50 Peaks by 50 Part 5 - 35-51

36/50 – April 27, 2023: Little Mountain Shoulder (~7,671  ft, 8.6mi, 2,911 ft)

37/50 – May 20, 2023: Mahogany Mountain (main peak) (9013 ft, 8.3mi, 4,866 ft)

38/50 – May 27, 2023: HeHuan North Peak, Taiwan (11,228 ft), 4.7 mi, 2,131 ft)

39/50 – July 1, 2023: Buffalo Peak (8,032 ft, 4.3 mi, 1,521 ft)

This is not a famous peak, but from the parking lot at the end of Kyhv peak road it is a quick hike through some beautiful meadows with Cascade Mountain looming overhead.

40/50 – July 22, 2023: Pfeifferhorn (11,329 ft, 11 mi, 3,871 ft)

I can see why this hike is so popular.  The trail up is one of the nicest around as it passes by Red Pine Lake and with the river following the trail so lots of wildflowers.

41/50 - September 22, 2023 - Robert's Horn (10,991ft tall, 12.2 miles, 4,185 ft)

(repeat) October 14, 2023 - Y Mountain ( 5.79 miles, 2,868 ft) 

42/50 - October 21, 2023 - Cascade (10,827 ft tall, 4.3 miles, 3,655 ft) As we were climbing the gulley, two paragliders buzzed by.  One of them was going to do three ascents of Cascade this day!

43/50 - November 11, 2023 - Provo Peak (?? 12.54 miles, 6,901 ft)  This included a short detour to hit the top of Lion's Head again with the rest of our group.

(repeat) - February 10, 2024 - Khyv (Squaw) Peak ( 5.88 miles most in snowshoes, 1,600 ft)

44/50 -  May 18, 2024 - Seceda Peak, Dolomites, Italy (?? 13.06 miles, 4,720 ft)

45/50 -  June 26, 2024 - Oia to Fira, Greece, plus a peak (?? 8.47 miles, 1,573 ft)

46/50 - July 24, 2024 - Devil's Castle (??, 7.27 miles, 2,599 ft)

(repeat) - August 1, 2024 - Rose Knob Peak, Lake Tahoe (?? 7.67 miles, 1,803 ft)

47/50 - August 3, 2024 - (Sunset Peak) & Pioneer Peak (??, 6.1 miles, 2,187 ft)

48/50 - September 21, 2024 - Temple Scene Peak (my name for it), connected to Robert's Horn (?? 4.94 miles, 2,471 ft)

49/50 - October 12, 2024 - Timpanogos North Peak (??, 18.12 miles, 5,091 ft)

(repeat) - November 15, 2024 - Y Mountain (??, 6.99 miles, 3,411 ft)

(repeat) - January 11, 2025 - Khyv Peak (??, 7.57 miles, 2,784 ft)

(repeat) - May 3, 2025 - Little Baldy (??, 6.85 miles, 2,534 ft)

(repeat) - May 17, 2025 - Lion's Head & Slate Canyon Loop (?? 10.73 miles, 4,308 ft)

50/50 - June 3, 2025 - Mt. Oboo, Mongolia (?? 2.38 miles, 1045 ft)

51/50 - June 28, 2025 - Mt. Nebo (11,929 ft tall, 9.3 miles, 3,673 ft)

50 Peaks by 50 Part 4 - 26/35

26-28/50 - January 17-20, 2022: Warmi Wañusqa 13,829 ft, Runkuraqay 12,795 ft & Machu Picchu 7,872 ft: 27.3 mi over 4 days. I was lucky enough to go on an amazing trip to Peru and to spend four days hiking the Inca trail to Machu Picchu with my adventurous niece Emily.  It was so interesting to learn the history of the Inca and to see what they had built so long ago.  And the mountains in Peru are more green and steeper than you can imagine.  In places is it hard to imagine how one would pass if it weren't for the camino that they had built.

I must confess that this was not hardcore backpacking.  The portadores carried the heavy load and set up a dining tent and cooked us great meals each day.  The weather was on the verge of rain, and the clouds blowing past the mountains were amazing.  The highest point that we passed was Warmi Wañusqa (Dead Woman's Pass in Inca), which Emily and Raul are looking back on in the photo below.

29/50 - June 5, 2022: (Little Little Baldy, Little Baldy - repeat) and Big Baldy: 12.0 mi, 3,827 ft

These deer were on the next ridge over as I reached the top of Little Little Baldy (the peak just shy of Little Baldy), and seemed to just be enjoying the view as I was.

The woods on the back side of Little Baldy with their trees and wildflowers were amazing.

The views back to Timp were some of my favorite.

This looks like a nice place for Brunch.

30/50 - June 12, 2022: Mill Creek Peak 10,349 ft: 9.0 mi, 2,132 ft

50 Peaks by 50 Part 3 - 20-25/50

20/50 - Aug. 3, 2021: Squaw Peak: 7.9 mi, 2,750 ft.  Although I had hiked in Rock Canyon in the shadow of this peak dozens of times when I was a student, I had never been to the top of Squaw Peak.  Andrew beat me to the top of this one but was willing to do it again on a somewhat smoky day (due to the California and Oregon wildfires.

 

21/50 - Sept 11, 2021: Y-Mountain East Peak: 7.0 mi, 3,549 ft.  This isn't quite a repeat since last time I did the false western peak.  This side has a great view of the mountains beyond, and once again I love the high aspen forest.  I actually hiked to the top of the Y with a huge group of BYU Mechanical Engineering students, and as we did the sun shown only on campus. Then, to celebrate my birthday I continued to the top.

22-23/50 - October 2, 2021: Timpanogos Main Peak (repeat), Bomber Peak: 17.3 mi, 4,729 ft.  While I had hiked Timp once before, I had not taken the Timpooneke trail, so most of this was new to me, and just for good measure I threw in Bomber Peak. The fall colors were unbelievable, some say the best in several years.

 

In the middle of this picture you can see one of the peaks (probably East Peak) that I had left behind just a few hours ago.  This little waterfall provided a little extra hydration for the trip.

I started early and saw the sun rise on the trail.  This is looking over towards Emerald Lake.  In the first basin, I could see lights from other hikers on the hillside and Orion in the sky above.  (The photo doesn't do it justice.)

As I approached Bomber peak, these guys were coming down the trail.  I backed off and sat to listen to General Conference and as I did they made their way right past me.

 

I attempted to follow the ridge all the way to the north peak as well, and made it almost there but at this point I was out of time and out of energy.  I'll be back for you, North Peak.

24/50 - November 20, 2021: Lion's Head (trail to Provo Peak): 9.0 mi, 3,720 ft.  For some time now I've wanted to climb Provo Peak, that white capped mountain that looms behind and above Y Mountain.  I ran out of time and energy but I did climb a great little peak that is on the way.  While the Y-part of the trail is not so much fun, you do climb past it quickly and the upper basin is beautiful.

Forget about saving the best for last, here is a panorama from the top, where you can see the Slate Canyon peaks on the left, Y-mountain is hidden in the middle, Timp and Cascade way in the distance right of center, and Provo peak on the far right.

 

When hiking the Y you could hardly believe there were any trees on the mountain above; this hike takes you through some great forested areas.

But my favorite part of this hike is the feel of the huge basin that you are moving through as you get behind Y Mountain.  Who knew all of this was hiding just out of sight as I sit at my desk in Provo?

25/50 - December 3-5, 2021: Angel's Landing & Zion's West Rim: 22 mi, 5,600 ft (over three days). We had unseasonably warm weather, so Andrew and I took three days to hike in Zion's.  We did about 5 miles in (gaining 3000 feet) to Campsite #2, which had the amazing view that you see below.  Day 2 we hiked the loop on the West Rim, and Day 3 we hiked down with a detour to visit the top of Angel's Landing.  While it is popular and busy, Angel's Landing is truly one of the most amazing spots on the earth.