. I was wondering if he planned on hiking in the dark and then about 20 minutes later I saw him over my head, paragliding back down.

I don't mind the heat and I don't mind the snow, but I do hate hiking in mud when I have to go back to work after.

Winter Predictions

looking towards the Oquirrh Mountains (not the Ochre Mountains)

The sunset over The Great Salt Lake looking out to the island.

The last day I was able to hike up there before the real snow came, the kind that probably won't melt away again, and it was so incredibly windy!

Sitting at this spot has the best views, except that the highest rock point is covered in hawk poop.

This was the best sunset ever except it was the one day I didn't have my camera with me so I had to settle for a phone picture. My phone stinks at taking pictures.

Random Trivia: Did you know the Salt Lake Temple was originally going to be built out of the red sandstone from Red Butte Canyon? They decided the granite would last longer and started over and the sandstone they brought down was used to build the foundations of some of the older homes and a few churches downtown.