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| The second lake |
Independence Lakes is a popular route, but in mid-June, it wasn't too busy. Before reaching the first lake, there were many snow piles. The amount of snow increased as we moved on to the second lake. We considered locating a geocache on Cache Peak, but we decided that we didn't want to trudge through more snow to get there. I have done this hike before, but I don't remember ever hiking past the first lake. We had a great time!
Aaron has hiked Mount Timpanogos in the past, but it was my first time. We camped at the base and arose early to start the hike. There were not many hikers on the mountain. It was shady and cool for a long time. As we ascended, we had to cross several snowfields, which became more frequent the higher we climbed. There was a stream I tried to jump across, but the snow I landed on collapsed under my foot. I hit my shin hard on a rock that was hiding beneath the snow. I took several opportunities to apply snow to my "shinjury".
At one point a large male mountain goat approached us fearlessly. I was nervous because this goat seemed to be too confident encountering us on his mountain turf. Growing up on a farm, I learned to give bulls their space. We were walking along a ridge with the goat coming downhill to meet us. Aaron was focused on trying to take a picture, and all I could imagine was this goat becoming aggressive and charging at us. There would be no place to go, and we would fall off the ridge. The goat was almost close enough to touch, still coming toward us. By my request, we turned and walked quickly along the trail, away from the goat and off the ridge. Most of the time, I prefer wildlife to observe us from a distance.
There is a shack on the top with a "register" inside to sign. It is not a very nice register. It is just a legal notepad with curled pages. Next time I go, I want to bring a nicer register. Overall, the day wasn't too hot, but it was quite sunny. On the way down, there were more flowing streams created by snowmelt as the sun did its work. We found some good hills to slide down. It was a good thing I was wearing quick-drying pants.
On the drive out of the canyon, we came to a complete stop in traffic. We noticed a person lying in the middle of the road. Upon further investigation, we learned that a cyclist had been biking down the canyon road when a mountain goat ran out into the road. She collided with the goat and had a spectacular crash. Her bicycle ended up in the river. Aaron and I watched one Good Samaritan use a string of tow straps to lasso the bike and fish it back to shore! After the ambulance arrived and traffic cleared, we made our way to a Mexican restaurant for a delicious meal.
