The Wasatch, sun and snow squalls
This portion of the Wasatch Mountains is not as high or alpine as portions of the range to the north and south, and it is for this reason the Mormon Trail passed not far from here, cutting through the mountains to the deserts beyond, to what became Salt Lake City, and on to California (and the fated Donner Pass).
Freeze Creek makes this valley, and a fine hiking trail follows it the ridges above. Vegetation on the open slopes is grasses and forbs, with Gambel Oak and Bigtooth Maple (holding its orange leaves late into the winter this year) in clusters, and stands of Douglass fir on the northern, wetter slopes. Moose, Mule Deer, and Elk are abundant here. Big cats are rarely seen, though a Lynx was spotted near here this winter.
The red rock on the far slopes is the Nugget Sandstone, the northern version of, and the same age as the well-known Navajo Sandstone of Southern Utah, which forms many of the much-photographed formations of that region.
The Wasatch, sun and snow squalls
This portion of the Wasatch Mountains is not as high or alpine as portions of the range to the north and south, and it is for this reason the Mormon Trail passed not far from here, cutting through the mountains to the deserts beyond, to what became Salt Lake City, and on to California (and the fated Donner Pass).
Freeze Creek makes this valley, and a fine hiking trail follows it the ridges above. Vegetation on the open slopes is grasses and forbs, with Gambel Oak and Bigtooth Maple (holding its orange leaves late into the winter this year) in clusters, and stands of Douglass fir on the northern, wetter slopes. Moose, Mule Deer, and Elk are abundant here. Big cats are rarely seen, though a Lynx was spotted near here this winter.
The red rock on the far slopes is the Nugget Sandstone, the northern version of, and the same age as the well-known Navajo Sandstone of Southern Utah, which forms many of the much-photographed formations of that region.