Reynolds Peak & Dog Lake

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Lake Blanche 2012

Sundial Peak is so Beautiful

This lake never gets boring. The beauty is never ending. We did this hike a year ago (16 June 2011) and ran into piles of snow. This time around the trail was much easier to follow and we were able to take our time and marvel at the sites around us. 

The trail starts at the Mill B trailhead up Big Cottonwood Canyon. From the parking area on the South side of the road head east along a paved path about a 1/4 mile. The trail then heads south up a steep incline to the south. This small climb then levels out and crosses over the Mill B South fork of Big Cottonwood Creek. After crossing the creek the trail heads north for a bit as it gains a little elevation and then switches back to head south. The trail follows the creek much of the way up the canyon till you make it to the final approach the trail then goes East up a few switchbacks. 

As the trail makes its way past the final switchback and makes its way to the lake there are many markings on the rocks that people have made as they visited the lake some dating back to the  early 1900's (if they are legit). We saw a few markings from 2012, it is sad that people do this still. Because lake Blanche is in the Twin Peaks wilderness area all visitors should use "Leave No Trace" principles in order to preserve the beauty of the area.

 Around the lake there is a rock wall this part of the old Dam that was used before the Twin peaks wilderness area was created. Below Lake Blanche there is also Lake Lillian and Lake Florence. These two sister lakes also offer peaceful views and beauty. 

Normally on or hikes we try to stick to a time frame because we have to head to work right after but as we hiked around the lake and took everything in our time frame went out the window and we spent about an hour just hanging around the lake.    

Joel and his brother Bret hanging out by the old dam.

This is a comparison photo of our 2 hikes to lake Blanche

View Lake Blanche in a larger map
View Lake Blanche in a larger map

Bowman Fork (Millcreek Canyon)

Our original design as we set out at 6:30 in the morning was to hike Mount Aire (a peak behind Grandeur Peak) up Millcreek Canyon. As we drove up the canyon we were disappointed to find out the gate to the upper part of the canyon was still closed. I guess it never opens till July 1st even though we haven't had much snow this year. So we decided to find a random trail and follow it. 

The trail we ended up on was the Bowman fork trail. The trail head is found at the Terraces Picnic area. The picnic area is found about 4.5 miles up the canyon on the south side of the road. From the Bowman Fork trailhead, the trail begins a gradual ascent as it heads in a generally eastward direction for approximately 1 mile up the Bowman Fork drainage.  From there the trail leaves the drainage and turns to the south. After a series of switchbacks the trail arrives at a beautiful overlook towards Mount Raymond and the Mount Olympus Wilderness Area. 

After exploring the area for a while we continued onward. From the overlook the trail headed east again. According to our map we were supposed to run into a fork in the trail that would head over to the Porter Fork Trail. After searching for the other trail we decided to abandon our efforts and turn around. The map we had showed the trail heading towards a pass between Gobblers Knob and Mount Raymond.

Where Are We?

A Super Gnarly Tree we found