With this post I am committing myself to set a goal to hike 50 peaks before I turn 50. It may sound like cheating, but I've decided to do this retroactively just a bit. I want my first peak to be Rigi in Switzerland. That is the hike that made me re-discover how much I love hiking. I was just starting to acknowledge that I was struggling with depression, and so while on a business trip, rather than just hang out in my hotel and work, I got out and did something. I climbed 4000 feet in 6 hours and the exercise and beauty of the surroundings made me feel happier than I had in quite a while. I started to believe that when I was down, I could do things to find some joy or happiness. Lately I start my hikes in much better shape emotionally than I was for that one, but I still enjoy the challenge and the beauty of nature.
And, as long as I'm going back in time a little, I'm claiming Mt. Agassiz in the Uintas as #2, which I hiked with Andrew in 2019. That one was just way too good to not be on the list.
1/50 - Sept. 21, 2016: Rigi, Switzerland
2/50 - Aug. 23, 2019: Mt Agassiz, Uintas, Utah
For the last segment we skirted this lake and then climbed Mt Agassiz, which you can see in the distance on the far left.
3/50 - Aug. 24, 2020: Sugarloaf Peak (11,123 ft), Alta, Utah, 5.0 mi, 1,801 ft.4/50 - Sept. 11, 2020: Mahogony Mountain, North Peak, 4.5 mi, 3,779 ft, American Fork Canyon, UT
5/50 - October 9, 2020: Y Mountain (8567 ft)/ Rock Canyon Loop, Provo, UT, 10.8 mi, 3,972 ft.
5.5, 6 and 7/50 - October 31, 2020: Lake Hardy Trial to Big Horn Peak, 13.5 mi, 6,460 ft. (The trail was listed as 10.9 mi, 5,344 ft, but I did a little extra.) I started pre-dawn so I could seen the sun rise on the trail.
First views of Big Horn in the distance (on the right). I had complete solitude on this hike. Here is proof that I was the first hiker on the trail since the first snow storm a week ago. The only tracks belong to a coyote or something. On the way down there was one other set of boots and some dog prints, so someone was following me but I never saw them.
Andrew introduced me to the life straw water bottle. Now I can stop at little streams like this and fill it and drink from them with no worries.
Lake Hardy was frozen about 1" thick and was a stunning place for a break in the sun.
Big Horn (Peak #7) is on the left here and Peak #6 (on the right) doesn't have a name as far as I know, and while it lives in the shadow of Big Horn Peak, it was a great little peak and it deserves some love as well. I've decided to name it Matt's Peak #1. Below is the view from the top of Peak #6. You can see Big Horn on the far left and far right (360 degree view).
