We did it!

We conquered Mt. Timpanogos! Christina and I agree that it was probably the hardest physical thing we've ever done in a single day, but it feels good to have done it.

We got up at 4am and made it to the Aspen Grove starting point shortly after 5am. We had the hardest time finding the self-pay envelopes. Then after finding it we realized we didn't have a pen in our whole car. This was very frustrating. They check the lots often, so we needed to pay the $6 fee to avoid a heftier fine. Finally someone else showed up around 5:45am and we asked to borrow their pen. So always keep a pen in your cars!

We started around 6am. I don't think either of us had any idea how tough or long this hike is. It seems like so many people have done it and we looked it up online. One guy said it takes about 8 hours total. That's what I was going off of. The problem is he's probably hiked it many times and is an avid hiker. Christina and I like the outdoors a lot, but we're not avid. Here we are near the beginning. Still very happy.

We passed many waterfalls and streams. Here is Christina behind one of them.

Here is the snow field (most people call it a glacier) we had to go across. At this point we didn't know how much further the hike would be. I had to help Christina want to keep going. And she helped me on the way back down when every part of our bodies ached.

Here we are at the quasi-summit. We thought we were almost there and people were resting and eating lunch, but it was really another hour hike from this point to the summit (shorter for some people). We stopped and ate our lunch here.

This is part of the hike up the last stretch.

View from the top (Elevation: 11,749 ft.)

The lake down there was only about a 1/4 of the way back down.

This shelter is proof that we were at the very top.

Christina and I agreed we're not doing it again. We're glad to have done it though. Our bodies are just aching too much. It's now the day after and we're doing better. Last night I could only walk like Frankenstein's monster. Our thighs, knees, calves, and feet hurt a lot. And we got sunburned even after being careful about applying 50 SPF sunblock before and during the hike. One positive is that it wasn't as hot as I was expecting. Cool breezes and shade from the mountain or clouds helped. We took much longer than 8 hours. We didn't get back until 6pm, so 12 hours. Yes, we took a wrong turn at one point which added a half hour and rested when necessary. That is a lot of hiking in one day!

But if you're wanting an adventure and some beautiful scenery, hike Mt. Timp. It would be a good idea to do some shorter hikes in preparation.