Hike to catch the sunrise // Mount Olympus // Utah

Holladay, Utah

Description

"When you do something beautiful and nobody noticed, do not be sad. For the sun every morning is a beautiful spectacle and yet most of the audience still sleeps." - John LennonWake up with the sun for beautiful 360 degree views, of the city and surrounding wildernessBeat the crowds and the hot Utah sun5 hours roundtrip / 7 miles out and back4200 vertical feet elevation gainSummit a 9026 ft peakEasy to park and get to the trailhead from Salt Lake CityEasy to navigate in the dark

If you are planning to do this hike to catch the sunrise at the peak then you need to make sure you give yourself enough time to summit before the sun reaches the horizon. Plan on being at the trailhead about 2.5 before scheduled sunrise (we summited in about 2 hours). Parking and location of trailhead along Wasatch Blvd. makes it easy to start early.

Start hiking up from the Mount Olympus trailhead. You will start to increase your elevation quickly as you watch the moon slowly lower into the city's skyline. The city's lights are almost as pretty as twinkling stars. As you start to head back into the canyon the moon will disappear and it will just be you, the dark, your headlamp - and your friends if you could get any out of bed that early.

The first mile is pretty mellow, be prepared for it to get more strenuous. The trail is easy to follow and is well maintained. You will cross a stream as you get further back into the canyon before the trail begins the steep climb to the saddle.

As you go up, the trail gets narrower and steeper. As you reach the saddle you will start to see the sky getting brighter. You will have about 20 minutes from there to scramble to the top of the summit so that you can catch the sun rising from the east over the Wasatch Mountains.

Enjoy the views and maybe a pre-packed breakfast burrito! The way down will be quicker and you will generally see several groups of people heading up to beat the sun. But, you beat them and you got to see an amazing sunrise.

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Hike to catch the sunrise // Mount Olympus // Utah Reviews

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