If you’ve been following me for awhile, you might remember my goal from the beginning of the year to go on a hike a week (or go snowshoeing if the weather doesn’t permit a hike) bringing the total to 52 hikes for the year. I ended up getting sick and falling a little behind my goal but I have been slowly making strides to catch up and wanted to share a few of my favorites up to this point.
We had a few weeks of unseasonably warm weather this winter so when we would normally have been snowshoeing we had plenty of sunshine and dry ground and we tried to take advantage of it when we could. In February the hubs and I drove to the south end of the valley to explore the canyons there. Starting at the Orson Smith Park trail head we took the nearly 2 1/2 mile loop to the Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge. It’s a relatively easy climb (you could definitely tackle it with kids) and the bridge is a fun little surprise along the way. (We’ve since been back and the gulch below was brimming with greenery, the hillsides covered with flowers thanks to the spring runoff.)
We also tried the Dimple Dell Trail which winds its way right through the heart of Sandy/Draper cities. It’s got various trail outlets along the way in neighborhoods, behind schools and adjacent to shopping districts. We saw a sign and decided to pull over and give it a try rather than continue driving another 10-15 minutes to get to the canyons. Again, it was an unseasonably warm February day so the scenery left a little to be desired (lots and lots of drab brown) but it was a quiet trail that you’d never guess was in a neighborhood.
I’m no where near caught up to where I need to be to hit my goal but I’ve already done more hiking in the last 4 months than I did in the previous 8 so I’ll consider that a success. (We won’t talk about the bulk of my other New Year’s Resolutions…yet! 🙂 How are you doing with the goals you’ve set? Do you have any tricks that help you build habits? (The public accountability definitely helps me.) I’d love to hear about your progress. Or any hiking suggestions you may have!
