Christmas Tree Hunting

I started out this morning thinking I'd see how far I could go up the Mirror Lake Highway.

On the way, I saw the folks at Parley's Summit were making snow for the tubing run.



Although the Mirror Lake road still says "closed," and the plows haven't been up there since before the last snow, it is still somewhat passable. The road was ice and snow packed from about 9,500 feet, about a mile or two below the summit at Bald Mountain. The Mirror Lake side had snow pack for several miles.

I drove down to Mirror Lake and discovered all the tracks I'd seen that gave me confidence to take my truck down there were from snowmobiles. Mine was the only wheeled vehicle that had been into the picnic parking at the lake since the last snow. When I realized the snow was getting deep and soft going down the hill, I decided I was in too deep. I stopped and tried to back up, but that was a no go. So I went to the lake, took some pictures, and headed up the hill with as much speed as I could gather in the short flat part. It was a bit of a wild ride, and I bogged to nearly a standstill once, but I finally shot out without having to put on the chains.

The ice on the lake is thicker than my Leatherman knife is long. Solid enough to walk on, but I don't know for how far out.

Sorry about the focus, but if you listen closely you can hear the water gurgling under the ice.


Look to the left. This guy didn't do so well on the icy road. The tow driver was also having a hard time getting his truck in place due to his sliding all over the road. I stopped and shut the engine off to wait for room to go around. After sitting in place for a half minute or so, my Tahoe suddenly started to slide sideways. Luckily there was less slippery snow to the left of me.

I know you're tired of the ice and waterfall pictures, but the changing formations nature creates with cold rushing water fascinate me.



















These ice crystals are so intricate.














And two patches of crystals right next to each other have such different patterns.



















An artisan blowing glass couldn't plan anything more amazing than what is created naturally and temporarily in the middle of the Upper Provo River Falls.















Oh, what I started writing this blog about was a Christmas tree. I saw two trucks with trees in the back, so I stopped at the little store near the East Fork of the Bear turnoff and asked how to get a permit. The lady said she was selling them, and they were $12 ($10 Forest Service fee plus store service charge). So I bought one and headed up past the Boy Scout camp. This little guy is gathering his food storage a bit late in the season. Maybe one of the 5 foolish virgins?
I discovered that there are a lot of ugly trees in the forest. I hiked all over until I finally found one that suited me. I discovered the oldest, biggest trees seem to be the best (can't be over 12 feet, though). They're fuller and are nicer at the top. The younger, shorter trees still have thin baby fuzz.


I also discovered that all the work finding the right tree was the easy part. I still had to drag and carry this 10-foot behemoth through all the aspen thickets and over the patchwork of downed lodge poles back to the trail.



And then I had to drag it through the snow and carry it over mud about a mile back to the truck.






All in all, though, this is my own tree that I cut with my own hatchet. And I have to say it's not as perfectly trimmed as the store boughten (ha, ha, that was for Jared) trees we usually get, but I really like it.