Utah’s most beloved peak – 11,749 foot Mount Timpanogos

“Climb the Mountains and get thier good tidings”

John Muir

Majestic Mount Timpanogos rising abruptly from the plain above the Provo / Orem area of Utah is an amazing sight to behold from any angle. In early September when viewed from the east and the Heber valley, you will still see perennial snow fields clinging to the base of incredible cliffs below the pointed peaks of this enourmous mountain. Mount Timpanogos got me hooked on the outdoors from a very young age. This massive mountain is arguably the most impressive peak that the Wasatch Range contains. Its summit ridge stretches nearly 7 miles from 11,441 foot North Timp to the un named 11,000 foot Peak which looms over Canyon Glen in Provo Canyon. The highest point on the mountain reaches 11,749 feet. Timpanogos can clearly be seen from the peaks of the High Uintas many miles to the east and from the Pony Express Trail out in the West Desert. Due to massive snow slides which occur every year down the chutes of the mountains western face, and the filthy stacks of the Geneva Steel industrial complex that once existed on the shores of Utah Lake, the mountain rises starkly from the valley like a grand old castle, de-nuded of any timber. Geneva Steel was recently razed to the ground so hopefully the timber can return to some portions of the mountain. The only exception to the barren appearance of the western face of the peak are the island forests of dark conifers seemingly hiding on Little Baldy, and Mahogany Mountain in front of the main stock of the mountain. Where does a name like Timpanogos come from? Well, I decided to ask my personal expert on all things Timpanogos, my Grandma, June B. Jensen. When I was only 3 years old, my Grandma took me and my siblings and cousins up on the Timpanookie trail and we drank ice water out of springs along the trail and I have loved the mountain ever since (even though I spent half of that trip sitting in the middle of the trail crying like the baby that I was). My Grandmother dug the following “Legend of Timpanogos” out of her archives of interesting papers. The author is unknown but here it is: “Long ago before white men came to this land there lived a wealthy tribe of Indians in the north in what is now known as Idaho. They were very rich and had fine feathers and furs. Because of this great wealth they became very proud and had a tradition that none of their beautiful maidens could marry any braves outside of the tribe. This story is about TIMPANAC, son of the Nez Perces Chief and Medicine Man. Timpanac’s mother died when he was only one day old. She was from the Yosemite tribe in California. His father had broken the tradition so the other Indians snubbed her while she lived with them. On her death bed she asked the chief to promise to take care of the boy. The Chief then was called “Squaw Man” because he took care of the boy and carried him around on his back. When Timpanac was twenty one years old his father became very ill and could not go up the mountain to pay tribute to the Great Spirit. There had been no rain or snow for many moons and the tribe was starving. The Chief asked his son to go and ask the Great Spirit to not punish his people because he had broken the tradition. Timpanac went up the mountain side where he knelt and prayed. The Great Spirit gave him wisdom. When he came down he told the people that the Great Spirit was not angry at his father but because the people were proud and haughty in their hearts. He and three other braves went south to buy food, trading some of the best horses and furs. They traveled until they reached what wasn known as Provo Bench and went upstream on the river and crossed at the mouth of Provo Canyon. As the four Indians came down the ridge, they picked out the Ute Chief’s tee pee with the horses tail protruding from the top. The Chief told the braves to water and feed the tired horses and he invited Timpanac into his teepee to share his food and hear about his life and his people. The Chief’s beautiful daughter UCANOGAS served the food and Timpanac wanted the maiden also. After the third course she laid a beautiful pair of beaded gloves at his side so he knew that she felt the same way. The next morning the horses were loaded heavily with food to take back to his tribe. Sometime later the old Ute Chief called his daughter and said, “you are very beautiful, many braves want you. I could get many horses for you.” But she replied that she didn’t want any of those braves. I want a man who can run fast, who is strong, and a good hunter. She went back to her teepee to pray to the Great Spirit to give her wisdom. She persuaded her father to have a contest for the other tribes and each brave must bring in the best hunter. The winner will have me for his bride. She sent her own slave to give the message to Timpanac. Timpanac was at his sick Father’s bedside and the old man asked his son to just put him up in a tree to die, as was the custom, and to go, but the son reffused and told the messenger to return and tell Unconogas he could not come until his father was better. Spring came and the pussy willow bloomed so the first part of the contest would begin. It was to be a race around the lake. Now the braves who had been there waiting had gorged themselves on food and were not in good running condition. At the last moment, Timpanac arrived. He joined the race and ran all day and all night, and early the next morning, Timpanac staggered in winner of the first part of the race. Ten days later the Chief declared the second event, a wrestling match. Timpanac won this also. The third was to go and kill a bear, bare handed, and bring it back to the tribe. Timpanac brought back a huge elk head and told where the rest of the meat could be found and used for food. The other braves did not like it that Timpanac won all the contests so they asked for another contest. This was to climb a mountain by night, not using a trail. He climbed all the way up and found that he was on the point north of the ridge where the maidens were waiting. The connecting ridge between the points was very narrow. He started across and about half way he saw three men on each side. They grabbed him and threw him down on the east side of the mountain. The thunder began to roar and the mountain split. The glacier today is where the split occurred. At the bottom of the split where his body landed, a beautiful pool formed that we now call Emerald Lake. Uconogas seeing what happened laid herself down on the top of the mountain and died. Today we call her the sleeping woman. The tribe combined the two names of Timpanac and Uconogas and called the mountain Timpanogos. Her Indian friends always felt very sad and went to the lake to worship and pay tribute to the great lovers.” What a great story! I must reiterate, it is only an Indian legend but it certainly makes for a good story over a starry camp high up on the slopes of  the mountain. There are two well established routes to the summit of this fine mountain. The first is the Timpanookie trail which is accessed via the American Fork Canyon road. There is a campground and parking lot with restrooms at the trailhead. It is about 6.5 miles to the summit via the Timpanookie Trail. This trail climbs in a southerly direction up what is known as the “Giant Staircase” past rockslides, through meadows, and past several beautiful cascading waterfalls. The trail makes numerous switchbacks ever climbing through Fir, Pine, and Spruce up to the rim where you reach the tree line and emerge into an enourmous alpine bowl filled with wildflowers and boulders and usually a fair amount of snow. From this point for the next 2 miles of the  hike, you are above the treeline. When you top out on the crest of the mountain and have your first views of Utah Valley and Utah Lake below, it is truly a memorable event in ones life. The wind hits your face and almost knocks you over. Beware because you may be sharing your vantage point with a large shaggy, white companion….The Mountain Goats of the Timpanogos herd. These great old goats are very much at home on the rocky crags far above the city below. Often times they are found lounging around mere feet from the very summit. I have sat near the summit eating my lunch only 12 feet from one of these enourmous animals and they don’t seem to care about your presence. I believe that they are more annoyed by human presence than anything, but they don’t seem to be aggressive and they are pretty tolerant of the hords of hikers that visit the summit. On the summit itself there is an old orange shack that is often referred to as the “glass house” and it was used for surveying long ago. Once upon a time it had glass windows but they are long since blown out. I have hidden myself from thunderstorms several times in this summit shelter but now what I know of lightening makes me realize the futility of what I was doing. Anyway, if you stand in this shelter and look to the east, you can gaze almost straight down 1,500 feet to Emerald lake which has a beautiful, tropical hue and most years has an arm or two of the so called Timpanogos Glacier extending into it. I say so-called Glacier because this large snow field, while very impressive and nearly 2 miles long in August some years, is not really a true glacier due to the fact that it does not move per say and it’s size fluctuates irradically with the weather conditions from year to year. It is however a perennial snow field of significant size and I have witnessed individuals packing snow skiis all the way up the mountain to “Ski in August” down the Timp Glacier. Most people who climb the mountain take their turn at sliding down the glacier. This is one of the most intense events that someone climbing in the mountains will ever participate in. I can’t tell you how many times I have sat on the edge of the Timp Glacier, trying to build up enough confidence to push myself over the lip of the glacier thus sending myself sliding seemingly faster than a speeding bullet, down towards Emerald Lake. On one occaision, I decided that if I put my feet in a plastic garbage bag that I would go faster. NEVER DO THIS. I went extremely fast and very far and my hands were cut and purple when I finally came to a stop. Once you come to a more reasonable stop sliding down the glacier, you have to tromp across the snow field about a mile and a half down to Emerald lake where there is an old shelter which was built many years ago to protect hikers from sudden storms. There are no trees around Emerald lake and the water is very, very cold. The glacier when viewed from Emerald lake is incredible, especially when you consider that it is not visible at all from the Utah Valley side of the mountain which is usually snow free by early July. I climbed Timpanogos last week 13 AUG 2010 and on this occaision I came face to face with a group of the Mountain Goats. They were on the steep slope descending from the summit ridge down into the Timp Basin. These large white beasts were munching on blue bell flowers in the middle of the trail and they didn’t want to move for anything. I thought I could yell at one of the big ones and clap my hands and get him to move but he looked right at me with his sharp shiny black horns and snorted and took a few steps toward me which convinced me to yield the road and wait until he was good and ready to move. The wildflowers in the Timp Basin were incredible………..purples, reds, blues and yellows blanketing entire portions of the mountainside. Not much snow on this hike but the wind was high making the ridge top sections treacherous. The views from the summit of the incredible Wasatch Range to the north was most amazing. If you only ever hike one mountain peak in Utah in your life, make sure that it is Timpanogos as it is without question the best hike in the State. The trail is not too steep and it is well maintained. It is however a long hike at nearly 13 miles round trip so plan accordingly with plenty of water, food and an extra pair of socks. The temperatures in the high basins and along the windswept ridges are considerably cooler than in the canyons and valleys so bring some warm clothing to change into if necessary. If there is any chance of lightning, STAY AWAY from the basins and ridges. Dangerous snow conditions exist on both routes to the summit until the first week of August most years. August is the best time to hike Timp as most of the snow will be free of the trails and the wildflowers will be in full bloom. Get an early start because the Parking Lot at the Timpanookie Campground Trailhead fills up fast. For more information about hiking Timp call the Pleaseant Grove Ranger Station of the Wasatch National Forest at 390 North 100 East Pleasant Grove, UT 84062 801-342-5240 …