Box Elder Peak

When the valley heats up, you head for the hills. That's what Zeppelin and I did one Friday night after a big day of work and an abundance of indecision. I find Friday afternoon choices to be difficult. You're mentally exhausted from the work week, you don't have a ton of time, traffic heading south is horrendous, etc. It's easy to become paralyzed by excuses and mundane worries. 

It's also easy in Utah to get somewhere very sweet, very fast. Twenty minutes after finally deciding on American Fork Canyon to climb, camp and hike, we were packed up and out the door. 

We stopped at The Membrane and put up a couple routes before getting back in the truck and winding up the road, past Tibble Fork Res. and along FR 85. Crowds were present at the lower pullouts, but we eventually found a perfect opening to call home for the night. Temperatures were in the 50's and life was good.

The next morning, we got a late [non-alpine] start, made breakfast and drove 15 minutes to the unimposing trailhead for Box Elder. A couple cars were there, but we knew through route planning that this was a seldom hiked mountain due to its position—overshadowed by Lone Peak and Timpanogos. 

The hike was straightforward and easy underfoot. You just kept climbing. We passed a few people, walked through thousands of wildflowers and topped out at 11,101′.

The dogs crushed it on the way up, but the final push over rough rocks left Huxley with torn up pads and a defeated morale. Some summit snow helped ease the pain, but it was slow going back to the truck and back to the city. After ten miles and 5,000 feet of gain, Hux didn't move for a few days—happy and exhausted.