It's cold outside. There's snow on the ground. There's the threat of avalanches in the mountains and the freeze-thaw effect causing occasional rockfalls. But it's a beautiful, sunny day outside. Time to go for a walk in one of my favorite Wasatch Mountain canyons!
Of course I'll hike carefully. The walk will likely be less than two miles up the canyon, and then back. This hike won't go near the avalanche-prone higher slopes, and I'll stay alert for anything the cliffs and slopes might toss down at me.
My hike started in the afternoon, after finishing a few tasks in town. The snow sparkled wherever the low winter sun's rays could reach the bottom of the canyon. The sky was so blue. The high mountain ridges and cliffs were, as usual, spectacular.
Not all, however, on this trip was pleasant and enjoyable. There's a little trail which cuts off from the main trail and goes for a quarter mile or so before rejoining the main trail. It's a narrow trail, and not much used, but nicer than the section of main trail it bypasses. I always take this trail on my way up the canyon. On this particular day on that trail I saw only one set of boot prints other than mine in the snow. About halfway up the trail, though, I came across an unexpected and unpleasant obstacle. There was a dead moose right on the trail. Not only was the moose dead, it had been heavily scavenged, and subsequently spread over more of the narrow trail. The snow around the moose corpse was packed down with paw prints of coyotes and/or foxes. Traces of blood were still visible on the snow. This part of the trail is a little steep, and passes through thick oak brush. That made getting around the massive carrion a little challenging, but soon enough I was able to continue up canyon.
No other unpleasant surprises awaited me that day. The rest of the hike was simply a walk in the Wasatch mountains on a glorious winter's day. Small birds, such as black-capped chickadees foraged among bare twigs and branches of Gambel oak and rocky mountain maple trees. High up among towering cliffs two eagles soared. I had no goals on this hike; no peaks to bag, no circuit to complete, no particular spot to arrive at. I had no interest on this hike other than to just be out in the wild, and that I was.
I walked the canyon for the rest of the afternoon, often pausing to look, listen, and generally absorb the experience as much as I could. Early evening I returned back down the canyon. On the way to the trailhead, I got to enjoy a nice end-of-day treat. There were enough clouds far to the west for the setting sun to shine and reflect through. It made for a small, but enjoyable sunset.
