Pittsburg Lake

Last Friday night, after the boys went to bed, Scott and I made a last minute hiking trip.  We decided to wake up the boys the next morning and hike to Pittsburg Lake up American Fork Canyon.  Last spring Scott had expressed interest in going on this hike so we decided now was as good of a time as ever.  We had also talked to a few people recently about this hike and knew a few things.  It is short, about 1.5 miles.  It is steep.  The trail head is a little hard to find.  Once you get to the top it is worth it.

The next morning we pulled the boys out of bed, ate breakfast at Kneaders and with our water backpacks and some jelly bellies and apples we were off.  We confirmed everything we had heard about the hike.

The trail head is a little hard to find
After traveling on a very bumpy, dusty road for 30 minutes, we thought we had found the trail head, but it wasn't marked.  According to the map, it looked like we were in the right spot though.  We got out of the truck and started hiking on an obvious, but unmarked trail.  About 20 minutes into the hike we looked across the river and saw a trail going straight up the side of the mountain.  We knew we were on the wrong trail.  So down we went.  We hopped back in the truck, crossed the river and found the trail head that was clearly marked.

The trail is steep.
Holy smokes!  This trail was steep.  It didn't let up the entire time.  After the hike, Scott figured out that the elevation change in a mile and a half was 1,500 ft.  About an 18% grade.  It pretty much went straight up the side of the mountain with only a couple switch backs.  And to top that off, the trail was covered in rocks that were just the size to twist ankles.  I told the boys to take 25 steps and then rest for a minute.  There was a lot of resting going on.  We had some tears, but we all made it to the top.

Once you get to the top it is worth it.
That much is true.  The lake was pretty, the view of the entire mountain range was gorgeous and the temperature was perfect.  The boys splashed around in the lake and we all rested from that very long mile and a half.