Caves, Cutts, and Cramped Calves

[gaetzchamp]

Thought we'd celebrate the last day of summer with a little adventure and bit off a little more than we could chew. Got up at 7 and drove up to Timpanogos Cave and did the tour. Hadn't been there in a few years and the little man has been begging to go. We had a blast exploring the cave and both thought the tour was too short. Too many cool things in there to just blow by them. We both were holding up the group by trying to see what was up each and every crevice. By the time we made it out of the cave, it was 11:30 and it was time for the next step - Pittsburg Lake.

As we mosied up the canyon to Mineral Basin, we stopped here and there along the way to catch the occasional cutt out of the nearby rivers and beaver ponds. The road was brutal and it took us longer than expected to reach the Pittsburg trailhead - No Flats! We got on the move at 2:30 and I expected to be at the lake by 4. The hike was as rough as the road coming in and we made it halfway before deciding to turn around. The ascent was a little too much for the little guy, especially after the 3 mile hike at Timp. The trail is ROUGH, steep and borderline dangerous, especially in the heat of the day.

Here are a few picts of our Last Summer's Day Adventure.










Yeah, we made it down the mountain...



A perfect beaver pond cutthroat



At Tibble Fork, we were able to wade through the sea of people to find enough room to cast a fly and bubble. The Browns and Bows were hitting renegades or the zebra midge dropper.







After an early morning, a few scrapes and scratches, and a couple of KFC drumsticks, the little dude is passed out on the couch, hopefully dreaming of his last day of summer!

Ahhhh.....to be little again?


Gaetz
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[TyeDyeTwins]

Oh man that is too bad you didn't make it to Pitts. I was hoping for a report up there before I went up there. I was going to wait for the fall bite which should not be too far off by now. That road sure does suck!!!! I recently blew a tire on my mothers car at Grantsville Res a week ago and since it is AWD I had to replace 4 tires. $800 later the car is back in order but I aint gonna drive dirt roads for a while!

Thinking of Mtn. Biking down from snowbird and ditching the bike for the hike up there and then riding the bike back down to tibble fork.

Speaking of Tibble.....thanks for the fliy info on that place. My twin and I might go there 1st light or last light on Suday after a ski trip to TImp on sunday. That is unless we can't trick anyone in Yuba!
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[kochanut]

[quote TyeDyeTwins] after a ski trip to TImp[/quote]

say what!!!?
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[gaetzchamp]

I hear you on the Snowbird thing. We could definately see some of the Snowbird infrastructure on the summit so I know it's close - but sometimes closer doesn't mean easier. But with your backcountry experience and youth, I don't think it would be a problem for you. It may be cheaper (if you're coming from the SL Valley) to drive up to Snowbird, buy a tram pass and hike down, rather than drive up Am. Fork Canyon, pay your $6.00 usage fee, beat your truck to death, and then have a pretty rough hike up to the lake. I'm not too familiar with that Snowbird side, but it's worth taking a good hard look it. .

Anyway, if you make it up there let us know. I was really disappointed that we didn't make it up there to catch some of those brookies but it was better to be safe and keep him from not having a miserable time. Frankly, he doesn't care where he catches fish!!!

Oh, I was gonna mention that a set of trekking poles would've came in handy on that trail.

Later
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[CoyoteSpinner]

Great report. Looks like a fund day out. Spelunking to plunking. I hear ya though - there's really something for "exploring" a cave, and looking into every nook and cranny. Makes me that Logan's cave was closed for bats. Used to be one of the ones where you could "go on your own". Might end up chest deep in frigid water, and come out covered head to toe in mud, but - it was an adventure.

Glad you got some fishy-tugs in too. Sure the little guy will remember that for a long time to come.

Thanks for sharing the report.