SALT LAKE CITY, UT
Mount Olympus is one of the most prominent and recognizable mountains near Salt Lake City (although I still can't pick it out from the line-up). Coming in at 9,030 feet, it is far from the tallest peak around here, with many other peaks in the area easily topping 11,000. But it is easily accessible from Salt Lake City (just a 15 min drive from where I was staying) which makes it a popular hiking destination.
One of the hikers I met on the trail said it's one of those trails that starts out difficult and gets exponentially more difficult as you go. I agree with his description. It is exactly 4 miles to the saddle with a 3,400' elevation gain; at that point you are rewarded with magnificent views of other mountains.
From the saddle, you climb another half mile and I mean that literally. You rock scramble to the top, with another 600' of elevation, for a total elevation gain of 4,022' and a total of 4.5 miles. I'm not afraid of heights, but there were parts of the scramble that made me nervous!
Mount Olympus: the First Climb
Karen, my friend from Virginia, flew out to spend the weekend in Salt Lake City with me. I asked her a couple times if she had specific things she wanted to do and the only thing she was ever adamant about was wanting to do Mount Olympus. No problem.
We started our hike on Friday morning. Here is a view of Salt Lake City about 1.5 miles into the hike. Looks like a gorgeous day, right? The forecast in the city is a high of 59 degrees, low of 46.
About a mile after this picture, Karen looked at her Apple watch and asked, "My heart rate is 180 - is that too high?"
OH MY GOSH! Yes, Karen, that is WAY too high!
I later told my dad about that moment and his response was, "Yes, that means TURN AROUND. You are going the wrong direction on the mountain. You need more DOWN."
The one thing we had not accounted for in our planning was Karen's sea level lungs adjusting to the altitude. Salt Lake City sits at 4,200' and here we were climbing another 4,000' or more - yikes! We slowed down a bit after that, but not much. God bless her, Karen is a machine with equal parts mental and physical stamina.
To top off Karen's exploding lungs, it started raining halfway up the mountain. And then suddenly Karen asked, "Am I seeing white?" Yes, we were definitely seeing white. It was half raining, half snowing.
We finally made it to the saddle where we were able to take a breather. Well, I was. Karen just asked: "Why does Utah not have oxygen?!"
Some shots from the saddle at 3,554 ft.
Here is the actual peak if we had decided to go on from the saddle.
It's tough to see just how jagged and steep the final ascent is in the picture above. By this point, it was raining enough that the rocks would be slick and Karen's knee was already sore (and was completely destroyed by the time we got to the bottom). We opted to skip the final ascent and turned back down the hill instead.
Halfway down the hill, Karen asked, "You're going to come back and do the whole thing, aren't you?"
Before she could even finish the question, my answer was yes. :)
Mount Olympus, the First Climb:
8,515'
Total miles = exactly 8
Elevation gain = 3,554 to the saddle
Total time = 4 hrs, 44 mins
Mount Olympus: the Second Climb
Eight days later, I was back. This time, the weather was warmer and sunnier, with a high of 79 in Salt Lake City and a low of 55. Subtract 10-20 degrees for the summit and that's perfect hiking weather.
Here's me at the saddle again. I made it in exactly 2 hours. There are clouds in the sky, but at least you can see the mountains!
The view is a bit different this time around for sure!
Ok, here's where we are going!
Here I am at the beginning of the rock scramble:
And here are the people ahead of me on the rock scramble. It's hard to show just how steep this part of the hike is and we haven't even hit the good stuff yet. :)
I ended up tagging along with three people -- Brian (24), his wife Carlie (22), and his sister Kaylie (18). I realized I was old enough to be a mother to all of them, so I felt especially accomplished that I had passed them on the way up the mountain to the saddle. Woot woot!
The rock scramble to the top was no joke. It was incredibly steep. There were spots where it was tricky to find something to hang on to in order to boost yourself up. And the trail was not at all evident, which explains why we ended up off-trail at one point.
Here's a couple pics of my three new friends on the final ascent. The photos do a decent job of showing you how there is no obvious trail and just how steep it is.
I'm not afraid of heights, but there were a few times I turned around and looked down and it does make your stomach drop a bit. You never make a move you can't take back and you focus heavily on strong footing so you don't slip. Here's a view looking back:
And then finally, we made it to the top! It took me exactly 3:02, clocking in at 4.5 miles with a 4,022' elevation gain. Personal victory! Also, that means it took a full hour to climb that final 1/2 mile, including a quick lunch at the saddle.
How do you know you're at the top? Because you'll see a mailbox there, of course! :)
Here's a quick 360 from the top:
An obligatory selfie from the peak:
Here's the view looking down at the saddle where I just climbed from. In real life, you can just make out a couple people down there. I circled them in this pic:
I decided to climb down by myself, but here is the view:
I started toward the edge but couldn't find any clear way back down, so I decided to wait for my three new friends to finish their picnic and head down with them. I figured four heads were better than one in finding the best route back. Thank goodness they were so friendly and obliging.
And then the climb back down began. Again, check out how steep it is. And oh so worth it!
Mount Olympus, the Second Climb:
9,030'
Total miles = exactly 9
Elevation gain = 4,022' to the peak
Total time = 5 hrs, 17 mins
Oh, and I whizzed past my three buddies on my way back and beat them to the bottom. Who says old has to be slow? :)