The evening was warmer than it had been the past couple of days. Invitees were texting to bail while others were firming up plans. In all, fourteen brave souls took the challenge to hike the 2nd largest mountain in Utah’s Wasatch Mountain range, Mt. Timpanogos.

Although this was my third time to hike this beautiful natural beauty, by the time I finished the hike at 12:00 pm the following afternoon it sure felt like the first time that I’d EVER been hiking.

Each of my three ascents to the top of Mt. Timp have started at night. The latter two started began from the Timpooneke Campground. Beginning here as opposed to the Aspen Grove trail head means a smaller elevation hike, but a longer distance hike.

After arriving at the trail head and making sure that we all had headlamps we began our journey. Turns out that if you want to hike a mountain and have everyone stay together you can’t put the fastest people up front. After 20 or 30 minutes we had split into two groups and about an hour later that 2 turned into 3 as I took the caboose with two other hikers, one of which had sprained her ankle about 10 minutes into the hike…courageous soul.

The night remained warm and there was no need for my sweater. We walked the entire night and reached the saddle just as the sun rose. We never stayed still long enough for the cold to catch us. Once up top and after resting a bit, two friends and I ascended to the summit. It was a first for all of us. THAT’S where it began to be cold. Now on the front side of the mountain (west side), we felt strong colder winds. While the skies were blue, they were preparing to gather the gray clouds that would eventually drop their rain moments after we reached the bottom of our hike.

I had a great time filled with detective footprint tracking and great friends. I’d do it again. Pretty much the coolest thing ever!