Snowbird, hike to hidden peak, tram ride down, and other stuff!

Video and pictures from a hike to Hidden Peak from the snowbird center.  Hidden Peak is the peak which snowbird removed the top of to build the tram.  They have subsequently also put a lift from Mineral Basin to the top of hidden peak, and installed a tunnel connecting Peruvian Gulch to Mineral Basin.

I have been coming to snowbird since I was too young to remember, and I find it sad to see how much more development there is now than when I was a kid.  I can't help but think it's been to the detriment of the area.  As a kid, I used to love the tram, and spent a great deal of time skiing, but the older I get the more I wish these areas would stay undeveloped.  Sorry, </rant>.

This year was really really wet, and the trail is far more wet and snowier than I've ever seen it in early August.  This isn't a difficult hike, but it does take some time.  I made it in around 2.5 hours with no breaks other than walking through the new tunnel.  The hike is mostly up a dirt maintenance road, so the grade isn't too bad.  You do gain a lot of elevation, however, so plan accordingly.  Both the Peruvian lift (which was running when I was there) and the tram are free to take down, so if you don't have the time (or the knees) to make it down the way you came up, you can take a leisurely tram or lift ride down.

Both Cottonwood canyons are watershed areas, and as such pets are not allowed, sorry!



Here's some fog in the evening, and a view of it clear the next morning!


As an added bonus, here's a video of the new Zipline they have at the snowbird center, enjoy!

Police in Salt Lake City

I was downtown and this lady in front of the city county building was yelling something.  Shortly after the police showed up.  My understanding is that she was threatening to stab people, though no one reported having seen any weapon.

Kodak Playsport Underwater Test

I shot this shortly after getting my Kodak Playsport camera.  I wanted to test the waterproofness of it before I couldn't take it back to where I got it.  It performed magnificently, and since has been used in pools (by kids around 4) and has worked like a champ.  It's quite shock resistant, having been dropped many times by now, and been fallen on a few times, it seems to hold up perfectly!

I apologize for the condition of the tank, when school started getting overwhelming it was the first thing to get neglected :(

Hike up Bell's Canyon

I'm catching up on a few video's I made of hikes. I plan on this being a common theme, hike video's, and when the snow comes, snowshoe videos.

This was a hike just after pioneer day with my good friend Jed. Bell's is a fairly easy hike up to the first waterfall, and one of the more popular hikes accessible from the valley. The first waterfall is where the popularity seems to end though, as well as the ease, and we saw maybe two people the whole time past it. For most of our time above the first fall we saw no one, I'm sure due to the difficulty of the trail. It's one of the most strenuous hikes I've done in areas, and despite getting very close, we ran out of time just before the upper reservoir.

Ball's canyon is a watershed area, and as such pets are not allowed and fishing must be done with artificial lures, sorry!

Perfect cat picture

Somehow it seemed fitting that my first post would be this...

This is James Dean!  Isn't he photogenic?

And here's a bonus!

Almost as good as catsinsinks.com!