The Great Outdoors

Nets has told me emphatically whenever I talk about how beautiful Utah is that she never did anything fun outdoors while she lived here. So, for the first time since we were married, we are both in Utah for more than a couple days and we decided to take advantage of a long weekend and do some hiking.

We started out with Stewart Falls. After getting Nettie mad at me for driving aimlessly throughout Provo Canyon to find the trailhead, we got lucky by finding Three Sisters road and a trail that appeared to head in the direction of a waterfall. It was a short, but beautiful hike. We got wet, ate lunch and took some pictures.
Annette was so inspired with the falls that when I mentioned the prospect of hiking Mt. Timpanogos, she decided we should do it, in spite the 8 hours it would take.

For those of you who don't recall, Nets and I had done a long hike before in Switzerland and it had gone terribly awry, so I was a bit nervous to try again. But encouraged by her optimism, we left for American Fork Canyon at 9:30am. I had gotten better directions this time as to not incur Annette's wrath.
It was a great hike, sunny day, even the foot of snow we came across about 2 hours into the hike couldn't dampen our spirits. At about four and a half hours and 6 miles in, we reached the first summit, where you can look down on the valley and Utah lake. Wow. Breath-taking.
We were about 45 minutes still from the peak and the way was much more difficult; steeper climbs, higher ledges and a slipperier path. Initially, Nets wanted to turn back, but of course, I goaded her on... bad idea. Within 20 mins I had her frustrated and scared to tears, so we appreciated the view from where we were and started the hike down.

Unfortunately, I did forget about was how well the sun reflects off snow and how white I am (how could I forget). Having worn a beanie all day, I ended up with a burn from the eyebrows down with a still shiny white forehead. Sweetness.