Stewart Falls.... yes, another Hike

Yes, we went again. But this time it was a real hike, not a nature walk. By the end of the summer we hope to hit up all of these http://www.utah.com/provo/hiking_trails.htm

So yesterday's hike started out like any other, but ended with much different results.

We hiked along an absolutely BEAUTIFUL trail for a couple of hours, until we finally arrived at Stewart Falls.



At which point we took a bunch of pictures...




Then we noticed that to the east of the falls, back around the corner, on top of a snowy mountainside, there was yet another gorgeous cascade. And of course, we decided to climb up the slushy precipice.


It was tough going all the way up. We had to dig our feet and hands deep into the snow so that we didn't slide right back down to where we came from. My hands were FREEZING! But with much effort we finally made it to the top. And it was totally worth it, especially to see how the water from the falls was flowing underneath the 5 or so feet of snow. Gorgeous.



Now everything up to this point was just peachy, but then we decided it was time to start heading back. Now earlier we had seen another guy up on the blanket of snow that just slid on hit butt back down down to the trail. We figured we would do the same. Unfortunately we didn't factor in the fact that he had started sliding down at a much lower point on the incline than we did. Slippery wet snow, high incline, and traction-less shoes = UNHEALTHY...again!

Once we got sliding, there was no turning back, and with every second we gained momentum. We started going faster and faster and faster! My life flashed before my eyes as Dennis was FRANTICALLY yelling at me, "DIG YOUR HEELS IN, DIG YOUR HEELS IN!!" We were trying desperatly to wedge our hands and/or heels far enough into the snow to slow us down, but instead of decreasing our speed, our hands were just shredded with pinecones and rocks.

A million ideas rushed through my head as I was trying to figure out how I was going to stop before I hit the tree bank, and then I saw a large rock ahead and I thought if I can just get my feet to hit that rock, it should slow me down enough to use my hands to stop. As the rock fast approached I put my feet out, and BAM! my knees buckled, and the rock went right underneath me slashing and bruising my leg. I was still going just as fast as ever. At that point I looked up and saw that Dennis had successfully slowed himself down, but I still had no hope, I toppled right over the top of him and was only able to finally come to a stop by grabbing on to a large log, right before the tree bank. In the end we both survived. Scary but Fun. Totally worth it.