Ricks Creek

 

I stumbled upon this hike randomly, its very short, but very fun.

 

The trailhead I found ends at a neighborhood and you have to hike up this firebreak road I'd say oh 1500 feet or so, not too long.

It does offer a nice view too.

Here is the view from the top. See, not too much.

After this you reach the proper dirt trail along the Bonneville Shoreline.

Update 2016: I recently returned and found a No Trespassing sign here. I don’t remember there being one here when I hiked on this trip. I didn’t have any trouble but I have seen some posts from people who had the cops called. To avoid the trouble, turn left on the firebreak rd. Follow that back down, then turn right at the creek and follow it up. It won’t add a lot to your trip, and you get a bonus extra waterfall too. Or, do what I did recently, and access it from Ford Canyon.

 

Some pretty flowers.

Not much further at all you reach the creek.

And start up the canyon.

You get a little bit of forest before the roar of the falls tells you you are almost there.

And get your first view.

As you can see from the other hiker this is not a very tall waterfall, buts its nice, and if, like him, you feel so inclined you can take a quick dip in.

I always like to try different shutter speeds on waterfalls. You catch different emotions so to speak. To the left you get more of the raw power. To the right you get more serenity.

With the cascades below.

I really wish I had brought my ND filter. It’s hard to get that whispy look in full sun without blowing it out.

 

A final look at the full falls with the cascades below.

I liked the mossy rock.

Flowers with a view.

I am pretty sure this is about as close as the Great Salt Lake gets to the mountains. From the bench to the lake.

Overall it is a short, easy trail. As long as the water isn’t running too quickly, I would say it is rather family friendly. Nice easy little trail to take when you don’t have a lot of time. I would give it a nice even 9 out of 10 squirrels. Only losing a point due to not being much more to it.

The Living Room

 

After the long winter, feeling cooped up within the house, we finally got a weekend with good enough weather to venture into the mountains. Landis’s mom was feeling cooped up too so she asked to join us today. That said, I decided to research some easier trails. I stumbled upon a trail called The Living Room Trail. Apparently, someone, at some point, took rocks above Red Butte Gardens and built living room furniture out of them. Sounds interesting! Plus its not somewhere we have been yet so, here we go.

Directions: From the intersection with Foothill Drive, head east on Sunnyside Avenue. Go left onto Arapeen Drive to Chipeta Way. Go right on Chipeta Way, turn right onto Colorow Drive. Follow Colorow Drive around to the trailhead by the side of the road.

We got a little lost with the drive in, but eventually found the trail head and started our hike.

Everything is still dead from winter, but it is still rather pretty. I imagine it is quite a bit better in the spring.

You cross a really small stream.

There’s still snow up on them thar hills!

This is a different view of downtown.

Sage and Craggle

Well, this doesn’t look so bad!

Now i’m a little concerned. The trail becomes littered with loose rocks.

Interesting coloring.

Interesting lines.

Old wood

This shot shows where we ended our hike. Middle left.

More loose rocks

Texture

I started being captivated by this unique view of the valley and mountains.

Sunlight

Rock slide

We made it! (or so we thought)

There appears to be some lovely decor.

Aside from some rock formations, and some whimsical decor there wasn’t really much to this and I didn’t really understand what all the fuss was about. Upon returning home and looking it up again, I have come to the conclusion that we did not in fact find the living room. Oh well, it was still a lovely hike and I am happy we got out.

More texture

 

Another shot of the mountains.

 

With a stack of rocks

 

Discarded flask

Landis likes to climb.

I like the twigs on the ridge, backlit by the sun.

Pioneer Park below.

Rocks and Brush

The SL Valley below. We still have our typical winter haze.

This rock formation reminded me of Alien.

What I incorrectly dubbed as The Upper Living Room

Found this little guy enjoying the view.

On the way back down, this small portion of the trail still had ice.

Downtown again.

So, I thought we had made it to the Living Room, Instead, we found some other section copy cats tried to make. I am so dubbing The Parlor. So, a return visit is in order eventually. I would like to actually find this interesting work of art.

Final rating: Well, due to not reaching the proper goal, I cannot give it a final rating. I will say, I would NOT have marked this as an easy trail. It is pretty tame, but definitely has some sections that are tough, and has sections of scrambling over loose rocks. I also would not recommend doing this on a hot day, as there was not much shelter from the sunlight.

Ogden Waterfall – Winter

 

We happened to be in Ogden for a family event, and had arrived early. So Since it is so easy to get to I decided to go see what this waterfall looked like in the cold weather. I am completely unclear on the name of this waterfall, but from what I can tell the general consensus is Ogden Waterfall. It is at the mouth of Ogden canyon.

 

We had a very mild winter, and it is starting to warm up, so this is only partially frozen. I would love to see this completely frozen. It is a very pretty waterfall right out of the city.