Mt. Timpanogos

Mt. Timpanogos, or as it's affectionately known as Mt. Timp, is one of the largest mountain summits in all of Utah. It's the closest one to Utah Valley as well.

My friend had been planning on hiking it one Saturday in July, so I decided to join him.

I knew that it would be a long and grueling hike. I wasn't quite prepared for what ensued, however.

I brought a full pack of water as well as two water bottles believing that that would be enough. I ran out with about two hours left. Water is vital. You can run out of food and most likely be fine for a while but without water you won't last long on Mt. Timp's trail.

It's a gorgeous hike throughout. As long as you know beforehand that it'll take you around eight hours to complete, you shouldn't have any problem enjoying the scenery around you.

The hike just keeps going up. There are a few fairly flat places along the way, but it just always seems to go up.

I enjoyed the temperature dropping steadily as I made my way up near the top. I also didn't expect so see as much snow as I did - seeing as we went in July. I suppose it makes sense, though. Considering how there's snow up there when you look at it from the valley.

After finally making it up to the top - it's a breeze coming down. We went at a bit of a jog and were down in a couple of hours is all.

The biggest casualty of the trip (besides my parched throat) was a toenail on my right foot. It turned entirely black and eventually peeled right off a few days later. Gruesome, I know. Sorry about that.

Just be sure to prepare very well if you ever plan on doing a long-distance hike to the summit of a mountain, such as Mt. Timp. It was a rewarding experience for me - even with the bumps I uncovered along the way.