This summer has been a long list of firsts for me in the Wasatch mountains. I’ve never had such a blast exploring new places with family and friends. Recently I was able to head up Big Cottonwood Canyon and hike to Lake Blanche. I can honestly say, I knew this hike was going to be a challenge.

 

We started off at Mill B hiking area after having a little bit of a hard time finding parking but were able to easily locate the trailhead off to the side of the paved path that headed up the canyon.

 

The climb was a gradual slope the entire way up with very few flat areas to rest your legs a little. If you are headed up this way, be sure to plan on a constant uphill climb, then a great downhill slope the entire way down. The coolest part about this hike was the sound of the river and trees combining to make the most calming soundtrack to the hike.

 

The valley opens up and you can see all the way up to the Sundial, which overlooks the lake and seems to be the most iconic part of the Lake Blanche experience. Because I hiked this in the fall the leaves on the trees were dead with little color besides brown, but as we made it up higher, the colors started to appear on the trees above and the temperature cooled off a bit.

 

When we arrived at the top, it was awesome to find out that this had at one time been a reservoir and there were still standing walls on two sides of the lake area.  There were amazing views from the west over the lake and towards Sundial peak and the peaks surrounding the glacier carved area.

 

While we were there, the trail was very busy and the west side of the lake was like a small village with people gathered almost everywhere. We were able to find a place a little way off from the heavy crowds and were able to have a relatively quiet lunch. From here we could see all the way out to the great Salt Lake and everything beyond.