Enjoying the crimson leaves on the Crimson Trail
I was the only one in our group wearing actual hiking boots. Everyone else plodded along in Chacos, tennis shoes or even Converse sneakers. Not everyone brought water, either, though a couple people had full Camel Paks and I brought my Nalgene. It was the perfect day for a hike: a day that reminded you fall was near.
We missed the trailhead coming in and ended up at the Wind Caves. After a quick turn-around and a bashful grin from the driver of the leading car, we chugged back down the canyon and quickly found what we were looking for.
The Crimson Trail begins at the both the Guivanah-Malibu and Spring Hollow campgrounds on the right side of Logan Canyon as you head towards Bear Lake. It climbs 800 feet in two miles and can make a loop by joining the Riverside Trail, which makes a total of 3.5 miles. It only takes a few hours to hike. We parked in a small lot at Spring Hollow campground close to the road and nearly got lost for the second time weaving through the campground on foot. We found the trailhead buried back inside.
The trail started off gently, but quickly became strenuous. I was thankful we were on the shady side of the mountain at around 10:30 a.m. I was panting and forcing myself to keep up. We quickly divided into three groups: the invincibles, the normals and the pitifuls. I hovered somewhere between the normals and the pitifuls, thankful when someone else suggested a rest.
My group kept up a steady stream of chatter. The trail was stony, but clear of undergrowth and we could mark our progress by watching the stretched-out road and the river beside it get thinner and thinner. Soon we could see the mouths of the Wind Caves across the canyon and we found great views of the canyon’s cliffs and slopes as we got higher.
The highest point of the trail was on a cliff that gave a broad view of the valley. The cars on the road below at that height looked like tiny moving squares. A couple brave ones dangled their legs over the cliff to look down on the tops of the pine trees.
The down-side of the trail was quick and steep. We skittered down gravel-covered slopes and ducked under fallen branches. We decided to make the hike a loop and returned by the Riverside Trail. Eventually, it leveled out to a flat, well-trodden path beside the river and moseyed on back to the campground.
Liz Lawyer is the editor in chief for The Utah Statesman. Send comments and questions to ella@cc.usu.edu.