Spectacular view!

Here is the view I enjoyed first thing this morning. I say first thing but it was actually right after a 2 1/2 mile hike up Millcreek Canyon on the Grandeur Trail. Once again I am totally amazed with what lies so close to my home that I have never taken advantage of. And I consider myself to be an outdoors-kind of person! I could even see the Great Salt Lake far off in the distance!

Now here is the REAL outdoors-kind of person, Paul's sister, Kalita. She is outdoors every single day, all year long. She has hiked every trail within the whole Wasatch front, I'm sure. She has run a mere 53 marathons the past 25 years and has one scheduled for next weekend. She loves to climb to the peaks of all of our surrounding mountains "just for the fun of it". I suggested that she take me on a hike and since she knows them all, I had her choose where we should go. What a treat! This is just the most pleasant time of year to get out and go for a hike and with the leaves changing, it will only get better.

Last week I hiked up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Secret Lake. It was 35 degrees when my friend Maurine and I arrived at the trailhead at 7:30 am. There was frost covering everything and I was glad I had worn long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, a heavy sweat shirt and I even brought gloves. Once we got moving and hiking uphill, I began to warm up and it was a delightful hiking temperature. So this morning I was prepared for a similar climate only to discover that I was overdressed. Once we came out from the shade of the forest into the rising sun, the temperature began rising and I wished I had dressed in shorts and a lighter-weight shirt like Kalita.

We are going to keep on hiking until it gets too cold or it starts to snow. I am so excited to keep on discovering new vistas right here in my backyard!