Warmvember Continues. This is the latest I have hiked in the Wasatch with trail boots on. I am usually splitboarding by this time of the year, but it seems 2021 has other plans. Since it was nearly 60 degrees on the last weekend in November it was time to get after it again. I have been trying to get a bit more familiar with the Wasatch Foothills which are North of I-80 above the Foothill, U of U, and Avenues areas. These are by far not the tallest mountians in the range, but for sure they are steep and some of them have elevation gains of some of the Cottonwood Canyon trails. Mount Van Cott has been on my list for years and I could not see a reason to not go get it so off I went.
I started on the South Ridge which is located at the mouth of Red Butte Canyon. You can park at the U of U lot directly below this on Saturdays and Sundays. Monday thru Friday a parking permit is enforced. You can park a few blocks south on Colorow Road and take the Bonneville Shoreline connector to access this same area if you are looking for a free parking option Monday Thru Friday. Currently that is not an option due to the construction of a new storage tank for Salt Lake City as the signs in the photo above shows. Once that is completed next year this becomes an option once more. Please respect closed areas for saftey.
You hike from the U of U parking lot to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Then it connects with the steep and loose trail that seemingly goes straight up hill. You'll pass a cliff wall which I just loved as an intro for the area. I did some steep hikes this year. But I don't think any of them started so straight up hill as this one did. So this takes the cake for steepest start of a trail all year. As always the more I climbed, the better the views got. After cresting the first section of the ridge, I got to watch LifeFlight take off from the University Of Utah and make a loop over the top of my head! I moved on up the next ridge. Then anothe really steep climb, then it flattens out again. The views never stopped being spectacular! Make sure you've got sun cover. There is not much shade on this trail and only in a couple of patches of gamble oak would you find repreieve.
I came to the final junction and the map showed me that either way, east or west fork would get me to the summit of Mout Van Cott. I decided to go the west route as it looked shorter but steep, and I wanted to take the direct route. It deposited me at the bottom of a clif ban, and I had to scramble the last 50 feet to the top. It was kind of fun to be honest, I havent really had to scramble all year. After 1 hr and 10 minutes, I arrived at the summit of Mount Van Cott, 6351 USGS. It was named for Lucy May Van Cott, the first dean of women (1907–1931) at the University of Utah. Cool historical fact for me as I love studying history. The views were spectacular in all directions. The geology really shows it self of here in this part of Utah. The inversion in the valley makes me think its the ghost of Lake Bonneville that went to the Shoreline Trail that I crosed on the way up.
After some time on the summit, I made my way on the trail I should have walked up to the summit on and made my way down. This is the part I am going to preach about good traction and taking your time getting down this trail. It has some loose rock, and you want to take your time on the steep sections, especially the last one you started up on. The hike out actually took less than 35 minutes, half the time out. If I did not have to go slow on that last section I could have gotten to the Jeep in 30 min flat. All in all, 2.6 miles round trip, 1,306 feet of elevation gain, 53 hikes for the year, and a warm November day to hike this! When will winter show up? Who knows. Until it does, I'll keep hiking! Enjoy the pics and check out my YouTube video below. Subcribe and Like! More adventures to come......
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