Wellsville Ridge

Since hiking the Rim 2 Rim, I have decided I like hiking a lot and have added a few more hikes to my bucket List.  One of them is the Wellsville Ridge.  Everyday I look out my window at the Wellsville Mountain range and think how cool it would be to climb to the top of it and look around at the whole world.  I have heard about people climbing it so I knew there was a trail.  Because it is so long and far from home, I didn't want to hike it by myself so I conned Russell and our friends, the Pini's, into hiking it with me.  The hike and the accomplishment was going to be my birthday present to myself.  I was glad they were willing to go with me on my crazy adventures.   We knew this hike would take all day because it was close to 12 miles and some pretty intense inclines and descents.    We decided to start at 7:00 am to beat the heat at the base and give us enough time to finish.  Because the hike is a point to point, we also had to arrange for one car to be at the end of the hike.  With everything set, we headed out on our hike on July 5, my 39th birthday.

Here we are at the start in Sardine Canyon.  We were ready to conquer the mountain.  As we started the trail, we were all pretty pumped up.  We were just chatting and having fun.  The first part of the trail was a service road but then the trail broke off.  It was a good thing Colt was with us because he knew right where to turn.  I would have kept walking and missed the trail turn off.  From then on, we designated him as our guide because he had hiked this ridge before.

The first part of the climb was quite beautiful. We hiked through what looked like a forested jungle.  

There were ferns on the ground and large trees surrounding us. I loved it.  

Once we got through the forest, we started our steep ascend up the mountain.  There were many switchbacks through oak bushes.  On the way up, we met a guy hiking down.  He had been camping up on top.  He said he does this every 4th of July so that he can see all of the cities' firework shows from up above on the 4th.  It sounded pretty amazing. 

The next part of the trail was barely a trail at all.  We were basically bushwhacking through the oak the whole climb up because the brush was so over grown.  This was hard because you couldn't see in front, behind or above you because you were just in the brush.  And our legs were getting scratched up...

When the brush opened up though, the views were already starting to become awesome.  This is looking down through Sardine Canyon.  We could see so far and we weren't even to the top yet.

This little lookout spot was about halfway up the mountain.   We still had a ways to go to wind our way up but this was a nice rest spot to take in the views.

Finally we made it to the top peak, the Wellsville Cone!  

From this point on the Wellsvilles, you could literally see everything in every direction.  It was so cool!! Of course we had to take a bunch of pictures.  First of our group on the top because we had made it!

Luckily there was another group of hikers up there as well so we took each others pictures. Then of course we had to take pictures of the scenery.  

From the east you could see the entire Cache Valley.  We could even see our house, well our neighborhood at least. We could see from Paradise to Smithfield!  From the west side, you could see all of Box Elder County.  This included Brigham City, Honeyville and Tremonton. This definitely made the climb through the oak brush worth it!

At the top, we ate lunch.  Before eating lunch, Russell brought out a candle, a lighter, and a chocolate mint Clif Bar.  He put the candle in the Clif Bar and lit the candle while he and Colt and Emilee sang "Happy Birthday" to me. 

It was so fun to be celebrating my birthday at the top of the mountain.  I was literally on top of the world.

On this peak there was still a pretty big snow drift so we also got to play in the snow and throw snow balls. 

This was the first time I have ever played in the snow on my birthday!

The wildflowers were also in bloom so we saw wonderful colors everywhere we looked.

There was even a geographic survey marker on the top.  We had to take a picture of it for even more proof that we had been there.

From this point, most hikers just turn around and hike back down to the trail head the way they came up.  We were not going to do this though.  We were going to hike the whole way across the mountain range.  The trail runs right along the ridge of the mountain so pretty much the whole way we could see the valleys on both sides of the mountain range.

We continued hiking along enjoying the views and the company of each other.  We talked a lot and just chatted about a bunch of different things.  This part of the hike along the ridge was pretty level so the miles went a little faster than the climb up.  

We continued across until we got to the turn off for Dry Canyon.  This was where we turned down the mountain and started our descend back in to the valley.  This was a pretty steep switchback trail down the face of the mountain.  Once again we were bushwhacking in most places due to the overgrown brush.  Instead of oak, though, there were huge leaves like Elephant Ear or something.  The bad thing was we couldn't see our feet or the trail so I kept tripping and sliding.  We finally started yelling, "Root!" or "Rock!" or "Tree!" or anything that might trip up the person behind you.  The flies were pretty bad at this area too.  I was glad we brought our trekking poles because I used them going down and Russell's poles helped Emilee a lot too.

 To get to our car we walked passed the trail head to Wayne's Loop.  This is another hiking trail I really want to take the kids on because it is shorter.  I will have to remember it for another time.

Finally we made it to the bottom of the trail in Mendon and back to our waiting car. 

We are still smiling too!  This was such an amazing hike.  It was hard and my legs were definitely sore afterward but I am so glad we did it!  It was something I will always remember and something I would be willing to do again.  After 11.5 miles and 4,800 feet of elevation gain, I am glad the Pini's are still our friends and I'm glad they were willing to come along on my crazy whims. 

When we got home from this adventure, the kids had decorated the house with a banner for my birthday.

Grandma and Grandpa Farnsworth had helped them put everything together.  Thanks kids!

I had a great birthday doing something I have come to love this year.  Well now that I have climbed the mountain for my 39th birthday, I am ready to go over the hill next year for my 40th birthday.  Here's to enjoying my final year being 30.  Happy birthday to me!