As Zoe doesn't get her staples removed until Tuesday, this was another weekend of hiking without the dogs, so it only made sense to hike somewhere that dogs aren't allowed. This weekend it was Little Cottonwood Canyon, hiking from Alta Ski Area to the Honeycomb Cliffs atop Solitude Mountain Resort.
We didn't hit the trail until 3 p.m. today, heading from the Albion Base Area up through Grizzly Gulch, past the Michigan Utah mine to Twin Lakes Pass overlooking Brighton Resort.
From there, it was a short but steep ascent to the south summit of Honeycomb Cliffs (el. 10,479') to take in some stunning views into both Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons.
I'm unfortunately unable to post a Photo Sphere here until Google Maps approves it; however, if you'd like to take in a full spherical representation of the view from atop the Honeycomb Cliffs, click through to https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/ ... 90&fovy=75 . Once it's approved it will appear inline below:
[photosphere]https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/104320561789112490385/gphoto/6170816548289887362[/photosphere]
I wanted to make a loop out of it and also to visit the Prince of Wales mine, which produced primarily lead and zinc. That meant some bushwhacking across a tricky, steep sidehill past a bunch of mine shafts before finally reaching the old mine road to Prince of Wales.
It was worth it! The remains at Prince of Wales were some of the best preserved that I've found, as some of the old iron works are still in place. That includes a huge boiler that powered a steam engine that drove a huge spool of steel cable that dropped down into the shaft. The markings on the equipment indicated its origin: "Ames Iron Works, Oswego, N.Y." (http://www.oswaldsupply.com/boiler-manufacturer/ames-iron-works.html)
From there we simply followed old mining roads back to Michigan Utah and back along the route from whence we came to the truck. 5.5 miles, 1,687 feet total elevation gain.
We didn't hit the trail until 3 p.m. today, heading from the Albion Base Area up through Grizzly Gulch, past the Michigan Utah mine to Twin Lakes Pass overlooking Brighton Resort.
From there, it was a short but steep ascent to the south summit of Honeycomb Cliffs (el. 10,479') to take in some stunning views into both Little and Big Cottonwood Canyons.
I'm unfortunately unable to post a Photo Sphere here until Google Maps approves it; however, if you'd like to take in a full spherical representation of the view from atop the Honeycomb Cliffs, click through to https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/ ... 90&fovy=75 . Once it's approved it will appear inline below:
[photosphere]https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/104320561789112490385/gphoto/6170816548289887362[/photosphere]
I wanted to make a loop out of it and also to visit the Prince of Wales mine, which produced primarily lead and zinc. That meant some bushwhacking across a tricky, steep sidehill past a bunch of mine shafts before finally reaching the old mine road to Prince of Wales.
It was worth it! The remains at Prince of Wales were some of the best preserved that I've found, as some of the old iron works are still in place. That includes a huge boiler that powered a steam engine that drove a huge spool of steel cable that dropped down into the shaft. The markings on the equipment indicated its origin: "Ames Iron Works, Oswego, N.Y." (http://www.oswaldsupply.com/boiler-manufacturer/ames-iron-works.html)
From there we simply followed old mining roads back to Michigan Utah and back along the route from whence we came to the truck. 5.5 miles, 1,687 feet total elevation gain.
