Silver Fork - Prince of Wales Mine, Big Cottonwood Canyon

My hiking buddy and I like mucho hiking. We plan vacations to hiking destinations. We discuss trail pros and cons. We research. And, we go hiking. We simply enjoy the mountains and a good climb (usually). We have talked about starting a blog about our hikes, just to remember them, for a few years now. The stars have aligned! 🌟🌟🌟 Since there is no time like the present, this blog will highlight our mucho hiking from here on out, and maybe a few past epic hikes. Enjoy! 

Silver Fork- Prince of Wales Mine

Yesterday was a very pleasant day in the Salt Lake Valley. At noon, it was warming up, and it was windy. 👎 Bad hiking conditions. As the afternoon progressed, heaven smiled upon us. The wind stopped, and the temperatures were perfect. We decided to go on a hike. We had researched two hikes the night before, and on the drive up the canyon, Leti basically made me decide where we were going. This hike, though not long, has some steepness. It would be the perfect afternoon adventure.

We started at 4:21 p.m., to be exact. There were only 6 cars at the trailhead, so we knew we wouldn't see a lot of people, which is just how we like it. The first part of the trail tricks you into thinking that the trail is mainly flat. But, tis not so. About a mile in, the trail starts to gain elevation. The hiking and (for me) wheezing begins. As we hiked, we discussed, among other things, features of the perfect dream house. We heard water flowing under the snow in the nearby creek. We saw the abandoned mine. We enjoyed little yellow flowers just popping up. We hiked up little snow banks and made it to the mine. From the mine to the saddle, we climbed about 500 feet. That part had some deep breathing, don't look where you don't want to go, don't lose your mind moments. But, they were just moments. The trail is not well defined and the rocks can be less stable. And, we had some snow banks to maneuver. Which we did, with a little bit faster pulse, mainly from the climb. 

Above: You see here where the red line ends. Between the red line and the saddle (the .3 running horizontally on this picture), you scramble up, or we did. We didn't know that the trail just above the saddle (to the right of the red line, going more vertically) existed. Heaven really did smile upon us when we walked around and found it. We took that trail back down to the mine. That trail is the .3 you see on the middle right side of the screen. :) And, it was a lot less sketchy, shall we say. 

Now, here are some pictures from that .3 part of the trail and the one just to the right of it. (The trail ends at the red dot, by the way, because it is a pretty serious drop off right there. We both stood feet from the edge and held onto to a tree for the view. It was the kind of view that makes my knees a bit weak. Less helpful.)

Above is our attempt at a selfie. First, we are not selfie pros. Second, we were in a precarious spot for the picture. That entire section of trail was a tad precarious. But, look behind us. We are in the tops of the mountains! It is so beautiful and green. It really was a piece of heaven. 

This is the end of the trail with the serious drop off. For the circumstances, I would say I look pretty well put together. It's a rare good picture, so I am including it. (Leti often says this when she take a picture, "Stop grimacing at the camera, please." For this picture, I did stop grimacing. It was probably out of straight fear.)

Here's Leti in the same spot. For the record, she always looks well put together. 

Above is about how our pictures go. Leti looks perfect. I look, well, cheesy. This is about 85 degrees from the previous picture. Steep section of trail behind us. Peaks Monte Cristo and Superior are in the background. (We have hiked those too. It was on this trail that my face turned as white as a sheet when going down. I may or may not have panicked Leti a little. Did I mention I don't do steep downhills very well?) 

After our photo opportunities and enjoying the trail, we headed down to the mine on our new found trail and back to the car. Downhill was much easier, but I did find myself missing the views from the tops of the mountains. We had good fortune smile on us. We survived the uphill. I, at the last minute, threw in the purple sleeves Leti is wearing as she forgot to throw a jacket in her bag. And, the trail back was perfect for us. It was another perfect hiking adventure in the books!