Mount Timpanogos, sometimes informally referred to as Timp, is the second tallest mountain in Utah's Wasatch Range and stands at nearly 12,000 feet tall. It has always been a favorite hiking and camping destination for Utahns and we at Rustico are no exception. The Mountain provides incredible scenery and a few mildly challenging summit hikes namely the Aspen Grove trail and the Timpooneke Campground trail. Both trails are about a 14-mile round trip with about a mile in elevation gain throughout the hike. Mount Timpanogos visitors are able to see a variety of wildlife from moose to mountain goats to fields of wildflowers.
Mount Timpanogos behind a group of wildflowers. (PhotoHere are the five things that you may not have known about Utah's most loved mountain:
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From 1911 to 1970 an event called the "Timp Hike" brought 1000's of hikers up the mountain slopes on one day during the summer. This attraction to the mountain is what initially sparked the need for infrastructure such as upgraded trails, the stone shelter found by Emerald Lake and the smaller shack found at the summit.
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The Timpanogos Glacier is a very beautiful feature of the mountain, but has also historically been one of the major sources of injury or death to hikers on Timp, especially when some attempt to slide down the glacier to save time descending. Even with the assistance of a shovel or another device, sometimes the rocks hidden below the surface of the ice and snow can be dangerous.
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According to ancient folklore, many have believed the ridge line of Mount Timpanogos to resemble a sleeping woman (from the Utah Valley side). The stories around this woman vary from love to religious stories. If you look at the ridge line you can see the shape of her lying on her back.
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A retired letter carrier from Utah Valley, Ben Woolsey, has hiked Mount Timpanogos over 700 times. He said in an interview with Fox 13 News: "Some people think doing the same hike every day is boring, but to me it’s not," Woolsey said, "whether it's animals or people or flowers, it changes every day." Other hikers haven't completed the hike as many times as Woolsey, but some have set records regarding the time of the hike such as Dan Moody who reached the summit from the Timpooneke in 1:15:36, which is quite impressive.
- The name Timpanogos comes from Native Americans of the area and roughly translates to "water on rock", which is no surprise as to the many different water sources found on the mountain.
Mount Timpanogos as seen from Utah Valley. It is said that the ridge resembles a woman lying on her back with the left of this photo being her face. (Photo Wikipedia)
We are excited to announce that this summer we will be starting the first Rustico Summit Series. For the Series, we will be hiking up a custom Big Idea Album to serve as the new Mt. Timpanogos summit registrar (see the design photos below). Within the summit registrar will be the following instructions to any hiker who summits Timp: "Congrats on the Summit and welcome to our Mt. Timp Log Book. Leave your mark and drop a note or make a sketch for fellow hikers. Capture a picture of your message and tag us on Social Media to get a free exclusive edition Mt. Timp Leather Wristband."
At Rustico we are always working to inspire others to create, get outside, and live intentionally. We hope this new summit registrar will influence you to do these things. And if you summit Mt. Timp, you'll even get a free Leave Your Mark wristband out of it!
We hope you're as excited as we are to experience the beauty of this mountain. See you on the summit!
