Showing posts with label Hikes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hikes. Show all posts

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Secret Swing 2

Remember this post from way back in the day about the secret swing? We wanted to see what the hike was like in the Summer so we packed our deuter and made our way up to the White Pine Lake trail in Little Cottonwood Canyon. We were hoping the swing was still in good shape since two winters have passed since our last visit.

The hike was pretty with the snow, but even prettier now that we could see what was underneath. I love how close the mountains are, Utah is so beautiful.


Once we pass this look out we're almost there.


The swing was a sturdy beast, so we were shocked to find that it was broken! 


I'm sure the weight of the snow and moisture didn't let it withstand mother nature. Though we look happy, we were so, so sad. At least the seat was still there and hadn't slid off the cliff so we were able to enjoy our packed lunch while enjoying the beautiful view of the valley.

Gorgeous.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Secret Swing

According to my memory, the first day of snow in the valley this winter was on October 27, 2009. Before winter would really hit, Eric and I needed to hit up Little Cottonwood Canyon and go for a hike...because there would be a little surprise waiting for us at the top.

Eric's brother Greg and his buddies hauled up wood and supplies up the canyon to build a farkin' huge swing that looks over the Salt Lake valley. They built it not too long ago and we've been dying to go, we wanted to go with Greg and Shasta before they moved to Alaska for a year but never did. So we thought our buddies Eric and Whitney would dig this hike.




Since it hadn't snowed too much in the valley, we did NOT expect there to be that much snow in the mountains and didn't quite dress the part to go trekkin' in the snow - with Whit and Eric in their shorts and Chaco's. But we were all pretty good sports and hiked along. Neither of us knew what this "swing" looked like, how big it was, or the exact location because it was off the beaten path.








The hike sure was beautiful, all the gorgeous tree's and white untouched snow...and finally we turned the bend and saw this huge opening of the valley (beautiful minus the smog). We knew once we hit this opening, the secret swing wasn't too far.
We saw the next sign, and another, then there it was. In the clearing off a hidden path lied a huge swing in the sun! It was a lot bigger than we expected, big enough for all four of us and our feet barely hung off the edge too. We were impressed...I have no idea how Greg hauled up all this wood. I want this in my house.

We could sleep here in the summer...and with that view of the valley, I could sit here all day if it wasn't cold. We chilled for a while, busted out our snacks and munched. Then we headed back down because we were losing sunlight. See you in the spring secret swing!