“The mountains are calling and I must go.” -John MuirThere is something magical about Brighton, Utah. For me, it’s probably a lot about nostalgia but the beauty is a big part of the draw too.
In the winter, Brighton Ski Resort, is perfect for no frills skiing (a favorite for the locals) but due to my warm weather preference, it’s the summer months when I really adore the place.
We had a memorable weekend at Julie’s incredible cabin. “Das Alpen Haus” has to be the coolest place to stay in Big Cottonwood Canyon and we’re lucky Julie is so generous to host our girlfriend get togethers.
As far as hikes that lead to gorgeous destinations, Brighton can’t be beat. Lake Mary, Lake Martha and Lake Catherine are all relatively close to each other with quite spectacular views. This year we were shocked at how much snow remained on the trails. In fact, we were hiking with trax (think mini crampons) and the higher we climbed the trickier the snow terrain. Eventually our Friday goal of hiking from Brighton all the way to Alta was thwarted by too much snow. In July! It’s bizarre to still have snow on the trail in mid summer but Utah did have an unusual and never ending winter.
On Saturday, Linda and I did a run/walk down the 15 mile Wasatch Crest Trail (with some additional mileage at the bottom of Millcreek Canyon just to wear us out completely!) And, for an additional scare, Kim and Julie took a night hike on Saturday after hot tubbing and met up with a moose on the trail. Fortunately they made it back to the cabin without getting charged (no small feat)!
Brighton brings us together and time dissipates, suddenly we’re women in our 50’s who feel like teenagers. I guess that is a big part of the magic!
“You never climb the same mountain twice, not even in memory. Memory rebuilds the mountain, changes the weather, retells the jokes, remakes all the moves.” -Lito Tejada-Flores
