MOUNT OLYMPUS: OUR LAST HIKE IN OUR 60-60-60 HIKING GOAL

Beginning of Mount Olympus hike.

At the trailhead. Actually taken after the hike. Balloons to release!

Starting up the trail.

Part of the rocky trail.

Natures steps.

Did I mention rocky trail?

Looking out over Salt Lake Valley.

Nearing the saddle. Great views from here.

The beginning of the rock climbing.

Somewhere up there is the summit.

View from the saddle.

Nice little view.

The saddle.

Summit somewhere up those rocks behind us.

Up the rocks.

A few boulders in the way.

Summit!

Mailbox at the top.

Other hikers on the summit.

Hikers at the summit.

At the summit, ready to release the "60" balloon.

We set a goal about six years ago to hike all 60 hikes found in Greg Witt's book, "60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Salt Lake City by the time we turned 60. It became simply known as 60-60-60. On September 3, 2018, we accomplished our goal by hiking Mount Olympus Trail. We had saved Mount Olympus because it seemed like one of the hardest and scariest hikes in the book. We kept putting this hike off because the book described it as difficult with elevation gain, sun exposure and rock and boulder scrambling to the summit. I'm not sure it was the hardest, but it seemed so fitting to be the last. It was mostly uphill, had little shade, and the scramble to the very top was rock scrambling that kept me from getting on the summit. My wife who is less fearful than I made it to the top. She carried a blue balloon with "60" printed on it and released the balloon from the summit.

Because of life schedules with work, church, family and winter snow-pack, we could only plan for so many hikes per summer. It was sometimes difficult to put other pursuits aside (I'm also an avid fly fisherman) to find the time to accomplish the hikes. That is one reason it took about 6 years. We averaged 10 hikes per year, however, there was a year we only did 3. So some years, like this last year (2018) we did more. Our final year we had to push to get 12 hikes in to make the goal.

We have learned so much from these hikes. Almost every hike was done as a couple. A few were done with our daughter who also loves hiking. In fact, she is still getting us out hiking even though we have met the goal. We have found that we like to hike. It has been good for us as a couple. Even though I had a tendency to hike faster than my wife and get ahead on the trail, we always went to the summits together. We found that hikers are nice people. On a couple of the hikes where I didn't feel comfortable rock climbing or going over a knife edge rock, there always seemed to be a hiker or a group of hikers that would help my wife make it.  Some trails we found ourselves totally alone. We learned to talk a little more (probably not enough for my wife). We found that sitting high on a mountain ridge by ourselves with a panoramic vista and a little silence was alright. That eating trail food while resting on a log and drinking water from a water bottle are great pleasures. We learned that simple things can mean so much. We have found that there is so much beauty and fun so close to our cities along the Wasatch Front--you don't have to go very far to enjoy hiking, scenery, wildlife, mountain summits, wildflowers, sunrises, sunsets and vistas that take your breath away. Most importantly, I learned that I have a great wife. She is my best friend. She is amazingly unselfish. We may not hold great status when it comes to worldly things, but we love each other.

Hikers who helped Phyllis up and down the rock scramble.

Another hiker who helped.

Success!

Beauty near the top.

A little above this area, I stopped. Hiking is different than rock climbing!

 I do not believe in too many coincidences. At a point in the hike where the rock climbing became a little more difficult (at least for me), I watched as a brother was trying to help his sister through the climb. Eventually, like me she decided she had made it as far as she could go. I could tell her brother really wanted to get to the summit so I suggested that she could wait with me while her brother went to the top. We had a nice visit and found that we both suffered from a fear of exposure to vertical drops. We decided we were not so much afraid of heights, we both felt if there was enough space to stand away from drop-off we were fine, it was the exposure to the drop-off that gave us fear. It was nice visiting with her and we helped each other get to the saddle when my wife came down and then waited with her until her brother came down. I tell you hikers are really nice people.

Something that was very fitting for this hike (another coincidence?) is the fact that one of the young ladies that helped Phyllis get down from the summit happened to know Greg Witt, the author of the guide book we were following. She actually took the photographs used in the hiking guide book. We are so grateful for her help too.

We will continue to hike. We have become hikers. Plans are already being made to hike trails and summits that are not in the book. It's good to be out there!