Bagging the Frary

So I have been on hiatus for quite sometime and I was really itching to get out and explore my new home and it's surroundings. I recently moved to Hill AFB from Edwards, California and was salivating to get out ands see my new land. I decided to take it easy and warm back up to hiking shape as I haven't hiked for close to 2 months. I'm deploying soon and wanted to get some one on one time with my oldest son Thomas. Wanted to drop some knowledge on him and just bond with him one on one. What better way to do that then take the boy out into the wilderness to let him become a man right! Well he had a ton of fun and we had some great conversations. 

MEMORIAL FOR FALLEN SOLDIERS

We came across this Memorial for some Fallen soldiers. Not sure what mission they were on or where it happened but we paid our respects and headed out.

Buffalo Marks the Trailhead!!

We found this big guy grazing right at the turn off of the Trailhead. 4 hours later when we left he was on the other side of the road with about 10 cars taking pics of him.

SHOVING OFF

So we began our journey and not far into it we started to look back and see the beauty the SLC area has to offer. Gorgeous scenes in all four directions. I took a few shots of the Snow capped Wasatch Mountain Range and just followed the sounds of the chirping birds. The parking lot was almost empty and we ran across a few friendly hikers too. 

We jammed out thru the trail and ran across a lot of cool landscaping but the one Thomas and I both loved was the small mini cave you go thru on the way to the summit. It was pretty cool honestly. The trail is pretty steady going either up or down. You won't find too many spots that flatten or taper off but this part of the trail gave me a little break.

So you can see the Peak in the left hand corner, we ran across a ton of cool looking birds and often times they scared us along this part of the hike. The trail came to a spot where you hit a weather station, it marks the 3 mile mark. Now the last part of the trail was muddy and slick from melting snow. We actually lost the trail after the 2nd big Bristlecone tree. We improvised and went straight up the side of the mountain and had great success.

So after being on the trail and hiking a total of 3.08 miles one way we finally reached the summit about 3.5 hours after shoving off. Thomas and I quickly pulled out our sandwiches and chips and washed our great picnic food down with a tasty Gatorade!! Nothing like losing calories on a good hike and refueling with food at the end of your conquest. I snapped a few pics and left a small notebook that deemed the new climbers log, I also left a sharpie so people could sign it. The views were so amazing at the top, this would be the spot to take a panoramic shot of the surrounding SLC area. The Great Salt Lake has many options for me and my home dood and he can't wait to do it again!!

I'll be doing this hike on a regular basis that's for sure. The way to get here is very simple as well. Just take the 15 North (If in SLC area) or 15 South (if in Ogden/Brigham City area) and take the Antelope Dr. exit. Follow the signs that say Antelope Island and you'll soon run into the main gate. Admission into the park is 10 dollars per vehicle and the trailhead is about 15 miles down the road. There will be signs pointing you in the right direction. Make sure to stop on the causeway and snap some pics like I did and some many others before me. Be careful as a lot of bikers ride out here. I went on a sunday and it was pretty empty so to me that would be the best time of the week to go. When family and friends come to visit I will for sure bring them out the Island and let them soak in the beauty of Utah!!

SO UNTIL NEXT TIME MY GOOD BISON BUDDIES.......

Here are a few links to some video of the trail and summit: