Albion Basin Trail

 So EARLY Saturday morning we planned to visit Cecret Lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon. There was a race so the road was closed from 6-8:30. We were prepared for that and headed up around 5:30. Well, what we didn't plan for was the hundreds of racers that were at the top 2 miles before we were supposed to reach the trailhead. We saw a sign that said to use the parking lot by Albion Grill and use the Albion Basin Trailhead to go to Cecret Lake. No big deal, right? Wrong. We were planning on a 1.5 mile hike roundtrip. Here's what ensued:

It was still kinda dark when we started, but we wanted to see sunrise AT the lake.

 I spy a bambi:

 It got lighter and the trail was great. Easy, pretty, and wide!

I never have been a fan of wildflowers, but apparently, being the avid hiker I am, wildflowers are awesome and I love them.

We figured it would be a little bit longer since we didn't get on the Cecret Lake trailhead to begin with, but we also didn't think we were THAT far away. When we got to about .8 miles we were wondering how much further it would be. About a mile in, we saw this sign:

Uh, say what? We were still like 2 miles away! I tried talking Wendy into still going to the lake, but she didn't want to. So we explored a little bit more and turned around after about 1.8 miles into the hike.

After about 1.2 miles into the hike, the terrain and surroundings change from meadow to gorgeous trees, rocks, and streams. We took some time just sitting and watching nature, climbing rocks, and enjoying the scenery.

 Silly Selfie!

We climbed to the top of a really big rock and had fun taking pictures and looking down at the water.

I'm not gonna lie, I was bummed we hadn't seen the lake. Not just because that was our planned destination, but because I heard it was plentiful with moose. I thought for sure we'd see moose at the lake since we went so early. Feeling defeated we headed back down and enjoyed the sun peaking over the mountains.

 I don't know if it was because it was dark when we started, but I swear it felt more steep going down than coming up. I didn't think it was a tough hike at all heading up, but my legs were becoming jello going down! Not to mention my toes always hurt getting jammed into the front of my shoes. Rather than heading sideways, I tried going backwards and that was actually kind of fun! (Don't try it at home kids! haha)

 We made it back to Albion Grill and ran up the steps to the parking lot only to see this...

Ahhh! 3 moose! It was seriously surreal. We were SO excited. We were keeping our distance since it was a mom and her babies. We slowly started to walk toward the car. (the black one in the very corner of the above picture) but she was kind of walking in the direction of my car! So, we decided to chill where we were in case we needed to run into the buildings for protection. Finally she headed up the hill and we booked it to the car. We stopped for a bit and watched them peruse the hillside. The babies were so cute and playful!

We went to the top of the hill so we could look down on them. (still keeping our respectful distance) We watched them eat, play, and walk around. It was the coolest thing ever. When the mama laid down, we decided to give her some peace and leave.

It was such a neat experience and it totally made up for the fact that we didn't see the lake. I'm glad we turned around when we did, stopped when we did, and jogged when we did. Sometimes in your life, things fall into place and you have no idea why. Only to round the bend and realize it was so you could see some proverbial moose! Sorry to Wendy that I was grumpy before!

My overall thoughts of our hike: it wasn't difficult, would be good for kids (depending how far you wanted to go). *Wendy categorized it as "couldn't breathe; dying." I'll let you be the judge. You can't have dogs up there, so we didn't take Zipsie. The wildlife was PLENTIFUL! Which is surprising since it's such a popular area. We saw so many deer, birds, rodents, and moose! It's a super pretty area and it's also cool to see the ski lifts and stuff. There's lots of places to stop and have a picnic or just observe your surroundings. It's not quite as green as American Fork Canyon, but still pretty. It was super chilly. I think when we started it was around 48 degrees. But, once you start moving, it feels pretty good. 

Here's our stats according to fitbit:

Pace: 27'40"

Time: 1:44:24

Miles: 3.77

Steps: 8,859

Scout Falls

Week two, I decided to look up American Fork Canyon. I think I've maybe been to it once. I found this little hike called Scout Falls which is the first leg as the Timpanooke trail. We found differing lengths of the hike from 2.6-3 miles. We decided to leave my kids at home, but bring Zipsie. You have to pay $6 to get into the canyon, which is fine, we knew that going in. But bring exact change or a check because if you're there before like 9am, there isn't anyone posted to break a $10 bill. (We learned the hard way) The canyon roads are well maintained, but are VERY narrow, like barely big enough for two cars to fit, narrow. Add some bikers and joggers and it can get scary at moments. But the scenery is so breathtaking. It's so green and beautiful. We got to the parking lot around 6:45 and the parking lot was almost all filled already. (I read somewhere that this hike isn't super popular and the parking is plentiful. Not true)

 I seriously couldn't get over the scenery. It was so pretty. It had rained the previous day and sprinkled a little while we were hiking and it smelled so good! There were so many beautiful wildflowers, trees, and meadows. I can't say enough good things about the view.

The trail was fine, well maintained for the most part. A little muddy, but that's to be expected. Part of the trail has little streams running through it. It is a very thin trail. You have to walk single file, which is fine, but there are hardly any places to even step off the trail when approaching others. It was steep in some places, but not too extreme.

 So, we got to what we thought was Scout Falls. We had seen a few pictures of it and one that looked identical to this spot:

We had hit like 1.4 miles, so we thought this was it. A lot of places said they become more like a trickle through the end of summer. So we stopped there. Remember, destination accomplished? But, I'm not sure if we would have gone a little further, if there were more "falls". But we were happy with our hike.

 Hiking selfie!

Now, I mentioned we brought Zipsie, and that the trail is thin. Well, this is a VERY popular hiking trail. (Not many people are stopping at Scout Falls) I love Zipsie to death, but she's not super fond of strangers. Coupled with the fact that there's no where to step to the side (You could go rolling down a hill or up a steep slope off the trail), it made it kind of difficult. We don't hike super fast, so people were constantly passing us. That's fine, but it just took up a lot of our time. I guess I should be grateful for the breaks! But for that reason, I wouldn't recommend taking kids or dogs that are scared of people.

 She got very muddy and wet, but didn't seem to mind.

 Here we are hiding in the bush off to the side.

Overall, it was a great hike and it was just long enough for my legs to get tired. I would only go earlier in the morning if I did it again. The views were so great, I'm sorry I post so much pictures. It was just incredible. Maybe someday we'll make it to the top! There are some good articles here and here with more info and how to get there. Here's our stats:
Pace: 31'10"
Time: 1:24:40
Miles: 2.71
Steps: 6,408