OCR Text |
Show Scaling the Pfeifferhorn 2- Pfeifferhorn 11,326 ft. vhite Pine i 'k I zi Because we weren't wearing gloves we had to pay attention to where the stickers were. The top of the Pfeifferhorn is listed as 11,326 feet. It felt as though we were sitting on an immense pile of boulders that reached into the sky. From the peak, everything Hogum Fork and way off to the west the back side of Thunder Bowl. Down this unbelievable ridgeline we looked over on Lone Peak. From here, it would take an entire day just to walk to the base of that peak. On another trip up the this day. But it was enough just to be eating lunch at 11,326 feet. It's amazing how hungry I get at that elevation. eleva-tion. Beyond that, we were very thirsty from the climb. If we hadn't filled our water bottles at the lower lake we would have been in big trouble. As it was we had Walking the Wasatch Editor's note: This is the third installment install-ment of a series on hiking in the Wasatch Mountains by Park Record staff writer Christopher Smart. In this article he takes the reader on his favorite day hike to the Pfeifferhorn in Little Cottonwood Canyon. by Christopher Smart I probably should have saved my favorite hike in the Wasatch for the last installment install-ment of this series. But when the urge strikes to go up the Pfeifferhorn, there really isn't anything else to do but head for that big pile of rocks that rises into the sky above Red Pine Lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon. The nice thing about this trek is that it is a beautiful beginners' hike as well as being a fun advanced trip. The trail head for the Red Pine Pfeifferhorn hike is about two-thirds the way up Little Cottonwood Canyon. It is also the trail head for White IPine Lake and it is marked "White Pine trail head" on the Little Cottonwood Road. mended on a hot day. The natural lake's glacial waters are cooling, refreshing and energizing, like nothing else. - It really is a natural high. The scenery surrounding the lower lake is excellent. At the back of the lake we found a cascading waterfall, a rare sight here at this time of year. Beginning hikers should be satisfied to stop here. After cooling our... heels in Lflwer Red Pine Lake, we proceeded south up to a series of three small bodies of water known as Upper Red Pine Lake. The upper lake would more properly be characterized as the Red Pine puddles and are about 500 feet in elevation above the lower lake. The trail between the two lakes is snowy and muddy and gets lost in the rocks at times. The upper Red Pine puddles are definitely the end of the trail for beginners and intermediates. The upper lakes are situated sit-uated in a small bowl at the end of Red Pine fork. The Pfeifferhorn, itself, is still 1 This map taken from "Wasatch Tours" by Alexis Kelner and David H an scorn, shows the route to Red Pine Lake and the Pfeifferhorn. "The ridge over to the Pfeifferhorn is more like a craggy bridge of giant boulders. Crossing the bridge is like playing on a giant rocky jungle gym' I- : else is down. Perched on top of that rocky pinnacle we looked out on a series of three cirques (naturally-occurring amphitheaters). amphi-theaters). Below us the cliffs fell awav almost a thousand feet ana the cliffs of the surrounding cirques looked to be almost as high. To the west of the Red Pine Fork was the Maybird Gulch cirque formed by splendid amber cliffs. Beneath us was Pfeifferhorm I watched an eagle ride the thermal air currents rising up the cliffs. Without flapping his wings once, the eagle flew over our heads and out to Lone Peak. He circled Lone Peak and came back up the ridge to us in about two minutes time. Then, like a silent jet fighter, he was gone to Timpanogos without having flapped his wings at all. There were no eagles on ample water to get back to the lake. At a brisk pace it had taken us 3V- hours to make the summit. The last mile, which is about 2,000 feet in elevation, took an hour and a half. It was so steep that we didn't get down much faster than we made the ascent. It took three more hours to get back to the car. Including our IVi-hour lunch Dreak on top, the trip required an even eight hours. - - VLt ". not visible, hidden behind a ridge to the west. And although the trail is not obvious, the route to the Pfeifferhorn is straight up that ridge to the Southwest. We had to use our hands climbing up the ridge. A pair of gloves would have been nice but I had forgotten to bring mine. There probably is no best way up the ridge. It is a grunt, as they say, and a sweaty one at that. The upper half of the ridge has a lot of loose rocks and dirt and we had to be very careful not to knock rocks down on each other. From the top of the ridge, a gigantic rocky horn rises up and up to the northwest. It stands by itself, exposed from all sides, and looks inaccessible. From our viewpoint, view-point, Utah Lake stretched out to the west. On the south Mount Timpanogos sat ominously om-inously behind Box Elder Peak. But our attention was focused on the Pfeifferhorn. This is where the real fun begins. The ridge over to the Pfeifferhorn is more like a craggy bridge of giant boulders. Crossing the bridge is like playing on a giant rocky jungle gym. The rocks are covered by green and orange lichens that seem at times to be fluorescent. Thunderheads gathered over us, providing some welcome shade. The hiking here takes a lot of energy. The route up the eastern side of the Pfeifferhorn is very steep and we had to use our hands to keep our balance. The paved parking lot and restrooms make the trail head more than obvious. The trail markers say that it is Vk miles from the parking lot at about 7,000 feet to lower Red Pine Lake, which sits at a little over 9,000 feet. We crossed the ; Little Cottonwood Creek bridge last Saturday at 10:15 a.m. and already it was quite warm. The wildfiowers were out" in force and temperatures cooled as we walked up the trail in the shade of the aspen and pine forest. About one mile up the trail a Forest Service sign marks a fork: to Red Pine on the right or White Pine Lake on the left. The Red Pine trail heads west and crosses a stream. This is a good place to fill your water bottle. The water in that stream is some of the best water I've ever tasted. As the trail winds into Red Pine Fork from White Pine Fork we looked down at Little Cottonwood road a thousand feet below. The trail is good and the vantage point is quite safe. From here on, we were in what is known as the Lone Peak Wilderness Area. The White Pine Red Pine trail is the major access route into the wilderness area. It might take a beginning or slow hikeras long as three hours to reach lower Red Pine Lake. Once there, however, you'll be glad you made the effort. Skinny dipping is highly recom- f - - r , i it i ii - i Perched atop the Pfeifferhorn looking toward Lone Peak. photos by Christopher Smart : t . . ...... . , fe v" &KttSsW:"'' """""" ' v.. . v.. At lower Red Pine Lake we filled our water bottles, cooled our heels and gazed across Little Cottonwood Canyon . |