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This
hike was another Sunday expedition into unknown territory. Being that is was now September, so weather wise, I did not know
what to expect. This hike begins at the old Forest Service Garage 8.3 miles
up Little Cottonwood Canyon. The road to the trail begins at the Alta
City building right behind the garage. Travel the road for a bit, and it
turns into an old jeep track that makes its way into the gulch. This track
winds its way into the gulch until you reach a large
tailings pile cut in half for the trail to go through. Then you will pass several
tailings piles, then up a steep hill to the first mine on the left. We
stopped to take pictures of this mine, and then proceeded up the hill to the
first ridge top. Here, you can either continue up the gulch to Twin Lakes
Pass, or swing north and head for the Prince of Wales Shaft and the Honeycomb
Cliffs. Since I had already climbed the pass from the Big Cottonwood side, I
decided to go to the mine.
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For Larger Picture
This trail heads up the side of the canyon wall at a steady
pace. You get to one point where there are several old mine sites
and the views of Mt Baldy, Hidden Peak, American Fork Twins, and Mt Superior
on the north side of the canyon. Continuing up the side of the ridge, you
start to see Mt Wolverine shape the sky line. One more switch back and you
are on top of Davenport Hill. This is the pass to Silver Fork in Big Cottonwood
canyon. Once at this pass you can continue west on the ridge to Flagstaff
mountain, or head down into Silver Fork. The third option is the one I took,
which
parallels the mountain as it heads north.
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For Larger Picture
Follow this track for a ¼
mile and you will reach the Prince of Wales Shaft. This was a mine shaft that
was operational in the 1800's. It ceased operations in 1880. The shaft
itself is a grueling 900 feet deep, and has been covered with gratings to
prevent skiers from falling into it. There is an old boiler and hoisting
equipment still there to mark the site. It was a great place to be with the
views and the sky line, but of course we had to get on top of something for
our hike to be complete. Just before the mine there is a hill which has a
trail that takes you on top of the Honeycomb Cliffs. These cliffs are beautiful
soft white sandstone carved into goblins and spires. I climbed one of
them and the view was spectacular. After having our fun, it was time to move
on down for daylight was fading. This is by far one of the best hikes this
year, as well as the last warm one.
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For Larger Picture
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For Larger Picture
Trail
Stats And Directions
Little
Cottonwood Canyon- Old Forest Service Garage- 8.3 miles up canyon
Distance to the Prince of Wales Mine- 2 ¼ miles
Hiking Time- 1hr 10 min
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